Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle Neighborhoods
Home to Many Elegant Yet Affordable Hotels
Where among Washington’s hotels can you find an elegant, “special” property that escapes the generically stale atmosphere of a large chain yet keeps your bill from skyrocketing to the stratosphere? There are many creative yet cost-effective options in the city, but the convenient Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom areas of Washington, D.C., close to the State Department and White House, offer a number of interesting possibilities. Here’s a look at a few of them:
Embassy Row Hilton
Dupont Circle’s Hilton Washington Embassy Row is aptly named. Located across from the embassies of Portugal and Indonesia, it’s within walking distance of the many diplomatic neighbors along the Embassy Row corridor.
It’s fitting then that concierge Fassil Ghebre speaks six languages—Arabic and Italian, “a bit of Flemish,” Amharic and Tigrinya, as well as English. However, everybody on the staff is multilingual, noted Ursula McNamara, sales manager of the Embassy Row Hilton. Ghebre, “who knows everything ab
out the city,” according to McNamara, has worked at the hotel for 16 years.
The hotel has 193 rooms and 25 suites and is in the process of refurbishing all of them. “It’s about 75 percent complete,” McNamara said. “We are putting brand new beds in all the rooms and new furniture throughout,” with an emphasis on “elegant upholstery.” Most rooms have large windows with views of the city and, although close to lively Dupont Circle, “the street is quiet.”
The hotel offers Internet access in all of its rooms, along with safes but no minibars. There is room service until 11 p.m. Guests have complimentary use of 24-hour business and fitness centers with room-card entry. The suites include a sofa bed in the living-room areas, walk-in closets, a small kitchenette discreetly hidden behind louvered doors, lighter woods, and contemporary art on the walls. Standard room rates range from $179 to $259, with suites running from $199 to $279.
One notable hotel feature is the availability of a “secure floor” with its own concierge service. If a special delegation arrives, the hotel will block the entire floor so only designated guests have access. Other safety-minded amenities include suites that offer adjoining rooms for security staff.
Another hotel feature is an exceptionally sumptuous buffet. At breakfast, the Embassy Row Hilton offers every brunch fantasy imaginable, including made-to-order omelets, waffles, several specialty sausages, fresh fruit and muffins galore. The buffet is located in the hotel’s International Market and Café, which boasts bright splashes of color on its contemporary wall murals, a nice contrast to the subdued traditional palettes throughout the Embassy Row and the other hotels mentioned here.
Yet another feature, one that has attracted some media attention, is the hotel’s roof-top pool and patio on the ninth floor, an embassy-overlook watering hole for professional people, singles in particular. Fridays from 5 to 11 p.m., it belongs to AfterlightDC, a casual gathering group described by the Washington Post as “the best outdoor happy hour in the city,” with DJs that offer “soul, classics, hip hop and house” music. Admission is open to all, and there are no dress code or door policies. Other roof-deck social and networking events include regular Euronet International gatherings, such as group’s September Latin Dance Party.
The hotel offers seven meeting rooms and two ballrooms with more than 9,000 square feet of space, including the large and ornately furnished Consulate Ballroom that can accommodate up to 275 people.
The Hotel Washington
Located on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House and the Treasury Department, the Hotel Washington, built in 1917, is one of the oldest hotels in D.C. and is a designated National Landmark. Its facade features elaborate decorations and an unusual frieze of famous Americans. Guest windows look out over the Washington Monument and National Mall.
Although many Washington hotels have their share of celebrity guests, the Hotel Washington has also, notably, served as the residence of a number of government officials and members of Congress over the years. Live-in federal help has included Vice President John Nance Garner, Speaker of the House John McCormack and, most recently, former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, who lived at the hotel for nine months.
The strong family-home subculture is underscored by the hotel’s assistant general manager, Abel Anane, who also resides in the hotel. He’s seen many guests return over and over again through the years. “We want our guests to be part of the family,” he said. “We will get to know you, and remember your name. You’re not just a number here.” Anane noted that one national organization has been coming to the hotel for its annual meetings for 45 years and wouldn’t consider going anywhere else.
Similarly, there is amazing employment longevity among the staff. “We have people who have been on our staff for 30 years, 40 years, 60 years,” Anane said. Hotel literature says that some employees even return to work there after retirement out of homesickness. Anane, who speaks French, Spanish and Arabic, noted that there are speakers of Russian, Ethiopian and Swahili on staff.
The hotel has 350 rooms and a complete renovation is in progress that is replacing everything: “furniture, wallpaper, carpets and all the beds,” Anane said. A typical junior suite offers a living-room area, with a table for meetings or dining, a separate bedroom, and, like many rooms at the hotel, striking views. There are refrigerators in all the rooms as well as fitness and business services centers. Room rates begin at $205 and go up to $285. Suites are $550 and $775.
