For $ 1,300, one can sleep in the same room from which J. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt punctured the phones of the National Democratic Committee. Not only that. You will sleep in a room that is a museum , along with an exact reproduction of the table, full of listening and recording systems used by the 'plumbers' of the White House who entered the headquarters of the Democratic opposition that Saturday June 17 1972 that changed the history of the United States, and will do it in a bed in which, on top of its headboard, there are four framed photos of the time with allusions to the scandal.
Is there any better way to go to Washington in the week in which the 'impeachment' against Donald Trump passes to the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives, which on Wednesday holds its first meeting to decide whether or not to launch the process of impeachment of the president?
But first, two warnings and one tip. First warning: this is the United States, so the price does not include taxes, fees - both those of the city of Washington and those of the hotel itself for the right to use, for example the pool - so the final price will probably pass of the 2,000 dollars . Second warning: if you want to do, book in advance. Sometimes, the room is reserved one month in advance.
And the advice: if you stay one night at the hotel, you can visit the room. Every day, as long as it is not occupied, the head of the concierges of the Watergate Hotel, Zach Powell, directs an impeccable guided tour of what is officially called "The Room of the Scandal" . Again, keep in mind that the minimum price of one night at the Watergate is usually around $ 530 in mid season, without taxes and fees, so do your own calculation and then look at the credit card account to see if It compensates.
The guided tour is a part of the marketing strategy of which, according to the US News and World Report website, it is the eleventh best hotel in the US capital to transform the scandal that under normal circumstances could have sunk its reputation into an identity sign .
This is how Powell is a personal friend of the two policemen who are still living in the group of three who came to investigate the complaint about the irruption in the Committee, whom he met when, precisely, they made the tour of the room. He has also met the two journalists who uncovered the case, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post , who, contrary to widespread opinion, get along well enough to have dinner together at the hotel restaurant recently. The concierge has had among the tourists visiting the "Room of Scandal" even the daughter of one of the Watergate brains, Chuck Colson. "I thought he was going to contradict me, but he said nothing," Powell recalls.
'It is not necessary to force the door'
Because everything, absolutely everything, at the Watergate Hotel is made to remember the listeners of the National Democratic Committee that cost President Richard Nixon. If you take a pencil or a pen from the hotel (who hasn't done that?), Observe it. It does not put the logo or the name of the establishment. Instead, he says: "I stole this from the Watergate Hotel."
If you look taller and decide to keep a bathrobe in the room, remember that you will not take anything with any reference to the Hotel, but with the words "COVER-UP" (translatable as "cover-up"). In the cards that make keys to enter the rooms it says: "No need to break in", that is, "It is not necessary to force the door".
In the elevator, a plaque shows the ten 'Watergate Rules' . Nine of them are what can be expected, more or less humorously, in a luxury hotel ("Dream in haute couture", "Aspire to the Moon" ...). Only the fifth is different: "Make sure the recorder is turned off." All of those are references to the scandal. From the 'cover-up', which Nixon tried unsuccessfully, to the fact that the president had to resign for his recordings of conversations in the White House. Not to mention the 'breaking in', that is, the entrance forcing the door, which is what uncovered the scandal.
The only thing that does not respect the Watergate is the hotel bar, called 'The Next Whiskey Bar'. Although, even so, it is a clearly retro name, because those words are part of the chorus of a 1966 'Doors' song 'Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)'. And the music that plays at the venue ranges from 1965 to 1980. Add to that the fact that the Watergate maintains a decoration from the late 60s and early 70s, and, when you enter the hotel, you feel like it to light a cigarette (something that is now prohibited) and to say at the reception that he has a meeting with Dr. Kissinger. Or, better yet, with Doctor No.
Because in the building, time has stopped . And the reality, too. Entering Watergate is like doing it in a novel by Ian Fleming (James Bond) or John LeCarré (Smiley). You decide which fiction you want to live. And prepare the credit card.
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