Washington DC :

As a younger man I once schlepped from a suburban Maryland motel for a brief, unsatisfying visit. Happily, today’s Washington DC hotel scene combines traditional grand dame palace hotel luxury with hip boutique properties.

CAPITAL GAINS
Combining South Beach-style funk and urban chic the 193-room Donovan House (part of Thompson Hotels), located at Thomas Circle, 1155 14th Street, NW, boasts one of DC’s only rooftop swimming pools with private cabanas and the popular Asian-inspired restaurant Zentan. My studio king (#1009) sported enormous double-paned windows, a striking chocolate leather canopy bed, Studio Gaia club chairs, and a sinuous frosted white cocoon spiral shower and oval bathtub, all straight out of an Austin Powers film. Besides high-def TV, an iPod docking station, cordless phones, and large writing desk, the studio’s mini-bar stocks sundries from New York’s trendy food emporium, Dean & Deluca. 

ZENTAN
Downstairs, fashionable young Washingtonians flock to Zentan for Chef Susur Lee’s superior sushi, sashimi and crudo (escolar and charred scallops) as part of his global Asian cuisine; menu standouts include: Singapore slaw (19 ingredients) with salted plum dressing, fire cracker rolls with shrimp tempura and spicy jumbo lump crab salad, Shang’s crispy garlic chicken, Cantonese marinated skirt steak, and an excellent roasted salmon with black pepper sauce, leeks and crispy potato. Zentan mixologist Chris Alvear serves a large sake selection and his fresh mint mojito remains faithful to high South Florida standards. For a nightcap, go rooftop to ADC and try a specialty cocktail on the pool deck against the backdrop of nearby illuminated churches and familiar political sites.

PLUME
For gourmet diners, only two blocks away at 1200 16th Street, NW, Plume at The Jefferson garnered Zagat’s highest rating in 2010 (Food-26/Décor-29/Service 29) in one of the city’s most distinguished classic hotels with original documents on the wall from the author of the Declaration of Independence. Chef Chris Jakubiec’s superb seven-course paired dinner sampled an intense hunter green spring ramps velouté with crispy sweetbreads, a spring-like veal ravioli with chanterelles, truffle beurre blanc, and fava beans, a fresh Jon Dory filet with avocado and citrus emulsion, a layered napoleon of cote de boeuf, artisanal cheese, and Guanaja chocolate ice cream and streuzel tart. Wines ranged from a Chateau Penin, Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot and Domaine de Nalys, Chateauneuf-du-Pape to a 1954 Barbeito, Malvasia, Madeira.

TAKE THE OLD TOWN TROLLEY...
While major tourist sites may seem close, distances in the historic Capital are deceiving. To avoid exhaustion, I chose Old Town Trolley Tours directly across from the “infamous” Ford’s Theater on Tenth Street, NW. With three continuous loops you can hop on and off Downtown and The Mall (orange), ride out to the National Cathedral and trendy Georgetown (green), and even pay a visit to The Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery (red). At stop #7 on The National Mall I entered the American History Museum (the Smithsonian Institute) and gravitated to American icons like Bon Appétit! Julia Child’s Kitchen and the 30-by 34-foot 1814 Star-Spangled Banner. A short walk away the National Gallery of Art (West Building) houses some of the world’s greatest treasures: Raphael’s The Alba Madonna, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait; and Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance. Across the Mall you will find large crowds for the Air and Space Museum (the 1903 Wright Flyer, The Spirit of St. Louis, Apollo 11 Command Module) flanked by the American Indian Museum and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

PRESIDENTS & PING-PONG
Ford’s Theater is always jammed so get advance tickets. Besides the informative basement Civil War exhibit including John Wilkes Booth’s derringer and knife, there’s a short reenactment of the day leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination inside the Presidential box the night of April 14, 1865. Just around the block don’t miss the National Portrait Gallery with its permanent collection of America’s Presidents including Gilbert Stuart’s dramatic full-length 1796 portrait of George Washington and the “cracked plate” photograph of Abraham Lincoln. For lunch, you can grab a sandwich in their immense covered courtyard or hit adjacent 7th Street NW (Chinatown) for wonderful dim sum at Ping Pong with their chive, scallop & shitake, spicy chicken or black prawn steamed dumplings, spicy basil griddled dumplings, fried seafood cake or sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. Around the corner Matchbox Chinatown hits all the stops for comfort food like gorgonzola-topped sliders with curly fries, brick oven pizzas, oversize salads, and very addictive cinnamon deep-fried beignets.

LUXURY AND GASTRONOMY
Just below The National Mall, the 400-room Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC at 1330 Maryland Avenue, SW, raises the bar on luxury hotel living. Off the cupola-pillar-marble grand entrance nothing quite beats a chilled lavender face cloth and cool ice tea before the desk clerk escorts you to your room. Overlooking the Potomac Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial with Reagan National Airport in the distance, my small but stylish room was decorated with teak ....