The Marriott Wardman Park no longer hosts weddings. The Woodley Park hotel closed in 2020, its owner filed for bankruptcy, and the main wing was demolished for the Aerie and Zephyr apartment towers. Only the 1928 Wardman Tower survives, as condominiums. Here is what happened, what we loved, and where to celebrate now.
If you came here looking to book the Wardman Park, you are not alone. Parents and older siblings still remember weddings there, and old listings hang around online. So this page is partly an update and partly a thank you to a building that hosted a great many DC celebrations.
What happened to the Wardman Park
Developer Harry Wardman opened the Wardman Park Inn on November 23, 1918. The Wardman Tower followed in 1928, and Sheraton bought the property in 1953, adding a new main wing that opened around 1980. Marriott took over management in 1998.
The hotel closed at the start of the pandemic in 2020. In January 2021 its owner, an affiliate of Pacific Life, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and made the closure permanent. In July 2021 an affiliate of Carmel Partners won the auction with a $152.25 million bid. The purchase agreement said the buyer intended to use the property for residential purposes and not as a hotel.
Demolition of the main wing began in October 2022. A $360 million construction loan followed in 2023. Two apartment buildings now stand on the site: Aerie, with 290 homes on the Connecticut Avenue side, and Zephyr, with 577. Aerie began preleasing in May 2025, with first move-ins scheduled for that August. The Wardman Tower, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stays on the site as a condominium building. There is no ballroom to book.
5 things we loved about working at the Marriott Wardman Park
1. The scale was hard to match
By the end, the hotel had 1,152 rooms and 195,000 square feet of event space, plus 95,000 square feet of exhibit space. That is a rare thing for a family planning a wedding of several hundred guests. Big South Asian guest lists felt comfortable there rather than squeezed in, and a family never had to worry about outgrowing the room.
2. A whole wedding could stay in one place
Multiple events under one roof is the dream for a multi-day Indian wedding, and the Wardman Park delivered. Adam Lovell and Ami Shah held their garba, a Gujarati night of circle dancing, plus their wedding ceremony and reception there. Here is what they wrote about the experience:
"Ateet and his team at Planet DJ were responsive and professional throughout the planning process for our wedding, and delivered consistently high-quality sound across multiple events in multiple spaces. They coordinated with a string quartet and an eight-piece rock band, provided dance floor lighting and large projection screens for slideshows."
Adam Lovell and Ami Shah
A string quartet, a rock band and a garba at the same wedding is a good picture of what that building made possible.
3. The Metro was right there
The hotel stood beside Connecticut Avenue next to the Woodley Park Metro station. For out-of-town relatives, that meant a trip to the National Zoo or the monuments between events without a rental car. Local guests could come in for the reception and ride home after the last dance.
4. It carried real Washington history
Lyndon Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover and Earl Warren all lived at the Wardman Park at one time or another, and Jimmy Carter conceded the 1980 election in the hotel's ballroom. Guests at a wedding might not have known that, but it gave the place a certain weight.
5. Two buildings, two personalities
The property paired a modern convention wing with the 1928 Wardman Tower, designed by Mihran Mesrobian, whose brick, white trim and rounded balconies looked like old Washington. Families got the practical space of a big hotel with a touch of the romantic old building beside it. That tower is still standing, and you can see it from the neighborhood.
Where to celebrate now
No single venue fully replaces the Wardman Park, but each of these DC hotels covers a part of what it offered. We have guides to each one:
- For a very large guest list: The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. has a ballroom that holds 810 at a banquet and divides into salons, close to the Foggy Bottom Metro.
- For a multi-day wedding under one roof: The Mayflower Hotel has six ballrooms and 581 rooms, with Farragut North Metro about a block away.
- For a mix of indoor and outdoor: the Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown offers a garden Courtyard beside its ballrooms.
- For a smaller, more intimate celebration: Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC sits on the canal in Georgetown.
You can browse the rest in our venue guides, which cover Washington, Maryland and Virginia.
If you found the Wardman Park on an old list or a family member suggested it, take a fresh look at what you actually need. Most couples who loved it wanted three things: room for everyone, a single place for several events, and an easy trip for relatives. A hotel that fits your guest count today may offer two of those. Knowing which one matters most will narrow your shortlist quickly, and it will help any venue give you a straight answer.
When you compare them, it helps to ask what the Wardman Park did so well:
- How many rooms can we hold at the same time for a multi-day wedding?
- Can the ceremony, the reception and a garba or sangeet all stay in the building?
- How far is the Metro, and is there parking for a few hundred cars?
- Is there a block of guest rooms large enough for out-of-town family?
What Planet DJ brings to your next venue
The best thing about a building like the Wardman Park was never only the building. It was a family gathered in one place across several days. We have been doing that since 1996, and we can carry the same plan from room to room at any venue on your list. That means DJ and sound for every event, lighting, projection screens, dhol and live musicians, and an MC who keeps it all on time.
A multi-day wedding depends on the handoffs. The garba crowd has to be back in the ballroom for the ceremony, the band needs its cue, and the slideshow has to be ready when the toasts end. Those are the same problems we solved at the Wardman Park, and they travel with us to whichever room you choose.
If your family has a Wardman Park memory, we would love to hear it. And if you are planning a new one, send us your date.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Marriott Wardman Park still open?
No. The hotel closed in 2020, its owner filed for bankruptcy in January 2021, and the main wing was demolished starting in October 2022. It is not reopening as a hotel, and no event space there can be booked. The buyer's purchase agreement called for residential use, and apartments now stand on the site.
What is on the Marriott Wardman Park site now?
Two apartment buildings developed by Carmel Partners: Aerie, with 290 homes, and Zephyr, with 577. Reports put the total at nearly 900. The historic Wardman Tower, built in 1928, remains as a condominium building. A portion of the park on the site stays publicly accessible, according to the project's civil engineer.
Who bought the Marriott Wardman Park?
An affiliate of Carmel Partners, a real estate investor that mainly owns multifamily properties, won the bankruptcy auction in July 2021 with a bid of $152.25 million after 129 rounds of bidding. The seller was an affiliate of Pacific Life Insurance Company, which had blamed the hotel's troubles partly on newer, larger convention hotels.
Can you still have a wedding at the Wardman Tower?
We found no sign of that. The Wardman Tower was converted to a residential condominium building and is not a public event venue. If your family wants the same neighborhood, Woodley Park is still a lovely place for photos, but the ceremony and reception will need to happen elsewhere. Our DC venue guides are a good place to start.
