Last weekend, Canopy by Hilton in North Bethesda invited me and my sister for a staycation—we had a great time and stayed up way too late watching rom com reruns while drinking brut rosé. (Truly my dream evening!)
Before the pandemic, I traveled often for work and stayed in hotels at least several nights a month. Since our world was turned upside down, I’ve only stayed in a hotel a handful of times—and let me tell you, it was so fun to check into Canopy and take full advantage of the hotel life. (Like…how can I get room service at my apartment?) And since I am still working from home full time, sometimes on weekends it’s hard to leave the office behind—so a change of scenery was much appreciated.
If you’re also craving a staycation and based in the DC area, Canopy is the perfect option for you—it was a short 30-minute drive from my apartment in Arlington. And once you arrive, since the hotel is located in the heart of Pike & Rose, you can just park your car and walk to anything your heart desires: amazing retailers like LL Bean, Blue Mercury, Sephora, West Elm, fast casual and sit down restaurants, and even a dog park with a bar. (You may remember that I went to Pike & Rose last month to enjoy brunch on the Pinstripes rooftop.)
CHECKING IN —
When you first walk into the hotel, the first thing you see is this stunning live moss wall—we couldn’t get over it! The hotel lobby is located on the third floor. Right near the check-in desk is Canopy Central Cafe and Bar, which has beautiful lounge seating. The Saturday that we were at the hotel, Canopy Central was rented out for two private events, a wedding and a grad party, but when it’s open, it seems like it would be a great place to get some work down or sit back and relax with a drink.
OUR ROOM —
Our room was ready for us when we checked in, so we headed right upstairs! Our room had a small entryway that could be separated from the bedroom with a pocket door, a stunning bathroom, and some really thoughtful touches that took our experience to the next level—things like USB ports built into the outlets, a Nespresso machine, and an expansive wardrobe with plenty of storage. (Even though we were only at the hotel for a night, we definitely packed like we were staying for a week!)
Our king room was on the 10th floor and overlooked Pike & Rose—it was such a great view and really fun people-watching. The bed was so comfortable, and the TV was huge; it was perfect for the aforementioned rom com movie marathon.
WHAT WE LOVED ABOUT THE HOTEL —
One of my favorite parts about the hotel was that there was a refillable water station at the end of each hall near the elevator. In your room, they provide a glass jar that you can refill at the station so you don’t have to use plastic water bottles (or pay for water). I drink a lot of water and this was SUCH a nice touch—I wish every hotel had this amenity!
During our stay, Canopy was hosting an Aura Aura pop-up activation, and the hotel was nice enough to offer me a complimentary session. Aura Aura is an experiential photography studio that uses a non-traditional photographic process to capture your bio-magnetic, vibrational energy in a one-of-a-kind portrait. I was a bit skeptical of this, but it was such a cool experience. Once your photo is taken, Eileen, the owner, walks you through everything you need to know about your aura based on how it appears in your portrait. It was such a unique, validating experience—I highly recommend doing it if you ever get the chance!
The other thing we absolutely loved about the hotel was the location—as I mentioned, once we parked, we didn’t need to use our car to go anywhere until we were heading home the next day. Pike & Rose has everything you might need within walking distance!
ROOM SERVICE —
After my session with Aura Aura, we kicked off happy hour by ordering room service!
We had brought a couple of bottles of wine from home—the room had a mini fridge!—as a way to save some money. One important PSA, in Maryland, you can’t buy wine + beer at the grocery store or gas stations or convenience stores—you have to buy it from a liquor store. As such, either get to the liquor store before it closes, or plan to order your drinks at a restaurant or through the hotel. I wanted to flag so you can plan accordingly!
The room service food was from Canopy Central and it was delicious—we did a cheese + charcuterie board, Brussels sprouts (these were especially good!), fried goat cheese, and a caesar salad. We had a great playlist going while enjoying our snacks and wine.
PIKE & ROSE —
After happy hour, we wanted to explore Pike & Rose a little bit before dinner—it’s such a vibrant community, we wanted to see what restaurants and shops were around. Not to mention, it was a gorgeous day! Canopy has complimentary bikes that hotel guests can use to explore the neighborhood, so we took them out for a spin—and an Instagram photo ;]
For dinner, I grabbed us a reservation at Summer House Santa Monica, which was located just a block away from Canopy. Summer House had been on my bucket list for years—and it didn’t disappoint! We sat outside on a gorgeous night and the ambiance and service were great. We split a pitcher of summer sangria and started with some homemade burrata. For dinner, I did the Costa Mesa salad with grilled chicken—I love a southwest salad and this one was delicious. Jennifer and I also split a side of mashed potatoes because our waiter said they were the best—he wasn’t wrong.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap of brut rosé in our room, which paired perfectly with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. We slept great and checked out the next morning—we had such a fun staycation at Canopy!
Thanks to the Canopy by Hilton in North Bethesda for hosting us—we had a wonderful time! The hotel gifted us a complimentary night stay with a food + beverage credit in exchange for social coverage on my Instagram. I was not required to do a blogpost, but wanted to since we had such a lovely stay. We paid for parking and our dinner at Summer House Santa Monica ourselves. As always, opinions are my own!
