Washington DC : A Capital Bet Today’s DC Hotel Scene is Grand Dame Luxury and Boutique Hip

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wood furnishings, replica artwork from the Smithsonian Freer Gallery, LCD flat screen TV (also in the bathroom mirror), and large soaking tub and shower in the marble bathroom. As a Tai Pan Club guest (8th and 9th floors) I enjoyed their excellent lounge and terrace with smoked salmon, fresh squeezed orange juice, and great carrot muffins for breakfast. Their very helpful concierge will even arrange special tickets to avoid the huge lines at the harrowing but inspirational Holocaust Memorial Museum only ten minutes away. Tai Pan guests also receive comp town car service within two miles in the Capital based on availability. The Mandarin Oriental’s signature restaurant CityZen has a AAA Five Diamond rating four years running while their main dining venue Sou’Wester covers American regional cooking like hushpuppies with honey butter, crispy Carolina BBQ glazed pork belly, and blackberry-cornbread buckle with sweet corn ice cream. 

CYCLING FULL CIRCLE
On my final evening,` I joined a group on City Segway Tours near Ford’s Theater for a three hour ride on those amazing gyroscope-balanced 10 m.p.h. two-wheel vehicles. After a short training video and practice runs, we whirred past the brand-new Newseum (interactive news and journalism) on Pennsylvania Avenue with a stop directly in front of the U.S. Capitol before heading merrily along the mile-long National Mall gravel path to the White House with requisite digital shots of the fence and famous facade. As dusk descended, the Lincoln Memorial magically took on an amber glow and the adjacent Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall’s black granite mirrored pensive visitors leaving flowers and handmade notes. Heading back I savored the cool breeze and realized Washington DC politics pales in comparison to the frailty and heroism of human lives.


 

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