Under new ownership since early 1996, this inn, led by managing partner Peter Greenberg, retains the charm instilled by its previous proprietors, whose name it stilibears. Most visitors continue to as-sume that the handsome property, with its reddish-brown brick laid in a Flemish bond, white-pillared portico, and double-hung windows, is another of the renovated Federal structures that abound in Alexandria. But the five-story Morrison House was built in 1985, under the watchful eye of a curator from the Smithsonian.
All guest rooms are different but have the Federallook about them, with camel-back sofas, Chippendale-style chairs, swagged draperies, and a few decorative fireplaces. Still prominent, too, is the Morrisons’ handiwork, which includes the customized armoires, with TVs, drawers, and room for hanging clothes. Little luxuries abound, including Italian marble bathrooms with scales and lighted, magnifying makeup mirrors, big towels, and double sinks in most rooms.
The pastel-colored Elysium, the hotel’s fine dining outlet, features American cuisine. There’s also seating in the more casual Elysium Grill, with its cherry-wood floors, red-leather chairs, and, on several evenings, piano entertainment.
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