Guest room at The Jefferson

Happy Memorial Day!  On this national holiday intended to honor our troops, I thought it might be night for me to highlight a hotel here in our nation’s capital.  Last week I celebrated my birthday by doing the two things I love most – eating and exploring hotels!

For my birthday staycation, I wanted to stay at a historic hotel.  In a city like Washington, DC – where key moments in history have been happening literally for centuries – it’s so cool to be able to stay at a hotel that has hosted presidents, kings, prime ministers and/or celebrities.  I chose to check out The Jefferson for a few reasons.  One is because it was the perfect fit for a story I’m working on, and second, because it is one of the few historic hotels in DC that is independently owned.  I have absolutely nothing against chain hotels and in fact, I’ve found that in my research of the historic hotels in DC that are owned by chains, the integrity of the hotel is maintained quite well…but there’s something to be said for a family-owned historic property.

Lobby

In my research, I visited two other historic hotels and The Jefferson had the biggest impact on me by FAR.  Everything about the décor at The Jefferson was so thoughtful, elegant and refined.  The lobby area and public hallways were sprinkled with signed documents by Thomas Jefferson, portraits and artifacts from Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection as well as pieces of art from the personal collection of the family that now owns the hotel.  My favorite public area was the “Book Room” which was only available for use by hotel guests and was a replica of a book room at Monticello.  The walls were lined with books that were copies of volumes that Jefferson had in his home, and there was an entire wall of books by authors that have stayed at the hotel.  How cool is that?!

The Book Room

The rooms were unbelievably spacious and were the perfect example of unpretentious luxury.  Little touches like the television built into the bathroom mirror and the drapes that were designed with blueprints of Monticello literally made me applaud.  We dined at Quill, the dark and cozy bar, lounge and grill.  Other guests were sure to take advantage of the outdoor patio at Quill so they could watch the movers and shakers on 16th street.  I took a quick tour of the fine-dining restaurant, Plume, which was so gorgeous, yet understated.  Although Plume is definitely a romantic restaurant, I could tell that power deals were being made of plates of Fois Gras Terrine.

Quill

Have a look at the album below!  What did you do this Memorial Day weekend? Have you ever gone on a “staycation”? What did you do?