Jazz Age
Winchester, Va.’s historic George Washington Hotel is ideally located in the city’s historic district, just a block from a pedestrian mall that holds a variety of unique shops and eateries.
The five-story hotel opened in 1924 with 102 guest rooms and just 45 private baths. That same year Winchester held its first Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. Festival celebrities including Lucille Ball and Ed Sullivan have enjoyed its accommodations.
In the mid-1970s the hotel closed, and the building served as a home for adults until 1993. GW Development LLC purchased it in 2003 and started a multi-year facelift. In April 2008, the old gal re-opened as a Wyndham Historic Hotel, and she looks marvelous.
Located off the high-ceilinged lobby with its gleaming marble floors, is the Half Note bar. On either side of a flickering fireplace, two vibrant 11-foot high murals depict 1920s jazz scenes.
The basement houses a Roman bath-style heated pool and The Dancing Goat restaurant with its exhibition kitchen.
The hotel’s 90 attractively appointed guestrooms range from spacious standards to suites with fireplaces and whirlpools. Plush bedding, large European stone-floored bathrooms with oversized showers, flat-screen televisions and free high speed Internet all help to ensure a relaxing stay.
540-678-4700, wyndham.com/hotels/DCAGW/main.wnt.
