Hotel Rouge
Encyclopedia
Boutique hotel
Boutique hotel is a term popularized in North America and the United Kingdom to describe intimate, usually luxurious or unique hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized accommodation and services / facilities...
located at 16th Street
16th Street Northwest (Washington, D.C.)
16th Street Northwest is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.Part of Pierre L'Enfant's design for the city, 16th Street begins just north of the White House across Lafayette Park at H Street and continues due north in a straight line passing K Street,...
Northwest and Rhode Island Avenue
Rhode Island Avenue (Washington, D.C.)
Rhode Island Avenue is a diagonal avenue in the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. and the capital's inner suburbs in Prince George's County, Maryland. Paralleling New York Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue was one of the original streets in Pierre L'Enfant's plan for the capital. ...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Located at Scott Circle
Scott Circle
Scott Circle is a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and 16th Street, N.W...
across from the Australian
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
embassy, Hotel Rouge is one of 11 Kimpton
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurant Group
The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Inc. is an American hotel and restaurant company. Founded in 1981 by William Kimpton and led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Depatie, it is the largest chain of boutique hotels in the United States. The company's headquarters are in San Francisco,...
hotel properties in the Washington Metropolitan Area
Washington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
. Originally a 1960s apartment building and then a Quality
Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International is a hospitality holding corporation which is affiliated with several hotel brands and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland...
hotel, Hotel Rouge opened on December 14, 2001 and is owned by LaSalle Hotel Properties of Bethesda
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The building was purchased in 2001 and underwent a $14 million dollar renovation along with the nearby Topaz Hotel
Topaz Hotel
The Topaz Hotel is a 99-room boutique hotel at 1733 N Street Northwest, between Dupont Circle and Scott Circle in Washington, D.C. Located around the corner from St. Matthew's Cathedral and the Philippine embassy, the Topaz Hotel is one of 13 Kimpton hotel properties in the Washington Metropolitan...
.
History
Kimpton hired Mike Moore, a product designer and interior decorator, to come up with the hotel's name and design. Moore chose "Rouge" and the crimsonCrimson
Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include...
color scheme that is throughout the hotel after watching the film Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
. Red walls, leopard print carpeting, white upholstery furniture, white shag carpets, and photographs of women were inspired by interior designers Jean-Michel Frank
Jean-Michel Frank
Jean-Michel Frank was a French interior designer known for minimalist interiors decorated with plain-lined but sumptuous furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marquetry.-Life and career:...
, Albert Hadley
Albert Hadley
Albert Hadley is an American interior decorator born in Nashville, Tennessee. His long-time design partner was Sister Parish. He attended Peabody College, Nashville, and a graduate of and teacher at Parsons School of Design, New York City and Paris. He trained with the South's best-known...
, and Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck
Philippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...
.