Looking Down on F Street at Midnight - 24-Hour Car Layover in Washington D.C.
By Greg Evans
Who doesn’t love D.C. It is a charming city with quaint tree-lined streets and paradigmatic old row houses that spring upon me waves of nostalgia, interlaced with neoteric architectonics, creating a dichotomy like an Anya Paintsil punch needle or Diedrick Bracken tapestry, mixing the historical with the contemporary. The serpentine way the streets, beltway, and alleyways connect and twirl, thinning out traffic, is weirdly soothing, as watching the rain fall upon a mountain lake. Contrary to most cities and even medium-sized towns today, D.C. can be maneuvered through with relative ease after you get the hang of it.
It was a crisp morning. After a breakfast of bean tacos, we left Albany, NY, destination, Charlotte, NC, with a layover in D.C. After six hours of heavy, unnecessary congestion traveling south on I-95, and what seemed like $800 in toll fees, I began to think Martian colonization might not be such a bad idea as a viable punishment for odious drivers and greedy politicians. Reaching D.C., "The Capital of the World," was a relief, and we had no time to waste. I love layovers, whether trains, planes, or cars. It forces you to be economical and diligent.
There are limitless places to stay, including several tent encampments; however, we booked a loft room in Washington D.C.'s first-ever micro-hotel, The Hive Hotel, located at 2224 F St. NW in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood.
Modish and appropriately quirky, it contrasts nicely with the surrounding The George Washington University urban campus dorms and classrooms, restaurants, and townhouses like a neo-expressionist painting. It just fits in a neighborhood that is a myriad of textures, abstractions, colors, smells, sounds, figurations, fonts, and foliage; wealth side-by-side with poverty, left intermingling with the right, like a Basquiat, and like Jean-Michel’s style, it is captivating, edgy, and restless.
The hotel sits on an oblique corner like an Algerian palace, a shimmering oasis appearing before a weary and curious traveler. The interior is modern and voguish, a trendy and bohemian presentation with original exposed brick, murals from local street artists, witty quotes, and during the daytime, light streams in like through a jungle canopy, exuding a feng shui-quality. After dark, it has a pulse, a coy sexiness that attracts a young and beautiful crowd. I felt like I had walked into the D.C. version of A Moveable Feast.
As The Rickety and Cosmo munchies kick in, be aware that there is no traditional restaurant within the hotel, per se, although there is a pizza place on the ground floor just past the front desk with an excellent selection of toppings and quick service. You order it to go, eat at the bar, outside on the patio, or up in the room. The bar area is only steps away across the lobby. It is a warmly lit and friendly environment that seemed to attract young professionals. On the roof, you will find a splendiferous rooftop lounge for 21 and over with captivating views and a savory atmosphere that attracts a rather profound and existential crowd.
Our loft room, listed at $157 per night, with tax, came out to $182. That is pretty cheap, especially for a hip neighborhood, in a choice city like D.C., where you’d expect more along the lines of $450-$600 per night (taxes & mysterious fees included). Reaching the room requires a ride on a micro glass elevator. The paintings on the wall resembling a beehive honeycomb.
We entered our room, #509, and although not spacious, it was clean and tranquil. I felt like I was getting ready for a massage at Chiva-Som. There was a small desk with a chair to work and a set of cushy bunk beds against a window looking down on F Street. Each bed had a personal smart television and remote control, and the bed also was European style with a thick fluffy comforter, snug pillows, and no second sheet. I felt like I was back in Vienna.I never understood having that sheet under the blanket on a bed to get tangled up at night with a debilitating hamstring cramp.
The bathroom was nearly as large as the sleeping quarters and stocked accordingly as any bathroom you would ever want or expect in a quality hotel. Regarding parking, The Hive Hotel website offers a link to purchase parking at a garage across the street at the Columbia Apartments. I wasn’t thrilled not to have complementary parking but when in Rome. Hence the discounted room. The garage charges $25 for 24 hours, and you can pay by credit card or Apply Pay. It is a straightforward process.
Location! Location! Location!
Foggy Bottom is an ideal spot for any visitor, especially a layover traveler, due to its proximity to almost everything. Where we stayed, we could walk to whatever we wanted to see in our 24 hour windiw, and that time went by quickly. We walked to where we had a decent view of the White House and then over to the Washington Monument, which you can walk up to and touch. From the monument’s base you are given a beautiful view of the Capital Building. Nearby is The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and a slew of others, as well interesting historical landmarks like the Ford Theater. We also walked to the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Watergate Complex. Put on your walking shoes, layover junkies.
In America, we like to eat. We really like to eat. And in D.C., there are a million places to toss your diet out the window and satisfy your naughtiest cravings, from the high-end 1789 Club in Georgetown to the manifold of food trucks lined up along Constitution Avenue like train cars to the bevy of fine eateries along I street.
We chose an “American Bistro with a French accent” and ate at the Central Michel Richard Restaurant at 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, across the street from the Waldorf Astoria. We sat on the elegant patio and were catered to by two waiters and a waitress. The service was as efficient as the roadways and the food, 3-Stars, or 30 points depending on your rating scale (in gastronomy, three stars is the best meaning ‘exceptional cuisine, or 30 points in the Zagat guide for extraordinary to perfection for Food, Décor, and Service). For our appetizers, we ordered a delectable French Onion soup with velvety melted Gruyere cheese and a thick sapid broth and gourmet chicken nuggets drizzled with aioli and Dijon sauce. For the entrees we ordered, a gently spicy and sweet Bok Choy Red Curry with a French/Thai influence and a Wedge Salad decorated with blue cheese crumbles and a fluffy blue cheese dressing. Accompanying the repast, I indulged in two beers, Troeg’s Perpetual IPA and the Heavy Seas TropiCannon IPA, the Troeg’s the better of the two. Great place.
We were exhausted when we arrived back at the hotel and fell asleep quickly. It was the most restful sleep in a hotel I have had since Tangier. Be aware that if you are an early riser, most establishments don’t seem to open until after 6:30 Am., even seven, so prepare accordingly. I was up at 4:45 and dying for coffee. These are things you learn on the road. Nothing is worth getting upset about though. We eventually had breakfast and coffee at the Garden Café 2116 F St. NW. You enter the patio through a short alley, and the food is typical breakfast food. Can’t go wrong there.
As Mark Twain once said, and I am paraphrasing here, “Stop being a couch potato; turn off the housewives of Wichita and get out into the territory and see some things. It just might expand your tunnel vision of the world.”