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Embassy Circle Guest House
EYESORE TO ASSET:
REBORN AS A B&B
Couple Opens Dream Business After Nightmarish Renovation
“… the Sabas dreamed of starting a new business, a bed-and-breakfast, which they would live in and operate. In September 2003, their $1 million bid for the house at 2224 R St. NW was accepted. That's when the complications began to mount. “We soon realized it was a much bigger project than anticipated and before beginning any renovations, the building needed to be stabilized because it was in danger of collapsing," Raymond Saba said. Fire had almost disintegrated the rafters supporting the roof, but the extent of the damage had been disguised by covering the rotted timbers with plywood.”
> Click here to read the full article
By Beth Gilbert - April 21, 2007
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Two Newly Renovated Guest Houses
Both Woodley Park Guest House and Embassy Circle Guest House are gorgeous old homes that have been extensively and recently renovated.
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When we purchased Embassy Circle in 2003, it had been abandoned for almost 20 years and had suffered both extensive water and fire damage, making it completely unfit for human habitation.
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Woodley was a shabby but habitable rooming house with a few exciting quirks when we purchased it in 2000. For example, when you plugged in your hair dryer you were likely to zap the electricity throughout the house.
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Both houses were renovated (some might say rebuilt) by Raymond and Joe, brothers-in-law and managers of Raycon Incorporated, the family construction company. Raymond and Joe are both visionary craftsmen and sticklers for detail, and both of the houses were renovated to provide the maximum quality, beauty, space and comfort for our guests.
Our concern for the environment dictated many of our construction choices. High efficiency toilets, light fixtures, HVAC units, hot water heaters, and other appliances were selected to minimize energy consumption. Life safety was also of critical importance to Raymond and Joe: both houses have state-of-the-art life-safety systems that are monitored 24-hours per day. Both houses are fully sprinkled, a rare amenity in older homes, and hard-wired smoke detectors are found in every guest room.
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The Rooms
A good night’s sleep is a blessing to the body, mind and spirit and we firmly believe that nothing promotes restful sleep more than peace and quiet. Enjoy the beauty of our guest rooms as you relax on a comfortably firm mattress dressed in silky linens, and experience the refreshing stillness rarely found in hotels, as you sleep deeply and peacefully without the background noise of television or radio.
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Housekeeping
Cleanliness is a hallmark of our Guest Houses and thousands of guests over the years have commented gratefully on our attention to this critical aspect of hospitality. Our housekeepers, all members of one extended family, have worked for us since we opened Woodley in 2000, and they have set a standard of excellence that they continue to meet every single day. Each room is cleaned daily, and housekeeping is glad to do your laundry and ironing for a small additional charge.
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Our Guests
If you agree that one of the greatest benefits of traveling the world is meeting interesting people, you will especially enjoy our charmingly cosmopolitan inns. It is not unusual for us to host guests from many different nations and continents. Tourists and business travelers, researchers and educators, artists, writers, politicians and political activists gather around the breakfast table daily. The conversation is wide-ranging and spirited and you may leave the table with a list of exhibitions to see, restaurants to try, books to read, movies to view, issues to follow, new contacts to pursue - or new friends and new countries to visit!
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Breakfast
We personally love good food, and we are committed to providing you with excellent, fresh, local choices. Both inns serve delicious coffee from a local roaster who has served the DC area for almost 100 years, wonderful pastries baked fresh daily at a friend’s bakery, delicious breads and yogurts from the local organic farmer’s market in Dupont Circle, freshly cooked hard-boiled eggs, a selection of cereals - and our signature dish, an amazing fresh fruit salad that includes at least a dozen kinds of fruit every day. An expanded list of choices at Embassy Circle includes smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers and a wonderful platter of assorted cheeses.
Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 10:00 am Monday through Friday and 8:00 to 10:30 am on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Whether you are staying at Embassy Circle or Woodley Park, owners and staff are always present at breakfast to introduce guests, answer questions, provide information, facilitate conversation, and generally get your day off to a good start.
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Staying Connected
Computers - It seems that it’s almost impossible to “get away from it all” anymore, so we have made it easy for you to stay in touch. Borrow our guest laptop and take advantage of our free, high speed internet access to check show times, or book a B&B in New York. Connect your laptop to our network to check the weather at your next destination or log on to your email account.
Phones - Most of our guests seem to be traveling with cell phones these days, but every now and then, someone needs a land line. To help you stay connected by phone, and to help you wake up on time in the morning, all of our guest rooms have phones with voicemail and wake-up call capabilities. Checking in with family and friends shouldn’t cost you a fortune. At our guest houses, local calls are free and there is a minimal charge for long-distance and international calls.
Languages - It is so nice to be able to speak to someone in your own language. We don't speak all of the world's languages, or even most of them, but between the owners and staff of dcinns.com, we do speak several languages in addition to English, including Spanish, French, Arabic and Tagalog.
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Entertainment
What – no TV’s? Yes, it’s true. As part of our commitment to peace and quiet, there are no TV's or radios in the Guest House. We do however offer newspapers, magazines, great books, games and conversation for your enjoyment, as well as a computer with free internet access to keep abreast of breaking news. This being Washington, DC, there is so much to do every day that you probably won’t have time to miss the television anyway.
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