Destinations

What so great about summer other than the weather? Festivals! Summer is the best time for going to see new and exciting things happening in your town and the world. If you’re looking for something to do while your out and about these are only some of the events that will tickle your fancy.

The Capital Fringe Festival, Washington D.C. July 10-27: The Capital Fringe Festival features more than 500 performing arts shows at several venues around the Penn Quarter of D.C. It is an annual festival that was established to exhibit new, risk-taking art, and non-traditional performances from theater to dance to music and more.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington D.C. June 25-29 and July 2-6: Sponsored by the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage it is an annual event that focuses on celebrating cultural traditions from around the world. There is everything from music and dance, to cooking and crafts, to storytelling and discussions of cultural issues. This year the program will be featuring issues concerning Bhutan, NASA, and Texas.

Essence Festival Back Home In New Orleans: The Essence Festival celebrated its return in 2007 and is continuing the traditional this year. It will have more than 200,000 of the nations best African-American musical talent. In addition one can listen to some of the finest speakers in empowerment seminars. Usually held over the Forth of July weekend.

Taste of Chicago 2008, June 27 through July 6: Chicago’s biggest event started in 1980 as a small food festival, Taste of Chicago has become the world’s largest outdoor food festival. It is an extravaganza of more than 3 million people tasting the cuisine of over 70 of Chicago’s favorite restaurants.

Notting Hill Carnival, London: Since 1964 the Notting Hill Carnival has celebrated the cultural traditions of immigrant population from the Caribbean. In the 1950’s and 60’s the immigrant population faced harsh racism and after the race riots this small party was design to bring people together to remember their cultural roots. The party now has more the two million revelers and is held in August on Bank Holiday synonymous with the Caribbean Carnival.

Situated a stone’s throw from the White House (and it is highly discouraged to throw stones at the White House), the Sofitel Lafayette Square is a 4 star hotel in a 5 star location. To sum it up in a few words, the Sofitel brand is focused upon “the Luxury of French living.” In their property at Lafayette Square they hit their mark…though it is far from a direct hit.

The first thing that greets new guests is the lobby decorated with an overabundance of marble and a generous helping of opulence. The lobby certainly expresses the tone that this is not like other hotels, a fact confirmed when greeted with a polite “bon jour” or “bon soir” by the courteous Concierge. Everyone I meet in the hotel was very hospitable, polite, and exceedingly helpful.

French culture is known among many notable things for its appreciation of food and wine. This is expressed in the bar “Le Bar” and the restaurant “ICI Urban Bistro”: both are highly recommended for their ambiance, selection, and décor. A visit to the Lafayette Square hotel without a glass of wine in the bar or a leisurely French dinner would be an incomplete trip.

Where the Lafayette Square misses the mark, though, is in the rooms. I travel frequently for business and have gotten my luggage down to the bare minimums but even still I could barely fit my suit, two shirts, and gym clothes in the closet. If traveling for more than a couple days it would have been impossible to unpack everything. Also, the small closet fit in well with the less than spacious room: I wouldn’t say it was a small room, but it would be a tight fit if traveling with someone.

While the room did have the now standard plasma screen and HD TV of most luxury hotels, it lacked in some standard features such as an in room coffee maker. Additionally, the shower head was a cheap plastic brand with poor water flow.

The Lafayette Square is a good hotel aspiring to be great. If the property was to invest in a retrofit and bring their rooms up to the same level the rest of the accouterments, it would earn a badge as a Luxury hotel, rather than a hotel luxuriously located.