202-249-3000 or 800-368-9000, or visit dcconvention.com.WHILE IT’S TRUE THAT MOST OF THE APPROXIMATELY 17 MILLION visitors who come to Washington each year are tourists, a hefty 45% of them are here on business, including the 1½ million international visitors who conduct business with federal agencies and private and nonprofit organizations headquartered here. The city is also a center of higher education, home to George Washington University, Georgetown University, American University, Howard University, Gallaudet University (the world’s only university with an entire curriculum for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), the University of the District of Columbia, and the Catholic University of America, among others. And, although they are perhaps less visible to tourists, it is also home to a large number of specialized institutions, ranging from arts and conservation schools to social and political think tanks, financial and diplomatic policy institutes, medical schools, design and innovation companies, security and military concerns, and theological faculties.
Still, the problems facing business and policy visitors on their first trip to Washington don’t differ much from the problems of tourists: finding a suitable hotel, negotiating the city (and its transit system), and squeezing in a bit of sightseeing. And, of course, many business travelers have family members with them who aren’t working during the day. The main difference is probably that business travelers are less likely to have much say in the timing of their visit.
The 17-acre Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C. is the big dog on the block, drawing about 1.5 million visitors a year, but it has a burgeoning rival in the 41-acre Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in the National Harbor development in Prince George’s County. (Both are discussed in more detail on the following pages.)
The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center near Federal Triangle has conference and meeting facilities, although somewhat smaller: 15 meeting rooms that can be configured into five suites that accommodate up to 1,000 people each. The center also hosts some exhibits and cultural events (including wine tastings that might be a convention staple), the veteran political comedy group Capital Steps on Friday and Saturday evenings, a food court, and an outdoor summer concert series. There are also several smaller convention hotels and expo centers, many with public transit access.
IN 2003, THE FOUR-LEVEL, 2.3 MILLION-SQUARE-FOOT Washington Convention Center near Mount Vernon Square opened with 725,000 square feet of exhibit space and 150,000 square feet of additional meeting space, and—just as important for visitors—direct access to the Mount Vernon Square Metro station. (Although even many locals don’t realize it, the complex is named not for the city but for the District’s first elected major, Walter E. Washington.)
The Washington Convention Center is bounded by Mount Vernon Place and Ninth, N, and Seventh Streets NW. The center contains 66 meeting rooms (some divisible), a 52,000-square-foot ballroom that can be divided into three smaller spaces, and five exhibit halls ranging from 111,000 to 194,000 square feet. The entire complex, including stages, is wheelchair-accessible, and infrared audio-assist systems are installed in all meeting rooms. In 2013, the centennial convention of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the nation’s largest black women’s organization, founded at D.C.’s Howard University, attracted nearly 40,000 members and brought in $74 million for the city. The convention center has also hosted 18 inaugural balls so far, and one nuclear summit (in 2010).
The 15-story Marriott Marquis Washington D.C. at 901 Massachusetts Avenue NW, the long-promised “dedicated” hotel facility, is connected to the convention center lobby (and Starbucks) by an underground tunnel. Scheduled to open May 1, 2014, it will provide 1,175 rooms, more ballrooms, event “terraces,” and another 150,000 square feet of meeting space. For more information on the convention center, call 202-249-3000 or 800-368-9000, or visit dcconvention.com.
THE 10-ACRE SITE OF THE FORMER CONVENTION CENTER, a few blocks away between New York Avenue NW, H Street NW, and Ninth and 11th Streets NW, is being redeveloped as CityCenterDC, which will be, ironically, like one of those “new town centers” in residential suburbs. A mix of very high-end residential condos, apartments, and 60 retail spaces, including super chef Daniel Bouloud’s first DBGB café outside New York and the City Tap gastropub, it will also include a 370-room Conrad Resorts luxury hotel from Hilton, scheduled to open in 2014.
In addition to the Marriott, there are a number of hotels within four or five walking blocks (and/or Metro connections) of the convention center, including the Renaissance Washington at Ninth and K Streets NW, the Henley Park Hotel at 926 Massachusetts Avenue NW, the Grand Hyatt at 10th and H Streets NW, and the Embassy Suites Convention Center at 10th and K Streets NW. Convention hosts who arrange blocks or rooms at more distant hotels may offer shuttle service, but as the convention center has its own Metro stop, any lodging near a station would be convenient.
