Keep the Holiday Spirit Going at Canopy By Hilton and Winter City Lights
The Canopy Holiday Lodge in Bethesda was developed through a partnership with local luxury picnic pop-up Lushnics.
For all its strengths and appeal, North Bethesda, or any part of Bethesda and surrounding Montgomery County, is probably not usually — or ever — in contention as your go-to locale for a weekend retreat, or even an overnight getaway.
But if, at this time of year, you turn into a Hallmark holiday movie fanatic, well, better start packing a bag now.
For the remaining two weeks of the year, Canopy by Hilton Bethesda North, located in the burgeoning Pike and Rose development, has transformed a “one-bedroom corner suite into a magical Christmas escape right out of your favorite Hallmark movie.”
That’s from the official description of the Canopy Holiday Lodge, developed through a partnership with local luxury picnic pop-up Lushnics.
The 693-square-foot suite has room for four guests, with a king bed and a pull-out queen sleeper sofa, and offers “a touch of Christmas magic in every corner [of] the living space, kitchen area, and bedroom.” With the Hallmark channel in mind, the goal was “to recreate their ultra-cozy aesthetic,” says Lushnics founder Dana Hall, who helped spark the idea.
Twinkling lights abound in the decked-out suite, with accents of buffalo plaid, faux fur textiles, and other elements reflecting the cozy vibe of Swedish mys and Danish hygge. The suite comes with a hot cocoa nook, plus access to a special holiday menu developed by the hotel’s restaurant Hello, Betty, exclusively available to guests, who can make their selections prior to arrival to ensure a stress-free stay.
With all items available for delivery right to the suite, the menu offers a mix of appetizers, entrees, dessert, and cocktails, including an assortment of housemade flatbreads called a Kevin McCallister’s Pizza Party in homage to the Home Alone character, while an assortment of housemade cookies, with the option for milk, has been dubbed Buddy the Elf’s Cookie Platter.
In addition to complimentary high-speed WiFi and hotel valet parking, a stay at the lodge also includes roundtrip transportation for an evening to explore Winter City Lights roughly 30 to 40 minutes away in Olney, Md.
Billed as the area’s largest light show and also “one of the most technologically advanced Christmas light experiences in the country,” Winter City Lights came in at No. 2 on this year’s “41 Most Magical Christmas Light Displays Across the U.S.” by Country Living magazine. (It was second only to North Carolina’s Tweetsie Christmas light show by train ride, and 14 places ahead of the Smithsonian’s ZooLights.)
Spanning a total of 18 wooded acres, this outdoor winter wonderland is organized around a 1.5-mile-long mulched walking trail. All told, there are more than one million twinkling lights decorating a 52-foot high programmable Christmas tree, a 200-foot diameter canopy overhead, and a handful of large light displays, plus three-minute synchronized light shows every half hour when it will also “snow” with “small bubble-based snow that is very similar to the real thing.”
Add-on attractions include a Penguin Plunge Snow Tubing ride and Lumberjack Ax Toss, plus concessions ranging from hot barbecue sandwiches to s’mores, fresh pizza to funnel cakes, fried Twinkies and Oreos to “the best hot chocolate you’ve tasted.”
Holiday Lodge Suite is available through Dec. 31. Canopy by Hilton Washington DC Bethesda North is at 940 Rose Avenue. For more information or to book, email info@canopybethesda.com. Visit www.canopybethesda.com or call 301-882-9400.
Winter City Lights is open select evenings through Dec. 31. Located at 4501 Olney Laytonsville Rd. in Olney, Md. Tickets are included with a stay in the Holiday Lodge, or $31 to $41 per person through advanced online reservation. Visit www.wintercitylights.com or call 888-720-1112.
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