Canopy by Hilton is the energizing, new hotel in the neighborhood offering simple guest-directed service, thoughtful local choices, and surprisingly comfortable spaces, so guests simply feel better going forward. Each property is designed as a natural extension of its neighborhood, with local design, food and drink, and delivers a fresh approach to hospitality and the guest experience. Canopy by Hilton is the lifestyle hotel brand of Hilton Worldwide.
We’ve had the pleasure of working on two Canopy by Hilton hotels this year, one near Washington D.C. in Bethesda North, MD and the other in Portland, OR. With only five Canopy by Hilton branches open in the United States, we are thrilled to help bring these exciting hotels to new markets.
Image Courtesy of Canopy by Hilton
As the second Canopy by Hilton location in the United States, Canopy by Hilton Washington D.C. Bethesda North incorporates design staples of the Canopy by Hilton brand, including residential-style guestrooms with a locally interpreted Canopy above the bed and open closets. This is one of the first MARKZEFF-designed locations to open with interiors that fuse authentic materials, such as rough-hewn oak wood walls, concrete floors, and locally inspired artwork, furnishings, and accessories. Mark Zeff is also the firm that collaborated with Hilton’s team to initially create Canopy’s interior design ethos at the inception of the brand.
Image Courtesy of Canopy by Hilton
The entrance of the 177-room hotel features two impressive design elements: a two-story, living moss wall that from a distance looks like a map of the area and a massive chandelier draped with opaque acrylic reproductions of pages from a 1933 National Geographic Magazine. An early resident of the area, Gilbert Grosvenor (a nearby Metro stop, Grosvenor, bears his name) was the editor of that 1933 issue, dedicated to the birds of his Bethesda country home.
The feeling of the hotel lobby seating area is electric and eclectic. Its materials consist of velvet and leather, glass and wood. A combination of enveloping couches and hard surface chairs creates a comfortable cross between shabby chic and industrial. The lobby area also includes 48 colorful pop art portraits of other local notables
Floors throughout are high gloss, painted concrete with bright area rugs, and sliding barn doors define the bathroom in an homage to the area’s farming roots.
Image Courtesy of Canopy by Hilton
True to theme, Canopy by Hilton Portland Pearl District incorporates the revitalized industrial neighborhood and its indie boutiques, art galleries, microbreweries, and green spaces throughout the hotel, designed by locally based firm ZGF Architects and New York-based interior designer MARKZEFF.
Image Courtesy of Canopy by Hilton
The 153-room hotel features industrial finishes such as hot rolled steel metal beams, brick walls and concrete floors in parts of the lobby, café & reception area. The check-in desk, as well as other furniture pieces, are fabricated by local vendors. Throw pillows throughout the hotel feature fabric from Pendleton Woolen Mills, a sixth-generation family-owned Portland business.The guest rooms also feature an interpretation of a “canopy,” which extends over the front of the bed and is made of timber resembling the Oregon state tree, a Douglas Fir, creating a direct connection to the beauty and natural wonder of the Pacific Northwest.
Even the hotel’s exterior acts as a symbolic bridge between the Pearl District’s old and new structures, thoughtfully incorporating materials that reflect and complement the neighborhood’s past and future. The oiled bronze-inspired facade of the building – which is an art installation itself – changes its golden hue in synchronicity with the passing phases of daylight. Casement windows at street level allow activities in the hotel to carry out onto the sidewalks of Glisan Street, creating outdoor seating and an inviting setting for both guests and passersby.
Canopy by Hilton Portland Pearl District’s art curator, Elizabeth Leach of Elizabeth Leach Gallery located next door to the hotel, selects works from local artists to showcase around the hotel in both the property’s permanent and rotating art collections.