The convention center does have food service—and the Marriott Marquis plans to have several restaurants in-house when it opens—but there are plenty of establishments near and nice enough to entertain a prospective client, including Bobby Van’s Grill; the New Orleans–style Acadiana; the Belgian beer-and-mussels Brasserie Beck; Seasonal Pantry (dinner only), whose name says it all; the new American Corduroy and its more casual next-door sibling Baby Wale; Daikawa, which is a ramen noodle joint downstairs and a Japanese izakaya (essentially, a pub) upstairs; and Graffiato. Note that most of these restaurants are profiled in Part Six: Dining and Restaurants. In addition, the convention center is only five or six blocks and one subway stop (Mount Vernon Square to Gallery Place) from Penn Quarter; see “Hot Restaurant Districts” in Part Six: Dining and Restaurants for more suggestions.
THE MOUNT VERNON SQUARE/Seventh Street–Convention Center Metro stop is on the Green and Yellow Line (which connects to Reagan National Airport). The Gallery Place–Chinatown station is one stop away, which also serves the Red Line to Union Station (that is, Amtrak) and several of the major Northwest D.C. and Maryland suburbs. The Metro Center stop, one stop farther west than Gallery Place on the Red Line, connects to the Blue and Orange Lines toward the Virginia suburbs and also connects to Reagan National (via the Blue Line). For more information on the subway system, see Part Four: Getting In and Getting Around Washington.
Large convention planners often arrange for complimentary bus or shuttle service from major hotels to the convention center; even if you are staying at a smaller hotel, you may be able to get a copy of the route map and “piggyback” at a hotel where the shuttle stops.
The DC Circulator bus service, which is only $1 per ride (free if you transfer from Metro with a SmarTrip card), runs daily 7 a.m.–9 p.m. It has one circuit that originates at Union Station, passes around the convention center, and goes along K Street NW to Georgetown; for more information see Part Four or go to dccirculator.com. Metro bus route 79 stops at the corners of Seventh and Ninth Streets NW, running south through Penn Quarter toward the Mall and Constitution Avenue (and north past Logan Circle), with many other connections available; go to wmata.com/bus for details.
The main taxi stand is on Mount Vernon Place, though cabs are relatively easy to flag down, especially around downtown. Again, see Part Four for details.
While there’s no parking in the convention center itself, there are eight parking lots and garages within a three-block walk. There are a dozen public parking spaces reserved for vehicles with wheelchair permits or license tags in the area and several drop-off ramps; go to dcconvention.com for details.
THE MASSIVE GAYLORD NATIONAL RESORT and Convention Center is the keystone of the ambitious 300-acre National Harbor development, and having been developed by the Opryland Hotel group (though now operated by Marriott, and offering “points” for those hotel account members), it has plenty of entertainment options, including the ornate holiday ice displays and trees, dancing water lights, a family arcade, and so on, not to mention a 20,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. The conservatory-like glass-sided atrium, a labyrinth of water features, bridges, elaborate plantings, shops, and more, is large enough to house the Space Shuttle. In the other wing are 470,000 square feet of convention space, including more than 100,000 square feet of ballroom space, 180,000 square feet of exhibit space, 18 executive meeting rooms, and 17 dedicated loading docks. As press releases put it, the largest exhibit hall is the size of three football fields and could house 400 tractor-trailer trucks.
The National Harbor development, which is across the Potomac River from the District in Maryland and about 8 miles south of the White House, was at one point considered an “outsider” venue, and unlikely to attract tourists. However, because of the increasing number of restaurants and shopping opportunities at National Harbor, and particularly because of its special events calendar—it hosts a large food and wine festival, an Oktoberfest, concerts and fireworks, equestrian extravaganzas, outdoor movies, and so on—it hopes to become a destination in itself.
