Washington, DC

GSA Per Diem
From March 1 – June 30th:
Lodging = $226.00
M& IE = $71.00

Lodging

Mayflower Renaissance Washington Hotel
1127 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-228-7697
Metro: Farragut North/West (Red and Orange lines)
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wassh-renaissance-mayflower-hotel/

I live in the DC Metro area, so I don’t have a lot of knowledge about lodging in the District. I have only stayed at one hotel in DC and it was the Mayflower. The Mayflower has a great reputation as being a prestigious and swanky hotel near the White House. You may also remember it from the Eliot Spitzer scandal, although the hotel doesn’t mention any of that in their advertising.

I had very few problems with the hotel as a customer. The bed was comfortable, the air conditioning worked, and they offer Aveda beauty products so I was happy. Room service offers the same dining options as any other Marriott so there isn’t anything noteworthy about room service.

Parking is remarkably expensive (as it is in any big city), valet only, and it runs $40.50 a night with in and out privileges. There are Metro stops close by and some parking garages in the vicinity that offer early bird specials, but no in and out privileges.

My company hosted a conference there and we did have problems with the hotel not being able to provided adequate electricity for our computers and the air conditioning never seemed to work in a few of our conference rooms. Air conditioning is one of my hot button issues.

One thing to be aware of, if you pay for internet for one night, the hotel automatically charges you the internet fee of $12.95 + tax for every night of the stay. I only paid for internet service for two nights, but there was an unauthorized (by me anyway) charge for internet on my third night on my bill. When you pay for the internet, there is no indication (that I noticed) that you are signing up for internet service for your entire stay. I called and they removed the charge, but I wager they are counting on people not noticing the charges.

Dining

This is by no means a definitive list and I will update my dining list as needed. These are establishments that I have enjoyed.

Good Stuff Eatery
303 Pennsylvania Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 543-8222
Metro: Capitol South (Blue and Orange Line)
http://www.goodstuffeatery.com/

If you are a Top Chef fan, this place is owned by Spike (Chicago season). The hamburgers are fantastic and reasonably priced for being so close to the Hill. I would recommend the “Obama Burger” (no political commentary implied – it is just delicious). Make sure you order “Spike’s Village Fries” because they are topped with thyme, rosemary and pepper. Rumor has it that they make great ice cream shakes as well.

There is only street parking available.

Fogo de Chao
1101 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 347-4668
http://www.fogodechao.com/home/

Fogo de Chao is a tasty Brazilian steakhouse with a great location in DC. It is definitely on the more expensive side. My seven colleagues and I did not make it out of there for under $750.00 (including drinks and desserts). I don’t think that Fogo de Chao has as many offerings as the Rodizio Grill, a Brazilian steakhouse chain located in Colorado and Utah, but the beef is wonderful.

I would not recommend this place if you are traveling with vegetarians.

Rosa Mexicano
575 7th Street at F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 783-5522
Metro: Gallery Place – Chinatown (Green, Yellow, and Red lines)
http://www.rosamexicano.com/Default.aspx

This is a restaurant that attempts to elevate Mexican cuisine. Personally, I love traditional, simple Mexican food but I do enjoy dining at Rosa Mexicano as well. The table side guacamole is wonderful – but is goes very quickly. I would expect you to spend a minimum of $25-40 a person.

Rosa Mexicano has a great location, right across the street from the Verizon Center, so you can watch the Washington Wizards lose and have some dinner.

Ben’s Chili Bowl
1213 U St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-0909
Metro: U Street-African American Civil War Memorial (Green line)
http://www.benschilibowl.com/ordereze/default.aspx

Ben’s Chili Bowl is a DC institution. The chili was indeed very good and it is different than southwestern-style chili as there were no beans anywhere. I would not recommend the slushees that they have, the one I ordered was so sweet I almost went into a diabetic coma. I enjoyed the chili dogs quite a bit. My friend gave the potato salad a review of “just okay.” You can also get Ben’s chili at the Nationals baseball stadium. $10 should be plenty for lunch.

There is a parking lot with about 5 spaces and no room to maneuver. Your best bet is to take the Metro or find metered parking.

Zaytinya
701 9th St NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 638-0800
Metro: Gallery Place – Chinatown (Green, Yellow, and Red lines)
http://www.zaytinya.com/

Zaytinya is a Mediterranean tapas restaurant. I am usually against tapas because I want more food then just a bite or two. Zaytinya was recommended to me by a friend and I was very happy with the food that was offered.

I would highly recommend the htipiti spread (roasted red peppers, feta and thyme) and anything with lamb in it tastes wonderful. Be sure to eat all the fresh pita bread that you can because it is warm, earthy and hits the spot.

Plan on spending about $35.00 (not including drinks) and $15.00 for valet if you don’t park on the street or one of the near by parking garages.

Panache
1725 DeSales St NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 293-7760
Metro: Farragut North/West (Red and Orange lines)
http://www.panacherestaurant.com/downtown/index.php

Panache is located right across the street from the Mayflower. While they do have wide variety of tapas (which I try to avoid) they have a very nice list of entrees. My favorite is the $30.00 three-course dinner which includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert. I love the hummus and my friends said the grilled calamari was excellent. I had the best chicken parmigiana that I have ever had. My friends enjoyed the salmon risotto and mahi mahi special. It was so good and the location so convenient that we ate there two nights in a row.

The chocolate mousse is surprisingly thick and very rich. I never once finished a whole serving.

Three three-course dinners and drinks cost about $150.00