W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, will debut in the nation’s capital this summer with the opening of W Washington D.C. As the closest hotel to the White House, W Washington D.C. will usher in a new age of modern glamour. Acclaimed designer Dianna Wong has reimagined the historic Hotel Washington, infusing bright colors and contemporary design while preserving the building’s Beaux Arts architecture, setting the stage for W Hotels’ fully integrated lifestyle experience. Owned by Nakheel Hotels, W Washington D.C. will introduce two firsts to the District: a signature Bliss® spa and three star Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s J&G Steakhouse. The hotel’s 317 stylishly designed guestrooms, including 23 Marvelous suites, seven WOW suites, and an Extreme WOW suite (W’s reinterpretation of the traditional Presidential Suite), will all incorporate Wong’s neo-romantic designs found throughout the property.
“W Washington D.C. will be a destination like no other in the greatest capital city in the world,” said Ed Baten, General Manager, W Washington D.C. “With a location amidst the Washington power complex, spectacular views from all sides, and our impeccable Whatever/Whenever service promise, W Washington D.C. will epitomize Capital Cool.”
Los Angeles-based designer Dianna Wong is preserving the history of this iconic 1888 building while transforming the interiors with vibrant color, innovative textures, and designs that will ring in a new era of modern glamour for both Washington’s power elite and jet setters alike. Guests will first experience the contrast of Wong’s design as they enter the W living room (the brand’s twist on the traditional hotel lobby), where many of the building’s original architectural elements are being restored to their former luster, including famed plaster moldings and majestic arches. The historic room will be juxtaposed with a digital fireplace, modern décor elements, and a DJ spinning the latest tunes as day turns into night.
“It’s been thrilling for me to work on the first W hotel in the nation’s capital,” says Dianna Wong, principal at Dianna Wong Architecture and Interiors in Los Angeles. “The new Obama administration has brought a sense of excitement, elegance and youthful energy to Washington D.C. and this hotel captures those qualities. D.C. is the seat of power in America, but the insider knows that the dynamics of power in this town revolve around politics and pleasure. For me, this dance is symbolized by pinstripes and black lace, a duality between masculine and feminine – themes we use throughout the hotel. The original Washington Hotel’s Beaux Arts architecture is a great backdrop for its renewal as a W hotel. It will be exclusive, sophisticated and chic but never trendy. There is interplay here between history and fashion, classic and sleek, monumental and sublime. Visually, this new W hotel is a delicate balance of restraint and sensuality.”
J&G Steakhouse, the signature restaurant by world-acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, will be the chef’s first foray into the burgeoning Washington cuisine scene. Infusing creative cuisine and contemporary design to create the new power meal in D.C., J&G Steakhouse will offer sophisticated steakhouse classics with a worldly twist. Hotel guests and local loyalists will be able to enjoy Vongerichten’s award-winning cuisine whether relaxing in-room, dining among D.C.’s elite, or attending a star-studded event held at the hotel.
The famed rooftop terrace, once the most popular destination for presidents, politicos, and Washington’s power set, has for decades provided what are known as the best views of the White House lawn and the city’s soaring historic monuments. As the lights go on at W Washington D.C. this summer, the rooftop lounge will return, reinterpreted as a modern Moroccan-inspired destination bar with striking red décor to complement the night sky, floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the city, and an outdoor bar reconfigured with higher awnings, offering even more spectacular views.
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W Washington D.C. will feature more than 12,000 square feet of ultra-modern meeting and event space, including The Great Room (W’s take on a grand ballroom) and Altitude Ballroom, which will overlook the Washington cityscape. Wong’s design of The Great Room, with a capacity to hold 700 guests, will reflect the glamour of the 1920s, featuring a dramatic staircase at the entrance, striking chandeliers and glimmering columns throughout. Altitude Ballroom, located next to the stylish rooftop lounge, will have a capacity for 220 guests and is already becoming the capital’s most in-demand wedding destination.
W Washington D.C. will feature the city’s first Bliss® spa, providing guests and local loyalists with signature spa treatments, a luxe nail lounge and the brand’s famous brownie buffet. Other amenities at W Washington D.C. will include SWEAT, state-of-the-art fitness center; WIRED business center; 24-hour in-room dining; and dry cleaning, laundry and valet services. All guestrooms and suites will feature state-of-the-art entertainment options, including flat-screen LCD TV, docking station for MP3 players and Tivoli radio, fully wired technology, fully stocked Munchie Box (W Hotels’ re-interpretation of the traditional hotel Mini Bar), and the W signature bed with feather-top mattress, 350 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and goose down comforter for the ultimate urban escape. Located at 515 15th Street, NW, W Washington D.C. will also offer the brand’s signature Whatever/Whenever® service promise, providing guests with whatever they want – from a private guided tour of the White House to private jet service from Reagan National – whenever they want it, as long as it’s legal!
“Whether you’re lounging in the living room among Washington’s power players, soaking in the views with a cocktail on the rooftop terrace, or relaxing in your suite before a night out on the town, W Washington D.C. will be the one place that seamlessly brings together the worlds of politics, pleasure, fashion and design, all just steps from the White House,” said Baten.
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More than a hotel brand, W Hotels has established itself as an iconic lifestyle brand, offering guests unprecedented insider access to a world of “Wow” through contemporary cool design, fashion, nightlife, celebrities, entertainment and other. W Hotels has forever changed the hospitality landscape with a series of industry firsts in the past 10 years, including: the transformation of the hotel lobby into the W living room experience; the introduction of the W brand’s signature Whatever/Whenever service promise as a vehicle to fulfill every guest’s dreams; extension of the lifestyle experience into retail through W Hotels the Store; a sensorial multiplex experience with branded W CD compilations released each year; the reinterpretation of the hotel mini-bar into the W Munchie Box to present the brand’s lifestyle point of view; and the reinvention of the presidential suite into W’s “Extreme Wow” and “Wow” suites.
