D.C. on purpose
When Business Events Industry Week moved to Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., proper this year, I signed up for the full week. The Capital City was filled with new places to gather and new sights to see, and I definitely got my steps in doing site visits, going to after-parties and catching up with dear friends (you know who you are). Check this.
Meet and Stay
The Wharf is the shiny Abe Lincoln penny in town. What was previously the site of the oldest continuously operating open-air fish market in the United States, on the shores of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, is now a vibrant connection from the marina to dining, shopping and hotels plus L’Enfant Plaza with the Spy Museum and Smithsonian Museum attractions beyond Maine Ave.
InterContinental Washington D.C—The Wharf offers 278 comfortably contemporary guest rooms, 17,000 sq. ft. of event space with multiple elegant ballrooms and waterfront views from the rooftop pool.
Nearby, Pendry Washington DC—The Wharf offers a sophisticated artistic take on harbor hospitality with 131 guest rooms, 5,000 sq. ft. of distinctive indoor and outdoor terrace space and Japanese-inspired Moonraker rooftop bar. The art alone is worth ducking into for a lobby tour.
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Downtown, Capital Hilton recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of its 559-room Art Deco property.
In the Heart of CityCenter, Conrad Washington DC threw a curve when it opened in 2019 with an art-forward approach to contemporary luxury, 360 guest rooms, 32,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and seafood-focused Estuary signature restaurant. The LEED Gold status building undulates with glass walls offering District views in all directions.
A long-awaited transformation was the iconic Old Post Office between The White House and the U.S. Capitol on Pennsylvania Ave. into Waldorf Astoria Washington DC. The grand building dating back to 1899 reopened in 2022 with 263 guest rooms and 38,942 sq. ft. of meeting space replete with intricate architectural details, marble and gravitas.
Another art-filled stay is Hotel Zena, one of two Viceroy properties in the city. The 191-room renovation celebrates female empowerment with design, programming and wit. From the stiletto bedecked registration desk to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg mural made from 20,000 hand-painted tampons, the art is both Instagrammable and documented for further inquiry through QR codes on the walls.
While the Capital City is gloriously walkable with monuments and historic buildings seemingly around every corner, it is also a Mobility Innovation District on a quest to plan a human-centered model for transportation’s future.
If you take the short drive out to Bethesda, Maryland, you can visit the new headquarters of Marriott International and adjoining Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ hotel, a 245-room property with 13 model rooms that allow guests to stay in prototypes for new brand innovations.
Experience
If you didn’t get enough eye candy during your hotel stays, wander over to newly renovated The National Museum of Women in the Arts in the elegant 1908 Classic Revival-style building on New York Ave. Large-format ideas in all mediums highlight the works of female creatives often overlooked in mainstream museums. It also offers room for receptions of up to 1,000 people.
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Nearby, Planet Word brings language to life through immersive experiences in the historic Franklin School building designed by Adolf Cluss in 1869. This voice-activated museum offers indoor and outdoor space for your own wordplay.
This article appears in the May/June 2024 issues. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
