Washington D.C. Moves Outdoors As The Cherry Blossoms Kiss The Shamrocks
by Cheryl Rosen /
It’s not often that the cherry blossoms bud while the shamrocks are still in season. But in a year when global temperatures are running seven degrees above normal, that’s just what is about to happen in Washington D.C. And while it may be a surprise, the hotel industry is on the case, set to roll out a slew of new outdoor spaces—and Chery Blossom special pricing—so visitors can take in the views.
Representatives from major properties and Destination DC were on hand at Vandal on the Bowery in New York last night to tell the tales.
“1958 was the last time the cherry blossoms bloomed the week of March 15—but it’s a perfect time to celebrate DC as a springtime destination,” said Diana Mayhew, president of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
After a $16-million renovation, the Four Seasons Hotel, for example, boasts three outdoor spaces for weddings and corporate meetings, and two restaurants—the Seasons Restaurant and Bourbon Steak—have outdoor patios, said Lilliana Baldassari. (The city’s only five-star, five-Diamond property, it also has six presidential Suites, one of them bulletproof. Who knew?)
At the Marriott Marquis, the 4,500-square-foot Marriott Club claims to offer “the best views in Washington,” but is open only to Marriott Rewards platinum and gold members, said Mark Moore. But the new Arroz restaurant, serving the food of Southern Spain, is opening March 20—and the urban bar has a “fabulous patio.” There’s also 8,000 square feet of brand-new meeting space, and the bi-level fitness center is the largest in the city.
The Watergate Hotel will be opening a new rooftop bar, Top of the Gate, in early April, with food and “fun new beverage offerings.”
The Fairmont Washington DC, Georgetown, which just completed a major renovation project that added two new outdoor spaces with cozy firepits, also has a special suite package for families eager to see the blossoms, said Diana Bulger.
Chinyere Hubbard, VP of communications and marketing at Events DC, said business here is hot as well. “We’re having new kinds of meetings and conventions we’ve never had before, like Otakon, a sort of small Comicon that has outgrown Baltimore and moved to DC,” as well as medical meetings, a Microsoft convention of about 20,000 attendees that is returning, and the travel industry’s IPW, which will be here in June. And the lucrative international business—which makes up 9% of the visitors to Washington, but 27% of the spend—is up as well.
“We draw a strong audience because Washington is walkable, easy to get, and has the feel of a European city,” she said. “And $11.8 billion in development has helped; the opening of the 1,200-room Marriott Marquis connected to the convention center and hundreds of new restaurants has made larger meetings easier to handle.
Even the mayor, Muriel Bowser, showed up for the party. What’s the hardest part of the job? “The volume of big decisions I have to make—the huge financial decision and the smaller human ones,” she said. “But I feel perfectly suited to it.”