What: A party to celebrate the new—and very swanky—Hotel Monaco, a new outpost of the Kimpton boutique hotel
Where: Hotel Monaco Alexandria, 480 King St., Alexandria
When: Friday, March 14, 6:30 to 9 PM (or until checkout time the next day, if you were a guest invited to stay the night)
Scene: In the lobby, guests received a map headed “Pursuit of Fun.” The pursuit: Visit each room with a theme based on a different city or country, receive a sticker for each (eight stickers in all), then head to the final room to collect your treasure. Treasure? Really? Actually, yes—the prize ended up being a coupon for a free night’s stay in the hotel, valid all spring and summer and even on weekends. With regular rooms running as high as $509 a night, that’s almost as good as a chest of gold coins.
Want to see more photos from Washington events and parties? Click here for Washingtonian.com's photo slideshow page.
Who: Everyone from Alexandria mayor Bill Euille and various Kimpton execs, who showed up promptly at 5:15 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, to a family of four, who were perhaps the most into the map-stickering quest. Despite the red carpet out front, it was unclear if the event was actually invitation-only.
Dress: The invitation called for “festive business attire,” which apparently can mean suits and sparkly dresses, slacks and dressy shirts, or jeans.
Food: We tried carved ham and buttermilk biscuits in Jackson 20, the hotel’s restaurant that became “the Americas” for the evening; spicy chorizo, fried calamari, and bacon-wrapped shrimp in Barcelona; buttery croissants and an array of cheeses in Paris; California and eel rolls in Tokyo; pita and hummus in Athens; shrimp skewers in Sydney; and fresh fruit in the Pacific Ocean (the pool room, of course). Trick: End up in the elevator with a caterer carrying the dessert tray, and you get first grab at the truffles and pecan squares headed to the fifth-floor Monaco room.
Drink: Drinks included sangría in the Barcelona room, sparkling wine in Bombay (shouldn’t it have been Mumbai?), ouzo in Athens, saketinis in Tokyo, beer in Sydney, pineapple and berry smoothies in the Pacific Ocean, and wine everywhere.
The hotel: A regular room comes with a well-stocked minibar (including Kettle chips, wine, and a mysterious “intimacy kit”), a 37-inch flat-screen TV, and the biggest bed I’ve ever slept in. More expensive rooms have lofts, extra-high showers and sinks for tall travelers, or even a living room and wet bar. The best perk, though, is the closets stocked with robes in various animal prints. Taking one adds $120 to your room charge—but depending on what you’re already paying for the room (prices range from $219 to $1,599 a night), it may be worth it. Ratings:
Boldface names: 2 out of 5 Swankiness: 3 out of 5 Food and drink: 3 out of 5 Exclusivity: 1 out of 5
A Night Out: Hotel Monaco Alexandria Opening Gala
Guests grabbed maps and went on a treasure hunt at this new Hotel Monaco branch.
What: A party to celebrate the new—and very swanky—Hotel Monaco, a new outpost of the Kimpton boutique hotel
Where: Hotel Monaco Alexandria, 480 King St., Alexandria
When: Friday, March 14, 6:30 to 9 PM (or until checkout time the next day, if you were a guest invited to stay the night)
Scene: In the lobby, guests received a map headed “Pursuit of Fun.” The pursuit: Visit each room with a theme based on a different city or country, receive a sticker for each (eight stickers in all), then head to the final room to collect your treasure. Treasure? Really? Actually, yes—the prize ended up being a coupon for a free night’s stay in the hotel, valid all spring and summer and even on weekends. With regular rooms running as high as $509 a night, that’s almost as good as a chest of gold coins.
Want to see more photos from Washington events and parties? Click here for Washingtonian.com's photo slideshow page.
Who: Everyone from Alexandria mayor Bill Euille and various Kimpton execs, who showed up promptly at 5:15 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, to a family of four, who were perhaps the most into the map-stickering quest. Despite the red carpet out front, it was unclear if the event was actually invitation-only.
Dress: The invitation called for “festive business attire,” which apparently can mean suits and sparkly dresses, slacks and dressy shirts, or jeans.
Food: We tried carved ham and buttermilk biscuits in Jackson 20, the hotel’s restaurant that became “the Americas” for the evening; spicy chorizo, fried calamari, and bacon-wrapped shrimp in Barcelona; buttery croissants and an array of cheeses in Paris; California and eel rolls in Tokyo; pita and hummus in Athens; shrimp skewers in Sydney; and fresh fruit in the Pacific Ocean (the pool room, of course). Trick: End up in the elevator with a caterer carrying the dessert tray, and you get first grab at the truffles and pecan squares headed to the fifth-floor Monaco room.
Drink: Drinks included sangría in the Barcelona room, sparkling wine in Bombay (shouldn’t it have been Mumbai?), ouzo in Athens, saketinis in Tokyo, beer in Sydney, pineapple and berry smoothies in the Pacific Ocean, and wine everywhere.
The hotel: A regular room comes with a well-stocked minibar (including Kettle chips, wine, and a mysterious “intimacy kit”), a 37-inch flat-screen TV, and the biggest bed I’ve ever slept in. More expensive rooms have lofts, extra-high showers and sinks for tall travelers, or even a living room and wet bar. The best perk, though, is the closets stocked with robes in various animal prints. Taking one adds $120 to your room charge—but depending on what you’re already paying for the room (prices range from $219 to $1,599 a night), it may be worth it.
Ratings:
Boldface names: 2 out of 5
Swankiness: 3 out of 5
Food and drink: 3 out of 5
Exclusivity: 1 out of 5
Total score: 9 out of 20
Most Popular in News & Politics
What It Felt Like for a Virginia Marching Band to Win Metallica’s Contest
Meet the 2023 Washingtonians of the Year
What’s IN and OUT in DC Restaurant Trends for 2024
Introducing 8 of DC’s Most Stylish
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2024: Great Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
13 Major Concerts and Music Festivals in the DC Area This Spring
Mary Timony on Her Emotional New Album, “Untame the Tiger”
The Beatles in DC: A New Exhibit in Maryland Looks Back on Early Beatlemania
Northern Virginia High School Wins Metallica’s Marching Band Competition
More from News & Politics
Former Fiola GM Convicted of Murder Is Now in a Netflix Docuseries
These 5 DC Traffic Cams Are Issuing the Most Tickets Right Now
Farewell to Crystal City Underground, the DC Area’s Strangest Mall
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2024
Inside the Urgent Effort to Preserve Black Newspapers
Maryland Has Renamed an Invasive Fish. Will It Matter?
Meet the 2024 Washington Women in Journalism Award Winners
In the Doghouse: Kristi Noem and 5 Other Canine Political Scandals