Hilton's Canopy Brand Highlights Vibrant Neighborhoods

When Hilton set out to create a neighborhood-focused hotel brand aimed at attracting young adult travelers, Canopy by Hilton was the result.

On paper, the brand sounds like an exercise in market research. Millennials love shared plates and local booze! Millennials demand lots of power outlets and WiFi! Millennials love free breakfast and rooftops! Millennials want to be welcomed by their first name and a fist bump!

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In practice, one remembers why market research is important: it works.

An important feature of Canopy by Hilton is that the hotels take up residence in vibrant neighborhoods. Neighborhoods worth traveling to visit. While many upscale hotels crowd business districts, Canopy by Hilton properties are deliberate about selecting neighborhoods with vibrant cultural scenes, like Portland's Pearl District and Dallas's Uptown.

In Washington, D.C. Canopy has settled in The Wharf, or the Southwest Waterfront, where entertainment and dining options crowd a tree-lined avenue fronting a marina. I arrived on a warm, cloudless July evening to a bustling throng taking in the warm summer twilight.

The hotel's entrance is a two story atrium with views over the Potomac. Check-in can be done in person or using the keyless feature on Hilton's app, and guest rooms are reached by key-access secure elevators. Design touches throughout the public spaces pay homage to neighborhood. It's a clean, modern design with several nautical touches. At check-in, guests receive a welcome gift of a taste of the neighborhood. On the evening I visited, it was a brigadeiro from the Northwest DC Brazilian sweet shop June B Sweet.

On the second floor, along with registration, is the lovely indoor-outdoor Canopy Central Bistro & Bar, where guests can enjoy the free artisan breakfast in the morning or dine throughout the day and evening. Floor-to-ceiling windows take full advantage of the waterfront views, and on a warm summer evening like the one we enjoyed the doors were flung open and plenty of guests were seated outside. There were several cocktail hour crowds enjoying the views and the craft cocktails from the bar.

Upstairs at Whiskey Charlie, the hotel's rooftop bar, there are even more expansive views of the Potomac and the Virginia cities on the other side of the river. There's a similar menu of light bites and libations. Whiskey Charlie is open only in the afternoon and into the evening, and seems popular with the neighborhood in addition to guests.

So far, we're checking all the right boxes: rooftops, shared plates, bright staff (called "Canopy Enthusiasts"), local booze, and we're not even to the good stuff yet.

Canopy calls it "the just right room", and it's the star of the show. There's a wonderfully comfy and refreshingly not too overstuffed bed framed by a dramatic ceiling-height headboard of lovingly "wharf-worn" wood. There's a generous amount of outlets and plug-ins for the electronics that trail in our wake both bedside and elsewhere throughout the room. The nautical theme continues, with heritage maps of the Potomac and an interesting die-cut of an unconstructed Titanic model adorning the walls.

There's a Nespresso coffee maker, which I've always likened to the adult equivalent of finding a Twinkie in your lunch box. More practically, it's a standard feature of luxury hotels that is a pleasant surprise for a somewhat more moderate brand tier. Gone are the unimaginative closets that seem to beg guests to forget items in the rush to leave, and they're replaced with open shelves that keep belongings in plain sight. Gone are bend-and-browse mini fridges. Here, guests will find a stylish refrigerated drawer underneath the coffee maker. Similarly disappeared are the inevitable plastic water bottles with reusable glass milk bottles in their stead. There are filtered water and ice stations on each floor.

Free Wi-Fi is standard. Interestingly, flat-screen televisions seem to lack integrated links to streaming content services that have quickly been implemented in other hotels. This is somewhat surprising, considering how otherwise well-wired the property is.

For breakfast, guests can place the brown breakfast bag outside their door in the evenings and indicate what time they would like their to-go breakfast delivered, and it comes back to the dedicated hooks separate from each door handle containing a granola bar, whole fruit, fruit juice, and yogurt. For those with time to dine downstairs, the artisan breakfast is a generous spread of breads, pastries, donuts, bagels, lox, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, frittata, flat breads, cold cuts, cheeses and cereals. There's also fruit juice and drip coffee, while espresso drinks can be whipped up for a nominal charge.

When it's time to explore, the free Southwest Shuttle takes guests from The Wharf to L’Enfant Metro, the National Mall and L’Enfant Plaza Retail. Guests can also take a water taxi to various stops along the Potomac, or borrow a Canopy bicycle from the hotel free of charge.

The Takeaway

Guests who are down with a hyperlocal experience featuring local brews, unique design, and unstuffy service will feel right at home at Canopy.

The Math

I've seen low-season rates from as little as $167.

Instagrammable Moment

Virtually every room on property features delightful views of the Potomac, and they're worth capturing.

Loyalty

Hilton Honors.

Good To Know

Canopy by Hilton hotels are dog-friendly. Dogs less than 75 pounds can accompany guests for a nominal fee.