Among the shops near the waterfront are the political memorabilia store America!, Swarovski, Harley Davidson, Fossil, Hats in the Belfry, a Peeps store, kids’ shops (a Build-a-Bear Workshop), and a number of boutiques. Most recently, Tanger Outlets has opened a 300,000-square-foot, 80-store shopping center, featuring H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Chico’s, Banana Republic, White House Black Market, J. Crew, and Coach.
The coming attraction, billed as being the finishing touch, will be an $800 million luxury casino/slots palace and 18-story resort hotel that MGM Resorts International is preparing to build on the adjoining hilltop. Also watch for a 175-foot Eye of London–style observation wheel to open in spring 2014.
The National Children’s Museum, formerly on Capitol Hill, has relocated to an 18,000-square-foot facility at National Harbor and features a Sesame Street workshop and lots of hands-on and interactive exhibits. There is also a 36-foot carousel and a playground. The five-piece aluminum sculpture of a giant writhing out of the sand, called The Awakening, which was formerly across from the Jefferson Memorial Tidal Pool, is now installed on the National Harbor waterfront, along with the 85-foot Beckoning, fountains, restored indigenous habitats, and so on. If you fly into Reagan National Airport from the south, you’ll have a fairly impressive view of the hotel’s 18-story atrium’s glass wall, and perhaps your own reflection.
THE GAYLORD HOTEL HAS 2,000 ROOMS (including 300 VIP Tower spots), but in addition to the future MGM Resort, National Harbor houses five other hotels: a Westin, a Hampton Inn and Suites, a Marriott Residence Inn, a Wyndham vacation resort, and a W Hotels boutique property called Aloft.
The Old Hickory Steakhouse is the Gaylord’s signature big steak and wine white tablecloth establishment, but the hotel also has an Italian restaurant, a coffee bar/sandwich pub, a huge sports bar and grill complex with a 30-foot-wide HD video wall, a buffet, a martini-Champagne-cocktail lounge, and a VIP-style nightspot and lounge that boasts 18-foot glass walls, fiber-optic color effects, a second-floor VIP level, dancers in glass “pods,” and a small-bites menu.
Among the many other restaurants in the National Harbor complex are a branch of New York’s Bond 45 Italian steak-and-seafood house; Elevation Burger, a regional organic-beef chain; a couple of Maryland-style crab houses/lobster grills; sandwich shops (Potbelly, Subway, and so on); chain staples such as McCormick & Schmick, Nando’s Peri-Peri, and Rosa Mexicano; restaurants specializing in Thai, Chinese, American grill, hefty American grill (the Cadillac Ranch, complete with 1980s-style mechanical bull); plus a dueling-pianos bar (Bobby McKey’s), cafés, sweet shops, and various pubs, wine bars, and lounges.
NATIONAL HARBOR HAS A DEDICATED EXIT off Interstate 95/495 (the Beltway), Exit 2A; it also has an exit (1A) from I-295. For more detailed directions, go to nationalharbor.com/getting-here. Taxi fare from Reagan National is approximately $30, from Dulles International $75, and from BWI $85. SuperShuttle service runs about every 20 minutes between the Gaylord Hotel and Reagan National Airport between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.; tickets are $18 one-way and $32 round-trip. (Exclusive van service, booked in advance, is $78, but might be worth it for some convention groups.) Shuttle service from Dulles or BWI airports to Gaylord is $43 ($125 exclusive); call 800-660-8000.
National Harbor runs a free bus shuttle to the King Street Metro station for hotel guests (not offered on federal holidays). A Metro bus (NH1) connects National Harbor to the Branch Avenue subway station. A water taxi service run by Potomac River Boat Co. runs from the Gaylord Hotel and the adjoining National Harbor marina to Old Town Alexandria, where you can pick up a free bus to the King Street Metro station; the trip takes about 25 minutes and is $10 for adults (potomacriverboatco.com).
There are about 9,500 public parking spaces at National Harbor, mostly indoor but some outdoor meters. Parking starts at $3 per hour and $11 for 24 hours or after 6 p.m. At the Gaylord Hotel, self-parking is $6 for the first hour and $22 overnight; valet parking is $20 for three hours and $32 overnight.