For a very different hotel experience, try Capella Washington, D.C., a boutique hotel in the heart of Georgetown only blocks from the busy intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. The property opened in March 2013, after the six-story brick building that once housed the American Trial Lawyers Association was gutted and redesigned.
With only 49 rooms and 12 suites, the hotel has the feel of an upscale apartment building. An inviting private “Living Room” on the ground level has comfortable sofas and armchairs, an oversized marble fireplace, curated bookshelves and complimentary nonalcoholic beverages. The rooftop level of the building has a swim-through indoor/outdoor pool, fitness center and alfresco lounge and sun deck.
Only two areas of the hotel are open to nonguests: The Grill Room is an intimate fine-dining restaurant with a terrace overlooking the C&O canal; The Rye Bar is a trendy cocktail lounge. With clubby leather chairs, backlit honey onyx bar and retro “Mad Men”-era feel, the bar has a warm ambience and creative craft cocktails (featuring rye, whiskey and bourbon) that draw hordes of locals.
This month, chef Frank Ruta took over the kitchen at Capella. The James Beard Award-winning chef previously worked at the White House for 10 years, serving the families of Presidents Carter, Reagan and H.W. Bush and also was the owner/chef of the popular D.C. eatery Palena, now closed.
Each hotel guest is assigned a personal concierge (to help with sightseeing suggestions, reservations, transportation, etc.). Check-in and checkout times are flexible. In the tastefully decorated, technology-rich guest rooms, lights and drapes are controlled from bedside switches. In-room facials, massages and body treatments are available.
The hotel borders the tow path of the scenic C&O canal and is two blocks from Washington Harbour, a revitalized waterfront offering panoramic views of the Kennedy Center, the Watergate, the Key Bridge and northern Virginia across the Potomac River. With cobblestone streets and historic row houses dating to the mid-1700s, the Georgetown neighborhood was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967.
Capella Washington, D.C., 1050 31st St NW, capellahotels.com/washingtondc/georgetown. Rates start at $595 per room.
