The new Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Crystal City has one of the best bathrooms in the country, according to a contest sponsored by restroom management and maintenance provider Cintas.
The hotel’s ground floor restroom is one of 10 swanky bathrooms from around the country selected for the tenth-annual America’s Best Restroom contest. This year’s contest includes loos from restaurants in New York City, a casino in Las Vegas, a museum in Chicago and a mobile trailer used by President Obama.
Cintas describes the Renaissance’s bathroom with the kind of aesthetic admiration one might use to describe to a work of art.
The hallway leading to the restrooms is darkened with shadows of leaves, some blurred, some sharper, projected on the floor. The designer creates a sense of adventure as one journeys through this passage with its tree-patterned wall coverings and play of shadow and light. Once inside the restrooms, one wall is ablaze in the oranges and golden tones of a sunset and the dark silhouettes of birds in flight. Mirrors above the vanity feature bird silhouettes that are lit and when a guest turns on the faucet, water flows in a sparkling red stream if it’s hot and a blue stream if it’s cool, thanks to ingenious lighting within the fixtures.
The public is encouraged to vote for any number of the finalists.