Hotel Monaco

Hm, yes. I suppose you are asking yourselves, what is this place? Why, the Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, VA, of course. This is where we stayed on a recent visit in Washington, DC. And yes, it is completely a gauche grandeur sort of decor--but we were so loving it. In fact, it may well have been the highlight of the trip (in close tie with the animal skeleton display at the Smithsonian--more on that later). Let me show you around... Now you see what there is to love, no? The blast of color and patterns are like Marie Anotinette and Keith Richards got married and birthed a hotel. And during a week of solid gray and eternal rain, well, I found myself smiling everytime I strolled into the hotel. All those patterns are enough to give you baroque acid-trip flashbacks...

(the ottoman and carpet in our room) (lizard embossed wallcovering in our room)(paisley velveteen upholstery in the lobby)(wallpaper in our bathroom)(kaleidoscope upholstery on a chair in the lobby)Yes, and then there were these in our room's closet--1 adult leopard-print robe, 1 adult zebra-print robe, 1 child-sized leopard robe. All we were missing were the complimentary half-drunk bottles of champagne strewn around the room.And you should also know that this hotel actually prides itself on being KID-FRIENDLY (hence the leopard robe for kids). This is Beeper with the companion goldfish named MariNero who was delivered to our room upon arrival. Our pet for the week. (and also, you can bring your own pet, if you have one. Cats and dogs are welcome and they even have a doggie happy hour with treats and bowls of water for the doggies and cocktails for their humans). The service was warm and gracious, the food from room service was delivered up from the delightful Jackson 20 restaurant adjacent to the hotel, and there is even an indoor pool, dimly lit the color of absinthe (and a life guard on duty!). I have been converted. Praise, Klimpton Hotels (the company that owns the Hotel Monaco)--for their cool and happy style, friendly service, fun features, eco-friendly commitment, and being something different than all the rest.