The hotel’s open-air Sky Terrace Restaurant on the top floor is a popular and table-jammed spot for casual dining with spectacular vistas. It offers soups, salads, sandwiches and smoothies, with specialty “Dream of Ice Cream” desserts such as a “tutti frutti” confection of peach and raspberry ice cream topped with mango and fresh raspberries. In contrast, the enclosed and hushed Sky Room is a fine-dining restaurant with a lofty ceiling, tall windows and sweeping city views. Scenes from the movie “The Godfather” were filmed there.
The Churchill Hotel
The Churchill is another historic hotel. This National Trust Beaux Arts-style building first opened in 1906 and is situated on Connecticut Avenue above Dupont Circle. All of its 144 rooms began as apartments and feature private studies and large bathrooms.
However, with only a small lobby, restaurant and bar area and some missing amenities—no minibars (refrigerators in 13 suites), no breakfast buffet and less lavishly furnished rooms—the hotel’s strength is its staff, which offers exceptional attentiveness and courtesy to guests.
Employees are multilingual and languages spoken include French, Farsi, Spanish and Ethiopian. The voicemail comes in four languages.
Families in particular like the hotel, said Linda Davis of the hotel’s sales and marketing team. The large rooms leave plenty of space for rollaways for younger family members, and the studies can double as a child’s separate space. Each room also has Internet access and room service is available until 11 p.m. Room and suite rates range from $129 to $359.
The hotel’s Chartwell Grill Restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with excellent service, special consideration for children, and a dinner menu featuring pasta, seafood and steak, all with entrées reasonably priced between $15 and $27.
In addition, the hotel has 2,300 square feet of meeting space, with rooms that can accommodate about 100 people.
Jurys Washington Hotel
Ireland’s largest hotel company owns and operates the very
Irish Jurys Washington Hotel in Dupont Circle, staffing its front desk, food service and many managerial positions with homegrown staff.
In addition to offering this aural décor, Jury’s aims to please the palate: Its Dupont Grille restaurant headed by chef Cornell Coulon has a contemporary and imaginative menu that includes vegetarian options, dishes for the health conscious, and offerings such as crispy whole fish with mussels, scallops and a Hijiki seaweed-yuzu broth. Dinner entrées run from $12 to $28. Lunch entrées start at $9. There are also indoor and outdoor eating areas that contrast glass and chrome in one setting with traditional comfort in the other. A breakfast buffet includes Irish dishes such as blood pudding.
The hotel’s lively Biddy Mulligan’s bar provides standard American pub food, but also adds shepherd’s pie, Irish grill and Guinness beef stew to the mix. Biddy Mulligan’s curved-glass windows are perfect for people watching or gazing at the park outside. The remaining bar décor is wood and wrought iron with Celtic themes. “The bar was made in Ireland and brought over,” explained Cathal McGlinchey, Jurys’ sales manager.
As befits a “Celtic tiger” experiencing high-tech-based economic growth, the hotel décor is a mixture of Old-World charm and bright contemporary flair. Jurys Washington has more than 300 guest rooms with king-size beds standard. There are five suites and a presidential suite on the top floor that includes a Jacuzzi and butler service. There is Internet access in every room, along with minibars, marble vanities and 24-hour access to the complimentary business and fitness centers. Room rates range from $166 to $315. Suites are $800.
“We offer embassies a preferential rate,” McGlinchey said, adding that those interested in the diplomat rates may contact him directly at (202) 797-0158.
According to McGlinchey, when President of Ireland Mary McAleese stays at the hotel, instead of opting for a presidential suite, she prefers to register anonymously, arrive unannounced and stay in a standard room.
Jury’s has 9,000 square feet of recently refurbished meeting space, which last month hosted groups belonging to the World Bank and the British Embassy. “We combine an Irish welcome with corporate service. We do a lot of business meetings, combining work and a bit of fun,” McGlinchey explained.
All of the hotels mentioned here provide guests with similar furnishings: traditional mahogany furniture upholstery in palettes of dusty rose and muted blue, and ornate eggshell-colored and patterned wallpaper. It all makes for a comfortable, though predictable look. All of the hotels’ restaurants and bars also offer plenty of rich dishes, large portions, and high-caloric, high-fat foods. The Dupont Grille at Jurys does the best job of offering healthy eating options, although the other hotel restaurants, such as Churchill’s Chartwell, with its exceptionally courteous staff, will prepare them on request.
Carolyn Cosmos is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.
