Logan Circle’s Hotel Donovan, formerly run by Kimpton, will reopen after a renovation as Hotel Zena. Its owner describes it as a “cultural hub celebrating female empowerment through provocative art, design and relevant programming.”
The 191-room Hotel Zena will open in spring 2020.
Bethesda-based Pebblebrook Hotel Trust acquired the hotel in late 2018. It will be managed by West Hollywood, California-based Viceroy Hotels & Resorts.
“Hotel Zena will be the first hospitality establishment solely dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of women,” said Pebblebrook CEO Jon Bortz. “Washington, D.C., is one of the most culturally diverse [metropolitan areas] with a female-majority population, and there is no better place or more relevant time to fill this void in the travel market.”
Hotel Zena will promote its female-focused theme largely through art, including a mural of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and through room and lobby décor and “cheeky design details,” according to Andrea Dawson Sheehan, with Seattle-based Dawson Design Associates, the interior design company overseeing the former Donovan’s renovation.
Hotel Zena, at 1155 14th St. Northwest, will include a lobby lounge with light food menu, private events space and a 14th-floor rooftop pool.
Hotel Zena will be the seventh hotel in Pebblebrook’s Z Hotel portfolio, which also includes Hotel Zetta, Hotel Zelos and Hotel Zeppelin in San Francisco.
Pebblebrook owns several other hotels in the Washington area, including Hotel George, Hotel Monaco Washington D.C., Mason & Rook Hotel and Sofitel Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square.
Pebblebrook acquired Bethesda-based LaSalle Hotel Properties for $5.2 billion a year ago, though it has been selling several hotel properties since the acquisition.
Bortz, who founded Pebblebrook in 2009, was previously chief executive at LaSalle.
Kimpton still manages six hotels in Washington, one of its largest markets.
