While GU students furtively auction off sleeping spaces in their Village A apartments to eager Inauguration-goers (much to the University’s chagrin) or pile friends from around the country into their townhouses, the Ritz-Carlton hotels located in downtown D.C. and Georgetown have opted for a slightly different route in their Inauguration accommodations.
The two luxury hotels have set up Inauguration package deals catering to the more socially conscious members of high society who don’t mind throwing down obscene quantities of cash to be a part of history. The “Politically Correct” package offered by the Ritz downtown sold for a modest $50,000, while the Georgetown location’s “Red, White, Blue, and Green” deal advertising at a pricier $99,000 failed to sell in a timely fashion and was taken off the market.
What do such exorbitant price tags buy? While the Georgetown Ritz’s package, which promised nothing short of Inauguration ecstasy, didn’t sell, the 99 grand would have gone a far way to ensure the absolute comfort of the buyer, including first class round-trip airline tickets, a 24-hour on-call chauffeur for a luxury hybrid, a four-night stay in a Presidential Suite, Gucci luggage, two tickets to an official Inaugural ball, a private all-organic dinner, an eco-friendly Bath and Body Works Spa Gift Basket, Eco Luxe organic slippers (oh no you didn’t!) and monogrammed bathrobes, and of course, tickets to the Inauguration parade.
The “Politically Correct” package offered at the downtown location delivers many of the same eco-friendly amenities as the “Red, White, Blue, and Green”, though with a few exceptions and added perks: the Gucci luggage is replaced by a “Heart of the Nation” pendant designed by Judith Ripka, and guests can enjoy the services of an on-call fashion consultant courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue. In what is perhaps a nod to the troubled economic times, the downtown Ritz’s package requires that a portion of the $50,000 dollars be given to a charitable foundation.
While the charitable and eco-friendly aspects of the package may reassure buyers (who wished to remain anonymous, according to the Ritz’s public relations manager Audrey Spade) that their money will go towards a good cause, organic slippers and eco-friendly body wash won’t go far to repair the gaping hole in our atmosphere that threatens to cook the human race like a pig on a spit. And, with D.C. likely to be thrown into grid-lock—Mayor Adrian Fenty anticipates an extra four to five million people to flock to the District—that hybrid car probably won’t see the light of day. If nothing else, this exercise in excess proves that while the city may be decked out in red, white, and blue, change hovers in the air, and the Bushes have been pruned back, green remains the color of the moment.
