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W Hotels Worldwide debuts in the US capital
W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, unveils its first hotel in the U.S. Capital with the opening of W Washington D.C., the W brand’s 25th hotel in North America and 32nd globally. The closest hotel to the White House, W Washington D.C. offers a progressive point of view and reveals spectacular views from all sides of its 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue location. Owned by Nakheel Hotels, W Washington D.C. takes over the historic former Hotel Washington, which opened in 1917. The new W Hotel mixes the historic building’s Beaux Arts architecture with the edgy yet elegant designs of Los Angeles-based designer Dianna Wong, setting the stage for W’s fully integrated contemporary lifestyle experience, including POV (Point of View), the hotel’s destination rooftop bar and lounge, boasting unparalleled views of the White House and the city’s soaring monuments; W Living Room (W’s take on the traditional hotel lobby); and two firsts for Washington D.C.: J&G Steakhouse, from three-star Michelin Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Bliss Spa, offering manicures, pedicures, facials and massages in a fun, no-attitude atmosphere.

“W Washington D.C. is a global flagship for the W brand as we transform from an American phenomenon to a global powerhouse,” said Eva Ziegler, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide and Le Meridien. “The hotel will provide guests and locals alike with W’s unique signature programming set in a cool design environment that gives a contemporary nod to Washington’s long history and offers incomparable views of this most scenic U.S. city.”

Acclaimed designer Dianna Wong has preserved the history of the iconic Beaux Arts architecture of the iconic former Hotel Washington building while super-imposing W’s design style of vibrant colors, innovative textures, and cutting-edge elements that ring in a new era of modern glamour for both Washington’s power elite and jet setters alike. Guests first experience the contrast of Wong’s design as they walk through the F Street entrance doors, where they are welcomed by a digital fireplace, crackled paint, and deconstructed fixtures and artwork symbolizing “old Washington” and the deconstruction of the former Hotel Washington. In the W Living Room many of the building’s original architectural elements have been restored to their former luster, including famed plaster moldings, playful chandeliers and majestic arches. Wong’s duality of masculine and feminine power, or as she deems it, “pinstripes and lace,” serves as a design theme throughout the new hotel.

"It's been thrilling for me to work on the first W Hotel in the nation's capital," said Dianna Wong, principal at Dianna Wong Architecture and Interiors in Los Angeles. "The new Obama administration has brought a sense of excitement, elegance and youthful energy to Washington D.C. and this hotel captures those qualities. D.C. is the seat of power in America, but the insider knows that the dynamics of power in this town revolve around politics and pleasure. For me, this dance is symbolized by pinstripes and black lace, a duality between masculine and feminine - themes we use throughout the hotel. There is interplay here between history and fashion, classic and sleek, monumental and sublime” added Wong. Tatiana Rokou - Monday, August 03, 2009