Total meeting space: More than 100,000 square feet
Ballroom space: 30,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom (with 22' ceilings); two 10,800-square- foot ballrooms (with 20' ceilings)
Meeting rooms: 55 (plus 26 salons in ballrooms)
WashingtonMarriott Marquis
DowntownD.C.’sNewConvention Headquarters
IN2014,DOWNTOWNWASHINGTON,D.C.,WILLWELCOMEA new player in the convention game with the opening of the Washington Marriott Marquis.With 1,175 guest rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of meetingspace, the $520- million hotel will give meet- ing planners a flexible new venue in D.C.’s city center, with a direct connection to the adjacentWalter E. Washington Convention Center. One of only five Mar-
riott Marquis hotels in the country, the new property will offer an abundance of flexible meetingspace, includingthree ballrooms: the 30,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom (with 22- foot ceilings) and two 10,800-square-foot ball- rooms (with 20-foot ceil- ings). Planners will also have access to more than 55 meeting rooms—53,000 square feet total—for convention break- outs, in addition to 26 salons spread throughout the ball- room space. For special events and receptions, planners can opt for the 2,500-square-foot rooftop terrace with views of downtown D.C., or the 18,800-square-foot indoor event ter- race. The building, jointly designed by Cooper Carry and tvs-
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design architects, features a top-down design, with 14 above- ground stories and 94 feet below ground. Most of the hotel’s meetingspace, as well as the truck- and service-loading docks, will be located below ground, with the taxi queue and bus arrival planned for the L Street entrance, to mini- mize traffic interruptions. Of the 1,175 total guest
rooms at theWashington Marriott Marquis, 637 are double rooms, 492 are king rooms, and 46 are suites, includingtwo presidential and six vice-presidential suites. Every room will fea- ture the brand’s signature amenities that Marriott devotees already know and love, includingultra-plush Revive bedding,LCDflat- screen TVs,Wi-Fi, and a smartly designed worksta-
tion with ergonomic chairs and a plug-in technology panel. Aimingfor LEED Silver certification, the property will set
the bar as one of the largest hotels in the United States to achieve the designation. Initiatives to reduce energy,CO2
LOOK UP: The new, 1,175-roomWashington Marriott Marquis broke ground in November 2010 and will make its debut in the spring of 2014. The centerpiece of the hotel will be the lobby’s stunning atrium skylight, which spans the length of a football field, and a mix of shops and restaurants.