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Washington Court Hotel

Washington Court Hotel

Washington, DC, is one of the must-see cities on everyone’s driving vacation along the United States east coast. Capitol Hill. The White House. The Smithsonian museums. There’s just so much to pack into a weekend!

And it was a special weekend for us, as we were also celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary on our trip. The hotel I selected had to meet a lot of requirements to meet our expectations.

First of course, it’s all about location. We’d already visited Boston and done the shuttle bus from the hotel and the subway experience, which while it was fun, ended up spending a lot of time just “getting there.” In Washington, I wanted to be much closer to the key attractions and a tour bus stop for exploring the rest of the city.

Scanning the list of Washington hotels, the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill came up as first choice. The Weekend Escape Package, valid only on Friday and Saturday nights, made it even more alluring!

Historic Union Station in Washington, DC.

Historic Union Station in Washington, DC.

My research through both Boston and Washington had made it abundantly clear that parking couldn’t be taken for granted. With rates often as high as $48 dollars a day, that could add considerable costs to my driving budget. Luckily, the Washington Court’s Weekend Escape Package included free parking. I was in.

Getting to the hotel was easier than I’d expected with noon day traffic in this large Eastern city (okay, I admit they’re all large when you come from a town with 700 people). Although check in wasn’t until later in the afternoon, the valet parked our car and stored our luggage for us so we could set off exploring the city. Following the valet’s instructions,  we found the the main terminal for the Big Bus tours at the historic Union Station just a couple of blocks away. While I’d known we were close when I made my reservation, I hadn’t realized how close.

Besides the beautiful architecture on the outside of Union Station, there’s a lot to offer on the inside! In fact, over 90,000 visitors go through its doors every day to enjoy more than 100 shops and 35+ different establishments offering international cuisine, of which we only got to sample a couple during our short stay.

Capitol Building

Capitol Building, Washington, DC. – just a few blocks from the Washington Court Hotel

After taking in our first attractions, we headed back  to check in at the hotel–staff were helpful and friendly–my reservation went smoothly.  We grabbed our bags and headed off to the 16th floor to put up our feet for a rest.

I don’t usually go on about elevators in a hotel, but with glass on one side so we could see the bottom falling away, this one was fun. My hubby especially enjoyed it, and he got to ride it a number of times as he had to trek outside to indulge in his smoking habit. But it wasn’t just the glass–the elevators were fast–swoosh and away. They were also obviously programmed to return to certain places, so we never had to wait for one no matter what time of the day or night we pushed the up or down button.

Room at the Washington Court Hotel

Our very comfortable room at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

In fact, it seemed that staff anticipated everything we might need, from that speedy elevator to turn down service. One thing that stood out for us was that everyone appeared to enjoy their jobs–I didn’t see a single grouchy maid or bored doorman. And I don’t know about you, but I always find that smiling staff make my day brighter.

Another thing that made my day with the Washington Court Weekend Escape Package was the two $50 gift certificates for their dining room or bar. We took advantage of the first one for dinner on Friday, then Saturday’s breakfast. Both meals were delicious, but I particularly enjoyed my pancakes and syrup. I’m not sure what a chef can do to make them so light and tasty (I’ll concede the maple syrup may have contributed to the sweetness factor), but sure wish I knew.

Before we knew it, our weekend had swooshed by, just like that elevator heading to the bottom floor, but we did get to explore everything on our list. And if we ever get to Washington again, we’ll be sure to revisit the Washington Court Hotel.

If you can’t visit Washington DC now, take a quick tour with this excellent YouTube video from Expedia.

 

Visit the Washington Court Hotel

The Washington Court Hotel is located at 525 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington DC. – http://washingtoncourthotel.com/

We’d like to thank the Washington Court Hotel for hosting us during our fall foliage leaf tour. The Washington Court was our first choice and we chose wisely!

 

 

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