Almost Famous

Hotel Helix promises all who enter their 15 minutes of fame.

By Meghan Drueding

But if you don’t mind that feeling, you can kick back and let the marketing seduce you. It’s not hard when the red velvet drapes at Helix’s entrance automatically open and embrace you. And it gets even easier when the manager happily tells you the white patent leather that pads the walls of the Lounge is called “spank.” By the time you’re strolling the lime-green hallways of the hotel, which, until its renovation, was a nondescript apartment building, it's a cinch.

Starstruck

Helix opened the week of November 4, trumpeting its “Your 15 Minutes of Fame” theme. No one can fault it for not carrying a theme through -- the ghost of Andy Warhol looms large, from the lobby's Op Art rugs to the cans of Campbell’s tomato soup in the minibars. Some of the hotel’s first guests were the Ruff Ryders, as well as casting directors from, yes, MTV’s Road Rules, interviewing potential Road Rulers. It’s no wonder that entertainment industry types find the hotel attractive -- its interior designer, West Coast-based Mike Moore, has also designed movie sets.

All rooms have CD players, and the hotel will eventually offer a music library from which guests can borrow. Adjustable three-way mirrors are another perk -- when not in use, all three panels are held flat to the wall with magnets. Aveda toiletries compensate for smallish bathrooms in the standard and theme rooms. The suites ($80 more than a standard) are stocked with Aveda products, too, but their bathrooms are as party-friendly as the rest of the place.

Whatever their corporate goals may be, the Kimpton people want you to have fun. As with all of their hotels, there’s a free wine hour for guests from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Unlike most of its sister hotels, Helix also offers a free Continental breakfast, a boon for business travelers who don’t have time to roam the neighborhood (Logan Circle) for leisurely brunch spots. The staff seems to be of the anti-Ian Schrager school: They’re nice to you regardless of how good-looking you are. As you leave Helix, mourning the end of your 15 minutes, you may notice the sparkly driveway; it’s been painted black, then washed over with glitter. You can almost see yourself in it.

Just the Facts: Hotel Helix is a 178-room hotel located at 1430 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Special introductory rates are $89 to $109 for standard king-size rooms. 2003 rates: $199 (standard) $169 corporate, $99 (weekend). For both rates, themed rooms are $40 more per night, and suites cost $80 more. Theme rooms will not be available until January 2003.

Look for a review of Helix Lounge by Michael Hamilton later this month.

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Meghan Drueding lives on Capitol Hill, where she avoids the Starbucks and eavesdrops on political conversations.