Spiral Stairs Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Let's say you and your spouse have decided to celebrate your anniversary by spending one night at a local DC hotel and having one blow-out dinner at the well-respected restaurant located in such hotel. It will be just the two of you. (And perhaps your infant son, who will be tended to by a hired babysitter while you are drinking, dining, strolling around, and otherwise celebrating.) Let's further say that you have narrowed the field to the three obvious choices: (1) Ritz-Carlton + Maestro; (2) Mandarin Oriental + CityZen; (3) Latham Hotel + Citronelle. And let's further say that neither you nor your spouse have ever been to any of those restaurants or the hotels in which they are located. Which would you choose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Citronelle. Better strolling opportunities before and after supper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithstg Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Citronelle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hersch Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Citronelle. Better strolling opportunities before and after supper. Excellent point! While a stroll on M Street is not very appealing, the canal tow path is a few steps in the other direction. The strolling options at Tyson's Corner or the bleak area around the Mandarin Oriental are appalling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giant shrimp Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Citronelle. i would choose citronelle for you, but i have chosen maestro for myself, since we have never been there and are not staying at the hotel afterwards. the area around the mandarin oriental hotel is as dead as pavement after dark, i would imagine, but this might be the best (offbeat) hotel choice; there are nice views of the river and the capitol if you wander around the block and i love the nearby back buildings of the department of agriculture. the mall after dark is quite romantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiveturk21 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 I agree with everyone else, Citronelle and the Latham is your choice, hands down. If you don't plan on leaving the hotel at all, you could go to any of them, but Georgetown offers a lot more than the other areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiral Stairs Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share Posted May 16, 2007 I don't know how much time we'll spend outside the hotel. We both enjoy the decadence of a truly luxurious room, which makes the room itself part of the "getaway," without doubt. It has been suggested to me that a room at the Four Seasons coupled with dinner at Citronelle would provide the best of both worlds, albeit not with the convenience of one-stop shopping. It's an enticing possibility... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hm212 Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Let's further say that you have narrowed the field to the three obvious choices: (1) Ritz-Carlton + Maestro; (2) Mandarin Oriental + CityZen; (3) Latham Hotel + Citronelle.I can tell you the Spa at the Ritz Carlton is great. I have not been to the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baczkowski Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 I don't know how much time we'll spend outside the hotel. We both enjoy the decadence of a truly luxurious room, which makes the room itself part of the "getaway," without doubt. It has been suggested to me that a room at the Four Seasons coupled with dinner at Citronelle would provide the best of both worlds, albeit not with the convenience of one-stop shopping. It's an enticing possibility... When we went to Citronelle earlier this year, we stayed at the Latham but our room was far from luxurious. We were so exhausted and drunk from food and libation, however, that proximity to a bed was far more valuable than the quality of the room, and sleeping in was our greatest desire. Unfortunately, we were also awoken at 7AM on a Saturday morning to the crashing sounds of trash pickup, which lasted for almost an hour. To the hotel's credit, though (since the city controls trash pickup), they did comp our parking, which wasn't a totally small gesture at $35 a night. Don't know if this helps in your decision making... Pax, Brian P.S. The Latham did afford us the possibility of trying Pizza Paradiso the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngfood Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 When we went to Citronelle earlier this year, we stayed at the Latham but our room was far from luxurious. I had a similar experience when taken there a few year ago. As a hotel, I don't think it's in the same class as the other two. Foodwise, you can't go wrong with your options. If you want a lux hotel, I'd do one of the other two, otherwise I'd pick based on which restaurant you most want to try. Maestro is a little different from the other two in that it is an Italian menu. Cityzen is a more modern chic environs. All three offer amazing dining experiences. Have fun and let us know how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 To think 10 years ago in DC, one would not be afforded so many luxurious choices. Enjoy your choice and be sure to post your findings! (You can't go wrong with any of the listed three.) *Honorable mention: Dinner at Minibar, hang out in Penn Quarter for post-dinner cocktails (Poste, Zola, Zaytinya, etc...) and spend the night in the Hotel Monaco (only blocks away). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 My wife and I splurged and did a night at the Mandarin on our anniversary. The location is not ideal for bar hopping. But it is right next to the tidal basin, which is a much more romantic walk than G-Town IMO. Better bring 2 wallets though, my wife and I did not exactly go wild with food and drink, and the evening cost in the range of $600, which is alot for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monavano Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Just for another idea for you or anyone else out there who may want to couple a great dining and hotel option: Old Town Alexandria for great strolling, the PX for a cocktail as you are dressed to the nines, the Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve for an amazing dining experience, and the Morrison House for one classy and charming hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Another option: King Size room at Hotel Topaz (if you like the boutique hotel thing) and a stroll to Komi (which is about 4 blocks away). Brunch at the Tabard Inn the next morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiral Stairs Posted May 17, 2007 Author Share Posted May 17, 2007 Just for another idea for you or anyone else out there who may want to couple a great dining and hotel option: Old Town Alexandria for great strolling, the PX for a cocktail as you are dressed to the nines, the Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve for an amazing dining experience, and the Morrison House for one classy and charming hotel. The only reason I am not demanding that our list of options include an R. Eve visit is that we've decided we want to go somewhere new, and we've already experienced the bliss that is the Eve Tasting Room. Blowout dinners like this are few and far between for us (especially now that we're in infant-rearing, and infant-financing, mode); we may not get to have a dinner like this again for some time. Having now floated all of these ideas with the other person who will be there, the current seems to be flowing toward Georgetown... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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