Like 1799 Prime Steak and Seafood, Hotel AKA (625 First Street) in Old Town North is heading to city review for a permit to dramatically upscale some courtyard seating.
The hotel — perhaps most notably for its strikingly dark facade — is hoping to increase its outdoor seating from 40 seats to 120 seats.
Alexandria Police say that no arrests were made or injuries reported after multiple shots were fired outside a West End hotel late last month.
APD responded at around 9:30 a.m. to the 6200 block of Duke Street for a report of shots fired, and found two bullet casings in the middle of the parking lot, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Alexandria’s transient lodging, from Airbnb to hotels, famously took a hit back in 2020, but there’s some good news.
At a meeting of the City Council last night celebrating some of the work of Visit Alexandria, Mayor Justin Wilson noted that transient lodging has continued to climb and overall consumption tax revenue now exceeds pre-pandemic levels.
Black resistance is the theme of the upcoming Virginia Black History Month Gala in Alexandria.
Actor, singer and producer “Leon” Robinson will be the keynote speaker for the annual event, which will be held at the Hilton Mark Center (5000 Seminary Road) on Friday, February 24, and Saturday, February 25. Robinson performed roles in “The Temptations,” “The Five Heartbeats,” “Cool Runnings,” “Above the Rim,” and as Little Richard in the 2000 film “Little Richard.”
The Electra America Hospitality Group (EAHG) has filed an application to open a new cafe with outdoor seating at Hotel AKA — an Old Town North Holiday Inn replacement at 625 First Street with a dark exterior.
The amendment to allow a cafe is bundled in with an official change of ownership special use permit headed through the city review process.
There’s a new reason to go to the Hyatt Centric Old Town.
Indo-Chinese restaurant Indochen is now open at the hotel (1625 King Street) serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is the second Indochen in Alexandria, after its location at 4906 Brenman Park Drive in Cameron Station.
(updated at 4:45 p.m.) While more than half the hotels in Alexandria are pet-friendly, one hotel has added a package to go above and beyond for your furry friend.
The “Bark, it’s your Birthday!” package from Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria figuratively rolls out the red carpet for your pooch.
Pandemic sounds death knell for Alexandria dry cleaners — “Gary and Chong Whitesides had for the past three decades run a dry-cleaning business in Alexandria… but the pandemic eventually shut them down, too.” [Washington Post]
Robots take over Hybla Valley Denny’s — “A handful of Denny’s restaurants nationwide, including one in the Alexandria area, has hired robots.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Alexandria hotels are still hurting, but there may be some signs of relief on the horizon.
The ongoing battering of the hotel industry by Covid has been one of the biggest talking points in the budget so far: particularly because city leaders say it could lead to more tax pressure on the city’s residents.
In a glimpse at financial assessments for 2022, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said on Twitter that declining hotel revenue — and thus taxes paid to the city — will put more of the city’s tax burden on residents.
The decline of tax revenue for the City of Alexandria is just one part of a difficult financial recovery from the pandemic — one exacerbated by the omicron surge earlier this winter. While sales and meals tax have rebounded slightly, the dearth of hotel funding has even led the city to consider investing in a new hotel.
The Electra America Hospitality Group sees Alexandria’s red brick facade and wants it painted black.
The Holiday Inn Express in North Old Town could be rebranded to Hotel AKA as the hotel appears to move into an emo phase. A request for alterations to the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) includes a number of changes for the hotel at 625 First Street and 510 Second Street, perhaps most notably a new coat of black paint on the brick facade.
