Sorry it's been a while, life has been hectic! But anyway, I have a great experience to share with you so hopefully the wait has been worth it. Last Sunday, my fiance and I attended the first annual Engaged! in Washington event. This event featured tours of 5 of the best grand luxury hotels in D.C. as they were set up for an actual wedding. The 5 hotels we visited were the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Willard Intercontinental, Hay Adams, and St. Regis, all of which are located in the downtown D.C. area. It was AWESOME!!! Here's the scoop on each the hotels:
The Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton, by far, had the best set-up and experience. We started here, and it was a great start to the evening. We were welcomed by the staff, picked up our registration materials and free gift bags and made our way down the candle lined stairs as a group of violinists played. At the bottom of the stairs, a group of models were showing off their wedding gowns. We proceeded through an arched walkway, talked to some vendors, and entered the large banquet hall where the action really was. The hall was separated by curtains to segment the different phases of a wedding. First, the ceremony area featured a modern set-up, with benches for seating as opposed to chairs.
The next section was the reception area, which featured food stations, dessert tables, an open bar, and more vendors. There was also splits of Moet champagne everywhere, to which the bartender thankfully suggested adding Grand Marnier. For those new to the idea of champagne cocktails, be sure to check it out the next time you have the chance. They also had some delicious white chocolate covered brownies..mm mm! Anyway, the final area featured a set of banquet tables, each of which was decorated in a different style and color theme and we were asked to vote on which one we liked best. Overall, it was an incredible display and again, we salute the Ritz-Carlton for doing big things!
Four Seasons
The Four Seasons, located in Georgetown, probably had one of the lesser impressive displays, but it was still very nice and the hotel lobby and restaurant looked great on the way down to the event space. There were three rooms on display. The first was a basic, traditional banquet style room with round tables. The middle room was a nicely designed reception/lounge area where we got to enjoy some great food. There was a Korean BBQ inspired soft taco station, another open bar featuring Moet-Hennessy sponsored liquors and champagne cocktails, another station featuring scallops and beef tenderloin, and a lady inside some kind of awkward, moving table that was serving coconut ice cream and brownies. Finally, there was the main reception room that again featured four table designs and the best band we heard all night. So overall, pretty good, but not in the same league as the Ritz-Carlton.
Willard Intercontinental
The Willard Intercontinental had most of the action down the main hallway leading from the hotel lobby, which is where many of the vendors and reception items were located.
No amazing treats to report here, but we did miss out on the cider champagne cocktail. There were two decorated rooms. The first was an extremely elaborate ceremonial room that featured a harpist.
The other room was the reception room, which featured a band on stage on each side that alternated playing sets of songs, which was a pretty interesting idea. There was also a large bar in the room and tables around the room decorated in different styles and colors.
Overall, we had a nice time at the Intercontinental and they did a great job with the rooms.
Hay Adams
The Hay Adams is a grand hotel that speaks historical Washington D.C. culture. This hotel was lacking in the display performance compared to the other hotels, only featuring an area of the lobby with vendors and a champagne bar and a single reception room on the main floor, but honestly it didn't matter. There is a terrace on the 8th floor that is available for hosting events and it happens to have what is probably the most amazing view in the city. The view overlooks the rear of the White House and Lafayette Park, and is also high enough to see the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and over into Virginia. We were fortunate enough to have our picture taken by a photographer with the background you see in the picture below. We were really lucky to see this space and the view because it's not somewhere you can visit casually. You must attend as part of a planned event for security purposes.
St. Regis
Our last stop was the St. Regis, which is a block down from the Hay Adams. Of course, we found this out after we got on the shuttle and rode in a circle just to end up almost where we started. The St. Regis is another historical Washington-styled hotel, but it combines a nice mix of modern design. After seeing 4 hotels, we weren't expecting to see much else, but we were pleasantly surprised. The lobby featured a very nice, modern design that complimented the older features in the hotel. We went through an area that featured banquet-style tables and then moved into the reception area, which was really nice. Our camera battery died at this point, so unfortunately you have to enjoy fuzzy pictures from my Blackberry.
Overall, the St. Regis did a really good job, especially with the reception room and it was a nice end to the night. We actually headed back to the Ritz-Carlton to enjoy the rest of the night there since we had so much fun. This was a great event and for anyone who has the opportunity to attend this or anything like, don't miss out on a chance to see some really great luxury hotels! I guess I should give a recommendation on which I would stay at first. Based on the feeling I got from the lobby, event spaces, and website, I think my personal style would lead me to......the Four Seasons!
More to come soon so check back!
.sb06
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