Washington Hoteliers Hope To Capitalize On Biz Travel
<B> Washington Hoteliers Hope To Capitalize On Biz Travel</B>
By Barbara Cook
<I>Washington</I> - A new downtown hotel targeting the business traveler is slated to open in April 2000. The St. Gregory, located at 20th and M streets, will offer 100 suites and 50 deluxe hotel rooms. The top three floors of the nine-story property will be designated club floors and will be available only to guests with special keys, according to Hector Torres, vice president of Capital Hotels of Washington, which is developing and will manage the new property. Capital Hotels already operates two other hotels in the city.
Special amenities for the three club floors will include a lounge offering a deluxe continental breakfast, as well as evening cocktails and refreshments; a third phone line for each guest room, and a concierge responsible only for the club floors. A second concierge to handle the needs of other guests also will be provided. In addition, the hotel will offer exercise facilities, a business center, a restaurant featuring outdoor dining, conference/banquet facilities for up to 200 persons and underground parking.
Torres said that room prices will range from $189 to $269. A presidential suite on the top floor will be priced at $500. He noted that the hotel's attraction to business travelers will be its "ideal location" at the edge of Georgetown, in the central business community and near the Metro subway system. The design of the property will be contemporary, Torres added.
In other hotel news, the 415-room Washington Monarch Hotel, formerly the ANA Hotel, has completed a $12 million redesign project that included guest rooms and meeting facilities. All guest rooms now have multiple phone lines with dataports as well as large desks.
The renovations will continue in January 2000 when the hotel begins the redesign of its auditorium to add acoustical wall panels, custom mahogany-stained millwork desks, ergonomic chairs and dataports at each seat.
The Monarch, in the city's West End adjacent to Georgetown, is managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts.
Executive Club Suites, which are designed for extended-stay business guests, has three locations in Northern Virginia that are promoting a special short-term rate of $50 per night, valid Nov. 1 through Jan. 31, 2000, for guests staying at least 90 days. Rates normally begin at $139 per night.
Executive Club Suites properties now offering the rate are located in Alexandria, near Reagan National Airport; Rosslyn, across the river from Georgetown; and Arlington.