Cue the President: A New 'W' Comes to Town

Photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks "Cue the President!" Catering Director Mariam Karim (right) of the new W Hotel Washington said recently when Marine One lifted off from the South Lawn of the White House. Standing with her is marketing associate Kaitlyn Ferrara, left.

Catering Director Mariam Karim of Starwood Hotels and Resorts was showing off the new zippy rooftop at the W Hotel Washington recently, pointing out the panoramic views of the Mall, Washington Monument and White House when suddenly the giant Sikorsky helicopter known as Marine One lifted off from the South Lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
 

Photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks "I think we'll bring a new energy to the city," said General Manager Edward Baten, as he led a hard hat tour of the new W recently for a reporter. "We get to keep the best of the historical elements of an old hotel and combine it with today's modern design."

"Cue the President!" she joked to her client, as President Barack Obama and his family headed off for a weekend at Camp David. "We've got pretty good neighbors."
 
When the new W Hotel opens next week at the corner of 15th & E Streets NW in the District, a new definition of hip will arrive in the nation's capital, a place next to the White House where historic Italian Renaissance stands to meet modern cool.
 
The new W replaces the oldest hotel in town, The Hotel Washington, which has been in various stages of decay over the past decade. The old hotel began construction in 1917 and was completed in 1924, during the second administration of Calvin Coolidge.
 
In its later years its rooftop terrace with incomparable views provided the backdrop for such movies as "The Godfather: Part II" and "No Way Out." When the hotel finally closed on Dec. 31, 2007, one woman, still working part-time in human resources, had been working there for 72 years.
 
During that time she and others served some very famous guests, from John Wayne to Duke Ellington to Will Rogers in the earlier days, to Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise in recent years. Several Cabinet secretaries and members of Congress have lived in the hotel, including former treasury secretary Paul O'Neill.
 

Photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks On the top floor, the new W maximizes what many have longed described as the best views in the city, with panoramic views of the Treasury Dept., White House, Washington Monument and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Elvis Presley apparently once stayed in room 506 for a week in 1970, staying there for as long as it took to secure an appointment with President Nixon to become a "Federal Agent at Large."
 
The old hotel is steeped in tradition and history.
 
For decades, the Rotary Club of Washington hosted weekly lunches there, and it was home to the Masons for 50 years. It also served as the official home of the Hillary Clinton Fan Club, and was the overnight home to the turkeys brought to the White House each year seeking presidential pardons.

In 2006, a Dubai-based company, Istithmar Hotels, bought the hotel and set out in early 2008 to transform it into a sleeker, luxury hotel with all the modern flair and amenities.

"I think we'll bring a new energy to the city," said General Manager Edward Baten, as he led a hard hat tour of the new W recently for a reporter. He added that the W's arrival is the "perfect complement" to the arrival of the new administration of Barack Obama.
 
"We get to keep the best of the historical elements of an old hotel and combine it with today's modern design," he said. "We're adding an accent and some vibrancy to it."
 

Photo by John Arundel/Local Kicks Renderings of the old Hotel Washington sit in the architect's office of the new W Hotel.

Baten grew up in the District, attending DeMatha High School and graduating from Howard University before rising through the ranks to GM of W Hotels in Chicago and New York. "This is home for me. It's great to be back home at the best hotel in DC."
 
The W, he says, is all about style, innovation and stately indulgence.
 
After an 18-month, $100 million makeover of the old, crusty Hotel Washington, Baten and his Sales and Marketing Director Bruce Sorenson, who previously directed marketing at the oh-so-cool Westin Hotel Alexandria, say they are reaching out to all "style senators" in the region, hosting a series of pre-opening events recently branding the hotel with the region's elites and opinion-makers.
 
The new W leaves little doubt that the Congress of Cool is in session, from its world-class signature restaurant and rooftop bar and terrace with unprecedented views of the city to its state-of-the-art fitness center and luxurious Bliss spa.
 
Baten describes the lobby as a "giant living room," with 20-foot ceilings, large columns, cathedral windows with plantation shutters, chandeliers and small spaces for intimate meetings. For instance, the hotel's designers cleverly converted an old bank cage into a small living room with overstuffed couches, a secret space for private meetings behind the teller.
 
"One of the things we do with the W is create these different spaces," Sorenson said. "I think we're really different than any of the other boutique hotels in the city, who may be following the same formula that worked elsewhere. We bring a modern luxury to an old hotel while still keeping the grandest traditions of the nation's capital."
 
The new W has 317 rooms, 32 suites and "one extreme 'wow' suite" Sorenson said, which could fetch as much as $10,000 per night. The rooms and suites feature the plush W bed, fully wired technology, in-room entertainment, something called a "Munchie Box" and W's signature Whatever/Whenever service. Some of the cozy rooms have faux chocolate-colored alligator skin covering the walls, with bowl sinks in the bathroom and an outdoor interior wall which Sorenson said would flash images or old movies against it.
 
Part of the design narrative of arched windows, crown moldings and fabrics with silk lace patterns is Washington as a serious, but playful place. "It's a dance between the pinstripe and the négligé, which some would say is the ultimate power suit," Sorenson said playfully.
 
Besides the too-cool-for-school crowd, Sorenson said the W will be reaching for the "staycation" and "chick weekend" check-ins, a concept made famous by writer Candace Bushnell who advocates that a posse of 6-7 women should get away from the kids, husbands and carpools for a weekend to have a "whatever, whenever, whimsical, women weekend."
 
To accomodate these travelers, a 2,400 square foot spa named Bliss has been created in the basement, with four treatment rooms and four manicure and pedicure stations. However, "We don't do hair," Sorenson said.
 
Nearby, there's of course a hidden entrance for VIPs to check-in or return to the hotel.
 
On the top floor, the new W maximizes what many have longed described as the best views in the city (the Hay Adams Hotel might disagree with that), with its Sky Terrace, Point of View rooftop bar and terrace, Ultra Bar and rooftop ballroom for 100-person weddings or smaller functions.
 
The Great Room, or ballroom, is only about 6,500 square feet, which Sorenson said accomodates the new frugality of convention and meeting planners who during the recession are trending towards smaller meet-ups.
 
The hotel opens July 8.
 
To see a Flickr Slide Show of the new W Hotel Washington under construction, click here:
 
Contact the writer at jarundel@localkicks.com