Hundreds of guests gathered last week for the grand opening of Washington’s highly anticipated exclusive event venue, Top of the Hay.
By Gabbi Baker
Desserts and rooftop view from the grand opening of Top of the Hay.
On the evening of January 25, nearly 200 guests gathered at the Hay-Adams to celebrate the grand opening of Top of the Hay, Washington’s highly anticipated exclusive event venue. The space is now open to the public for private dinners, weddings, business meetings, and other special events, and can accommodate up to 300 guests for a reception and 180 guests for a seated dinner with dancing.
“I have been involved with this project from the inception of the idea more than ten years ago. I thought I could clearly visualize the end result; but the Top of the Hay has turned out to be beyond my wildest dream. The view is magnificent, and it is stunningly beautiful!” Kay Enokido, President of the Hay-Adams said. “We have created the most dramatic, elegant and versatile facility in the City.”
Interior reception space at Top of the Hay designed by Thomas Pheasant.
The award-winning architectural firm, Hartman-Cox Architects, overcame enormous challenges in an effort to maximize the space in extremely tight footprint with tough height and setback limitations. Thomas Pheasant, world-renowned interior designer, was successful in creating an atmosphere that is exceptionally unique but totally in harmony with rest of the Hotel. “I was trying to introduce a bright garden feeling with an architectural character which will appeal to a broad range of people,” said Thomas Pheasant.
The roof is now enclosed with large glass windows and dramatic skylights. Top of the Hay has five separate rooms with a sophisticated touch pad technology controlling all aspects of the cutting edge lighting and audio-visual elements. Each room can be used separately or together depending on the scale of the event. A new state-of-the-art kitchen, new express elevator from the lobby, coatroom and restrooms have also been incorporated in the facility.
While the rooftop was being constructed, other improvements were made. They include: 37” HD flat screen television in all guest rooms, larger in-room safes to accommodate laptops, upgraded telephones, a new fitness room, a new driveway, new landscaping and additional changes to the back of the House.
Preparing hor d'oeuvres in the new state-of-the-art kitchen.
