The hotly anticipated Capella Washington, D.C., Georgetown officially opened its doors last week, and with its induction into D.C.’s hotel scene comes a slew of new luxury offerings, from an onsite stylist to a personal assistant who will customize your experience. Plus, with only 49 rooms and 12 suites and a location in the ritzy Georgetown neighborhood, the property feels ultra-exclusive. Here are five other things to know — and love — about Capella D.C.:
1. Your guest room is just the beginning. “We are not just a hotel room; we are an experience,” Capella Chairman and CEO (and general hospitality mastermind) Horst Schulze told me in an exclusive interview at the hotel’s ribbon cutting. “Guests coming around Christmas might want a walk-on role in The Nutcracker, and our association with the Washington Ballet allows us to offer that.” As one of only two U.S. hotels offering a resident stylist, Capella D.C. arranges private after-hours shopping at chic boutiques, or brings in clothes and jewelry to peruse without leaving your room. Prefer to browse on your own? Stylist April Yvonne can simply let a boutique know you’re coming for frequent-shopper treatment. In-room spa treatments and Pilates instruction are available for wellness addicts.
2. There’s a private living room for hotel guests. Being in the middle of bustling Georgetown necessitates a little down time. “Our customer wants a lot of activity around them, a lot of choices, but also a lot of privacy and to be left alone when they want to be alone,” Schulze, the former president of Ritz-Carlton, explained. The Capella Living Room (for hotel guests only, standard in all Capella properties) boasts a two-story onyx fireplace and parquet floor reclaimed from a European castle. A livelier scene is available just outside of its glass doors at The Rye Bar, open to the public with cocktails and rare rye whiskeys with your choice of ices (chips from a block, stainless steel cold cubes or hand-pressed spheres).
3. It’s a great spot to watch fireworks. Capella D.C.’s roof deck and pool overlook the C&O Canal and Potomac River and are, blessedly, for guests only. (Washingtonians love a roof scene but deplore the crowds that usually come with it.) On July 4, this outdoor living room comes alive with a direct view of the colorful light show over the Washington Monument. It’s worth booking a room just to watch from here, artisanal cocktail in hand (the roof has two bars). An Independence Day package includes open bar and a four-course rooftop dinner.
4. It offers customized service. Prior to a stay, a Capella personal assistant calls each guest for food allergies, travel plans, preferences and specific needs. This translates into a stocked, personalized complimentary in-room drink and snack pantry. “When we talk about luxury, it’s not a big lobby and chandeliers; it’s personal individualized quality attention, like being in your childhood home and everything is done for you,” Schulze says. Furry friends are not only welcome, they are provided with a cushy bed (in various sizes to fit Maltese to Mastiff) and toys.
5. You can experience top-notch dining onsite. The Grill Room at Capella D.C. offers refined meals in an unfussy dining room, and on sunny days the canal-side patio tables are among the most picturesque in Georgetown. From the bacon and Parmesan marrow bone to the small-bites dessert cart with tiny key lime pies and crème brûlée in hollowed-out egg shells, renowned Swedish chef Jakob Esko uses local ingredients to reinforce Capella’s connection to D.C. Breakfast brings hand-pressed juices made-to-order, from blood orange to combinations like carrot-ginger-lime. A second cart rolls by with 10 champagnes by the glass, including Veuve Cliquot Grande Dame — c’est incroyable.
Photos Courtesy of Capella Washington D.C. Georgetown
