Mike and I fell in love with The Fairmont during our recent trip to Washington, D.C. We only live about 40 minutes away, but for years we’ve been ignoring our nation’s capital. Maybe it seemed silly to be a tourist some place so close, like actually putting on makeup or pants to go to the Subway around the corner. Year after year we took the train to New York to get a taste of city life, when we had a culinary and cultural hot spot like D.C. just down the road. What fools we’ve been. And choosing a gem like The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. as our home away from home was like being rewarded for being idiots for years.
Planning our trip, we decided searching for a hotel in Georgetown D.C. seemed like a good idea. Georgetown has an extensive shopping area, boasting over 450 stores and restaurants, and it is short cab ride (or long walk) to the Smithsonian museums and historic sites like the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and the White House. A quick stop at Trip Advisor put a laser focus on The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. All the reviewers seemed to love The Farimont, and from the moment we arrived, we could see why. The staff was helpful and friendly, the lobby area was majestic and their stunning flower-strewn courtyard was drop-dead gorgeous. Our room was large and clean and I immediately felt the urge to sell my suburban home and lead a new, urbane lifestyle filled with smiling doormen and cheerful housekeeping.
Then we ordered two delicious burgers from The Fairmont’s Juniper Restaurant, and I realized having access to room service would mean eating myself to death within a year.
Why The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. is the Bee’s Knees
For one: Approximately 660,000 actual bee’s knees.
The Fairmont newsletter in our room said they had “bees on the rooftop,” and suggested guests try the BeeTini featuring fresh honeycomb. At first I thought the whole rooftop bee bit was just a cute way of saying they had a rooftop bar with honey-based cocktails, but they were serious: There are actual bees on the roof. In an inspired green initiative to help to ease the nation’s Honey Bee shortage, The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. welcomed 105,000 Italian honey bees to their rooftop hives in May of 2009. You can tell they’re Italian bees because they gesture a lot with their hands when they talk. So, no rooftop bar, but Italian honey bees probably have a wine cellar in the hives somewhere. And the honey they produce is in everything from cocktails, to the restaurant’s menu items, to lip balm sold in the gift store.
1. It’s gorgeous and the staff is 5-star. Between the courtyard and the other rooms it’s the perfect place for a wedding, a business meeting, or just kicking back with some BeeTinis.
2. Don’t take my word for it, The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. has been featured in movies like Enemy of the State with Will Smith, and was Nicolas Cage’s home while he filmed National Treasure. If they can keep a lovable loon like Nick Cage happy, you should be a breeze.
3. TIP! If you join the Fairmont President’s Club (free) you get a complimentary paper in the morning and free Wi-Fi access, so there’s no reason not to fill out that little form at the front desk.
4. The Fairmont in Georgetown D.C. couldn’t be greener if it were run by elves. In addition to the bees, they have an herb garden in the courtyard, recycling trashcans in the rooms, and various water and energy saving programs that have earned it a 5 Green Key rating through the Green Key Eco-Rating Program for the last three years.
5. Their chef, Ian Bens, is super cool. He heard us talking about his much-loved bees and stopped by to say “hi” and show us that his chef’s jacket fit him much better since he started doing CrossFit in the hotel’s amazing workout center. The man feeds me a burger and then shows me how thin he is. Nice.
6. That gym, which includes a professionally run CrossFit service, has a pool and what felt like about 3 million feet of space and workout machines. Suddenly, my new workout regiment, which consisted of buying a balance ball to sit on at my desk, felt like a bit of a cop-out.
7. Located at 2401 M Street, NW, The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. is convenient to the finest museums, theaters (including the Kennedy Center), shopping and dining. Close to two metro stations, it is five miles from Reagan National Airport and 33 miles from Dulles International Airport.
8. They’re dog-friendly. The Fairmont Hotel has a high tea for dogs and are dog-friendly in general. They also have a “It’s a Dog’s World” package: Every time a guest checks in with a dog or cat in tow, The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. donates five-percent of their room rate to the Washington Animal Rescue League.
9. In addition to Dog Tea, The Fairmont offers all sorts of fun packages, like a Scandal package inspired by the ABC’s hit television series and a Sunday Supper Club.
10. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts also has over 70 other properties, so you don’t even have to come to D.C. to find one. There might be one just a few miles from you!
So… vacation is over and I am back in my humble abode staring at leftovers in my fridge. Meanwhile, the luxury of The Fairmont Hotel in Georgetown D.C. is less than an hour away.
*sigh*
Do you think they’d mind if I just moved in? What if I brought my own shower cap? I could be like Eloise at the Plaza, except wearing suspenders and a bow I’d look more like Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.
But, take this into consideration, Fairmont: since Eloise was based on a young Liza Minnelli, I might actually be easier on the minibars.