Washington, D.C
Washington, D.C. Hotel Deals Honor Pandas’ Return To National Zoo
Enjoy some panda-themed treats during a stay at The Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
It was a sad, sad day for Washingtonians everywhere when the National Zoo’s three beloved pandas—Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji—returned home to China in November 2023. Thankfully, two new pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, were brought back in October 2024 and are set to make their official debut in a newly renovated habitat later this month. National Zoo members can get a sneak peak from January 10–19, 2025, while the Asia Trail exhibit will open to the public on January 24, 2025. To celebrate their return, several popular hotels are offering specially themed packages, with little extras to mark this momentous occasion. Here’s what you need to know to take advantage of these Washington, D.C. hotel deals.
The Watergate Hotel
Located near The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Watergate Hotel’s Welcome Home, Pandas package includes perks like complimentary round-trip transportation to and from the National Zoo (arranged by the concierge), a children’s pair of panda pajamas by Bellabubear, a commemorative panda stuffed animal and other specially themed goodies. Book your stay online with promo code PANDA at least seven days ahead and plan to arrive by March 16, 2025. History buffs will love The Watergate Hotel’s display, located just off the lobby, with photos and news clippings highlighting the infamous 1972 scandal.
Omni Shoreham Hotel
Just a 10-minute walk from the National Zoo’s Connecticut Avenue entrance, Omni Shoreham’s Zoocation package gives you deluxe overnight accommodations, a special zoo-themed welcome amenity to remember your trip by, valet parking for one vehicle and a $25 credit toward daily breakfast during your stay. Use promo code PKGZOO when booking online. Omni Shoreham’s location near the Woodley Park–Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro stop also makes it ideal for exploring the rest of the District of Columbia.
The Melrose Georgetown Hotel and The Churchill Hotel Near Embassy Row
When you book a stay by March 2, 2025, at either The Melrose Georgetown Hotel or The Churchill Hotel Near Embassy Row, use promo code Panda to receive themed perks like welcome cocktails for two, a reusable panda bag and two panda bucket hats to commemorate their return. For every stay booked with the promotional package, a $10 donation will be made to benefit the Smithsonian Giant Panda Conservation Program. Both hotels are located in lively parts of town that are known for their shopping, dining and nightlife scenes; The Churchill is a few blocks from Dupont Circle, while The Melrose sits within walking distance of Georgetown and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Other Ways to Save Money in Washington, D.C.
One of the best parts about visiting our nation’s capital is how affordable it can be if you stick to free (or nearly free) attractions. Washington, D.C. is home to 20 Smithsonian Institution sites, including museums, galleries, gardens and the National Zoo—21 if you count the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center nearby in Chantilly, Virginia—and all are free to enter.
As for accommodations, there are a plethora of points hotels throughout the DMV (that’s D.C., Maryland and Virginia to the uninitiated). If you’re a member of Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, or World of Hyatt, among other loyalty programs—or carry certain travel rewards credit cards—that could mean cashing in your rewards points for a few free nights.
Otherwise, your best bet besides keeping an eye out for Washington, D.C. hotel deals is to opt for public transportation over pricier taxi or Uber/Lyft rides. The Metro system (WMATA), with its many rail and bus routes, is pretty intuitive and provides a safe and affordable way to get from point A to point B. If you’re staying downtown and the weather cooperates, don’t miss a chance to explore the city by foot. Strolling the National Mall or along Washington’s grand boulevards is a favorite pastime of visitors and locals alike, including this one.
Washington, D.C
Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week
4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
Washington, D.C
Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos
Washington, D.C. (7News) — Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.
Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.
Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.
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You can learn more and book your table here.
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