hotel

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Post-Earthquake Safety Tips — Arlington County is advising residents to call a structural engineer if they find cracks in their brick facades or chimneys following yesterday’s earthquake. [Arlington County]

Favola/Areizaga-Soto Primary By the Numbers — Just over 10,000 people voted in yesterday’s 31st District state Senate primary between Barbara Favola and Jaime Areizaga-Soto, out of 133,577 active registered voters in the district. More than $538,500 had been spent on the race as of Aug. 10. In other words, candidates ended up spending more than $53 for every resident who bothered to cast a vote in the race.

Arlington Confusion — In case you were wondering, there are 21 different localities in the United States called ‘Arlington,’ in states like Texas, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Vermont and New York. [Falls Church News-Press]

Hotel Hosts ‘Top Dog’ Contest — The new Residence Inn Arlington Capital View in Crystal City is holding a contest to find a “doggie mascot” for the hotel. The winner of the contest will be selected at an event on Oct. 6 by a panel of judges including “Arlington County K-9 division, veterinarians, doggie trainers and… Fox 5 Anchor Steve Chenevey.” Entrants need to include a photo of their pooch, his or her name, age, breed and best trick, and a $25 donation to the Washington Humane Society. [Marketwire, Residence Inn]

Flickr pool photo by Divaknevil

Crystal City Claims Bathroom Bragging Rights

By ARLnow.com

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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Real Estate Market Lags — While the average home sales price in Arlington was up 4.6 percent for the first half of 2011, the total volume of sales was down 19 percent compared to 2010. [Sun Gazette]

Garvey ‘Home’ in Alexandria, Arlington — State Senate candidate and Arlington School Board member Libby Garvey is trying to play up her local chops to both Arlington and Alexandria Democrats. “Garvey, a resident of Fairlington, considers Alexandria to be her neighborhood,” the Huntington-Belle Haven Patch reported yesterday. Meanwhile, Garvey told the Arlington County Democratic Committee last night that after debates in Fairfax and Alexandria, “it’s really nice to be home tonight.”

Shirlington Jazz Festival Starts Tonight — Shirlington’s outdoor summer jazz festival starts tonight. Local jazz group The Oscillators will perform at the Village at Shirlington Plaza from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The festival runs on Thursday nights through August 25. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Shirlington Hilton Garden Inn Gets a Chef — The Shirlington Hilton Garden Inn (4271 Campbell Avenue), which has been trying to lure local diners to its Great American Grill restaurant, recently hired a new chef. [Shirlington Village Blog]

BREAKING NEWS — Firefighters Battle Ballston Garage Blaze

By ARLnow.com

(Update at 2:35 p.m.) An elderly woman is dead following a car fire in the parking garage below the Ballston Hilton (950 N. Stafford Street).

Homicide detectives were called to investigate the woman’s death, but according to police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal the death is now being investigated as a probable accident.

Police believe the woman, 74-year-old Adele Lapinell of Annandale, suffered some sort of medical emergency that caused her to crash her vehicle on the G-1 level of the garage. The crash caused the fire, Nosal said — likely the result of a gas line that was damaged by the collision. The first and second floors of the hotel were evacuated during the fire as a precaution.

Lapinell’s body was found as firefighters extinguished the blaze. Nosal said she was identified as a “registered parker” in the garage. She was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the collision.

Police shut down Stafford Street between Fairfax Drive and 9th Street N. while emergency responders were on the scene. The road has since reopened. Washington Gas crews are on the scene to help repair the gas line.

Crystal City Hotel to Host Angry Birds Tournament

By ARLnow.com

If you thought Angry Birds was a game that one only plays alone while killing time on the Metro, think again. A local hotel is turning the popular puzzle video game into a full-fledged, multi-day tournament.

The new Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Crystal City (2800 S. Potomac Avenue) will be hosting “Angry Hours” — a weekly series of live Angry Bird tournaments — every Thursday from July 14 to Aug. 25.

The tournament will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at SOCCi, the hotel’s modern Italian restaurant and bar. Players will compete for prizes including hotel stays, free dinners and an iPad. The tournament will also feature its own menu of signature cocktails, with names like “Mighty Eagle,” the “Rio” and the “Golden Egg.”

Registration for the tournament is free, but players must be at least 21 years of age. Call 703-413-1300 for more information.

Moon-Linked Sheraton National Hotel Sold

By ARLnow.com

The 417-room Sheraton National Hotel has been sold to a Connecticut-based hotel investment firm.

The hotel, located just off of Columbia Pike at 900 S. Orme Street, had been owned by National Hospitality Corporation, a company linked to Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church.

HEI Hotels and Resorts purchased an ownership interest in the hotel for an undisclosed sum. The company owns 39 hotels in 16 states, including the Sheraton Crystal City.

