Hotel Zena, the new hotel managed by West Hollywood, California-based Viceroy Hotels & Resorts in D.C.’s Logan Circle, isn’t just a boutique hotel. It aims to serve as a cultural hub celebrating female empowerment though provocative art and design and relevant programming.
The 191-room Hotel Zena replaces the Kimpton-run Hotel Donovan at 1155 14th St. NW, in Logan Circle. Bethesda-based Pebblebrook Hotel Trust acquired the hotel in late 2018.
Pebblebrook and Viceroy call the Zena an interactive venue, where every architectural line, material and art installation has been designed and curated to send a message of female empowerment.
The lobby includes a large portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which was part of the design plans well before the Supreme Court justice’s recent death.
The Ginsburg portrait, by artist Andrea Sheehan and Julie Coyle Studios, is composed of 20,000 hand-painted and repurposed tampons.
“We created a safe gathering space that celebrates diversity, respects different points of view and opens the floor to topics worthy of meaningful conversation,” said Jon Bortz, Pebblebrook CEO.
“We know we’re pushing boundaries and might even make some people uncomfortable, and we’re OK with that.”
Zena’s public spaces include more than 60 pieces of art created for the hotel by artists working for the cause of human rights. A description of Zena’s art collection is online.
The hotel bar and restaurant, Figleaf, serves locally sourced shared plates and entrees. A rooftop lounge and pool, called Hedy’s Rooftop, will open next spring.
Hotel Zena also has 3,500 square feet of meeting and events space.
Hotel Zena is the seventh hotel in Pebblebrook’s Z Hotel portfolio, which includes Hotel Zetta, Hotel Zelos and Hotel Zeppelin in San Francisco.
This is the second hotel in D.C. to be managed by Viceroy. The 178-room Viceroy Washington D.C., also in Logan Circle at 1430 Rhode Island Ave. NW, opened in August, replacing the former Kimpton-managed Mason and Rook Hotel.
