The Watergate Hotel is back!
In fact, it's a lot like it never went anywhere.
Even a cursory student of history knows the details about "Watergate," the scandal that doomed then-President Richard Nixon and launched the careers of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein-not to mention created a "-gate" suffix for any major or minor scandal into perpetuity.
What some may not know is that The Watergate Complex was the happening place during that era of Washington, D.C.'s history.
Numerous buildings designed as a self-contained, hip complex hosted the city's business during the day and its real business at night. It's in that frame of reference that the country's biggest scandal happened because it was at the very place where anything that was anything happened.
Times change, however.
After the scandal, it's funny how image-conscious people like politicians didn't want to be associated with a word, "Watergate," that literally screamed corruption. So, offices moved away and the infrastructure that supported those businesses and businessmen languished almost into obscurity.
As such, the Foggy Bottom neighborhood is no longer the place to be in Washington. Steps away from the Potomac River, the buildings are dated along the undulating riverside and the business of the city has long since moved on to newer and better areas both inside and outside of D.C.
That is, until now.
Closed since 2007, The Watergate Hotel reopened only a year ago and is immediately back on the map as one of the premier luxury hotels in the capital. It is, all at once, a trip back to the 1970s combined with a cutting-edge flair needed to compete with the best hotels in a travel-heavy city.
This novice historian's favorite part: The hotel embraces the Watergate past in a way the city could not have appreciated only years ago.
Whether it's simply the lapse of time or the growing cynicism over political theater, the branding of the hotel plays with the history of the location in a way that previously only could have been done in hushed whispers.
Hotel keys feature the unofficial motto of the property: "No need to break in." Pens and pencils invite their way into your carry on with "I stole this from The Watergate Hotel" emblazoned proudly upon them. The hotel "rules" on elevator placards remind you to "make sure the recorder is off."
[CALLOUT]
Is it kitsch? Sure, but intentionally and delightfully so, done in such a way as to invite guests to play along-snickering as they enjoy first-class luxury that is both new and somehow feels timeless.
Everything in The Watergate is styled with two things in mind: the river outside and the period into which the hotel was once placed on that riverfront.
Walking into the hotel, one is almost physically pulled in by the golden curves of the front desk and columns that dot the lobby. All of the furniture looks like it was straight out of your parent's first home-yet, notably, most certainly more comfortable. The color scheme, too, screams middle-of-the-century luxury with deep red hues and gold.
It is difficult to find a public space in the hotel that doesn't feature both a magnificent view of the river and a design that entirely reminds one of the same.
The library meeting space is not only a step back in time due to its style, but even the reading material is curated to feature books from the time or that hearken back to the ethos of the counterculture.
"The Next Whisky Bar" is retro not only in its form and function-reminding one of how many backroom deals had been brokered in previous whisky bars-but even the name is a homage to The Doors' version of "Alabama Song" (released in 1967, the same year the hotel originally opened).
The rooms feature more of the excellent views and tasteful steps back in time. Appointments are comfortable and business forward, perfect for the clientele they serve. Upstairs, the suites are palatial and fit for a king-literally, because kings and emissaries have stayed there. Downstairs, the spa and fitness centers have become a destination unto themselves, drawing neighbors from around the city (much like the bars and restaurants).
Each time I've been to Washington, D.C., I've stayed in very nice hotels, but the mystique of The Watergate makes one feel like they can never stay anywhere else during subsequent visits. The hotel is very much part of the city's charm for anyone who has stayed there.
That was the case so many years ago, and it is clearly true once again today.
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