HEI plans to keep operating the hotel as a Sheraton.

Colony House Furniture to Become Hotel

By ARLnow.com

The Colony House Furniture store at 1700 Lee Highway is set to be torn down to make way for an extended stay hotel.

The recognizable building has been sold to the B.F. Saul Company, the Bethesda-based developer behind the recent Clarendon Center project. Last week representatives from Saul presented their redevelopment plan to the North Rosslyn Civic Association. Under the plan, an eight story extended stay hotel will be built on the 1.2 acre site at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Quinn Street. The hotel will include eight stories of guest rooms on top of two stories of above-ground parking.

(The parking must be built above ground since the site sits on solid rock. The building will technically be ten stories high from the Lee Highway side, but will only be considered eight stories due to the steep elevation near the rear of the site.)

Saul told residents that they’re in negotiations with two companies to operate the hotel — Marriott’s Residence Inn and Hilton’s Homewood Suites. They’re aiming for a LEED Silver certification for the building.

The company says zoning allows them to build an 88-room hotel on the site by right. Saul, however, will be seeking County Board approval later this year to build a 154-room hotel with 96 parking spaces. After presentations to the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, the North Rosslyn Civic Association, and three Colonial Village associations, Saul’s Mary Beth Avedesian says the company has yet to hear any neighbor opposition to the project.

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Renaissance Hotel Holds Grand Opening in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

The Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel (2800 S. Potomac Avenue) in Crystal City held a swank grand opening celebration last night.

The NYC-based musical duo of electric violinist Caitlin Moe and DJ Mia Moretti performed for a stylishly-attired crowd. Waiters and waitresses dressed as fashionable flight attendants served signature cocktails and international hors d’oeuvres, in keeping with the party’s “jet set” theme.

The 300-room Renaissance hotel and the attached, 325-room Residence Inn opened to the public in March. More photos, after the jump.

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Bell 20 Tavern Opens in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

It doesn’t exactly have the local appeal of a Buffalo Wild Wings, but a new bar/restaurant has opened in the lobby of the Crystal City Marriott (1999 Jefferson Davis Highway).

Bell 20 Tavern features a full bar with a selection of 10 beers on draft and numerous beers by the bottle. Happy hour drink specials start at $3.20.

The restaurant’s food selection is still being worked out, but the initial happy hour bar menu includes fried chicken tenders, a cheeseburger, spicy meatballs and a bowl of turkey chili — all $6.20 from 3:20 to 7:20 p.m. Happy hour appetizers include chips and salsa, pretzel rolls, garlic fried and a half-dozen wings — all for $3.20.

Bell 20 has a lounge-y feel, with plush seating areas and a slick bar design. That conflicts a bit with other aspects of the restaurant, including the large windows that let in plenty of light, and the food and drink selection, which can best be described as “traditional.” Bell 20 will cater mostly to travelers staying at the hotel, but it will also be a solid happy hour option for local 9-5ers who don’t want to brave the crowds other after-work spots.

Wacky Conventions Stuff County Coffers

By ARLnow.com

In January, the National Mastitis Council brought its annual meeting to Arlington. Approximately 400 people from around the country and around the world gathered for four days and three nights at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City to discuss the latest advances in improving milk quality and maintaining the health of cow udders.

The total estimated economic impact for local businesses: $400,000. Total estimated hotel tax revenue: $11,250.

Each year, dozens of such specialized industry events quietly come to Arlington, spend bundles of money and leave without most residents even knowing they were here. All told — while there’s no official accounting of it — there are likely hundreds of meetings, conventions, tour groups and reunions that stay in Arlington hotels on an annual basis. And there are millions of dollars to be made from those gatherings — by hotels, restaurants, taxi companies and the county government.

The average size of a meeting booked through the Arlington Convention and Visitor’s Service is 175 people, according to Arlington Economic Development spokeswoman Karen Vasquez. The average meeting attendee spends $116 per day in Arlington on things like meals, transportation, shopping and attractions. Meanwhile, the average hotel room in Arlington is just over $165 per night.

Put that together, and you have the average three-day meeting producing about $118,650 worth of spending in Arlington County. Of that spending, the county collects a 4 percent tax on meals and a 5.25 percent tax on the hotel room. Not a bad haul for a random meeting of a group that most people have probably never heard of — like the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals.

(The hotel tax will be going down to 5 percent in 2012 thanks to political wrangling in Richmond. The 0.25 percent that Arlington will lose had been going to fund Arlington’s tourism promotion efforts. In its new budget, the County Board included one-time funding to keep the tourism office open through the middle of 2012.)

After a jump, a list of some of the other meetings that have recently come or will be coming to Arlington.

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