I’ve spent three great days at Omni Shoreham in May, while attending an IT&C summit organized by a virtualization company. As the conference kept us for quite a while close to the hotel, I got well acquainted with what it had to offer. I thought I’d share my views with all of you traveling to Washington for business or pleasure and for those looking for a place to throw a party.

The hotel looks amazing and the rooms are placed in such a way that their overwhelming majority has a nice view to offer. The architect coming up with this hotel was really client oriented! The hotel might look like a little labyrinth at times, but there are enough signs to help you find your way.

The rooms are huge, the beds are extraordinary and their bathrooms are impeccable. Yet in the room I stayed there was no mini bar. There’s no vending machine on each floor either, so if you get really thirsty in the middle of the night, you have to get dressed and go downstairs. I think this is an aspect they should really work on, given their clear position of a luxury hotel.

The hotel restaurant looks extremely fancy. And if it’s warm outside, I strongly recommend eating on the terrace. There’s a lovely, relaxing view of the garden and its fountain to enjoy. The food was quite good, yet a very limited selection of dishes. Breakfast offered the most choices if you asked me.

I think if you pay attention to the menu selection, throwing a spring or autumn wedding reception at this hotel might be wonderful. If you’re traveling here on business, feel free to ask your business partners here to have lunch or dinner, they’ll appreciate the atmosphere. If they’re picky about what they eat, take them somewhere else though.

If there’s one area where Omni Shoreham is really outstanding, it must be the facilities it has to offer for seminars, conferences and other events. During my stay there, there were quite a few events taking place at the same time and there was enough room for everyone. Do keep the map offered to you by the organizers close by, otherwise that labyrinth feeling will kick in again.

To conclude, I’d like to say Omni Shoreham was one of the finest hotels I stayed in. But their staff should really learn how to give better advice. Their doormen know more than Concierge staff about transportation to airports, which is cheaper and which is faster. Being helpful is nice, actually helping someone make a smart move is even better.

Photos credit.

For most people coming outside US, baseball is this weird looking sport that they know nothing of. This is also true for Romanians, although their local Oina is thought to be the “ancestor” of baseball. If we start at the dawns of Oina, baseball is a really old sport. Oina was first mentioned around 1346, meaning it had been around for a long time before that.

Bun enough history lessons! Baseball is played on these huge stadiums and fans are wild and everything seems fascinating to a clueless outsider. But would you watch TV long enough to understand it, get to love it then join a fan club? I doubt it.

There are a few things you need to instantly fall in love with baseball. The first thing that would help is seeing your first game live. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll see it as I did, from a nice little VIP suite. Try to get decent seats. But after my experience, I don’t recommend the high class ones. You need to be at the heart of things to really feel the passion of this game. So concentrate on a good view and get mixed in the local cultural blend.

The next important thing is the right company. You need someone who knows baseball to explain the rules and everything. If you’re lucky, they’ll tell you a little about the history of the teams, trends and stadium costs. Yes, building one costs a huge fortune.

Don’t even try to understand why there’s a World Series! An almost exclusively US game (there’s one team in Canada) should not have a World Series. It sounds way to condescending for the rest of the countries who are not part of the game .

The third thing: food! You need the right food, bought from the right place. So take a stroll around the stadium and get yourself a hot dog or the spicier version, a chilly dog. And drink some coke or a Bud, or anything very, very American.

Team branded gifts! Yes, the all touristy activity is to buy Washington Nationals or Philadelphia Phillies t-shirts when it’s your first game and you have no idea who you support! But it’s a great part of a game, especially when you’re a rather short girl and want a t-shirts that at least tries to fit you.

So, on your next trip to the US, find out if there’s a baseball team near by, preferably major league, check the game schedule and get some tickets. You won’t regret it, not even for a second! Oh, and if you know a certain someone that can get you on the field, to run around like crazy, please, please give me his/her number!