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New JW Marriott Properties Make Bold Pitch To D.C. Luxury Tourists: Rest In Virginia
BETA This is a BETA experience. opt-out here Lifestyle Travel New JW Marriott Properties Make Bold Pitch To D.C. Luxury Tourists: Rest In Virginia More than $1 billion was invested in ‘The Row at Reston Station’ to make the affluent Virginia suburb the best place to stay along the Silver Line — and a destination unto itself By Paula Conway ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Paula Conway writes about the travel and leisure pursuits of the 1%. Follow Author Jul 31, 2026, 07:00am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Fairfax County, Virginia has long been defined by its wealth of intelligence — and its wealth. The headquarters of 11 Fortune 500 companies and four U.S. intelligence agencies sits in the small northern tip of Virginia near the District of Columbia.
Its proximity to the nation’s capital made Fairfax County a logical base for tourists, but hardly a destination unto itself. That changed in the decade after Reston adopted a comprehensive plan around its light rail transit station areas. Flash forward to 2026, and a once-assuming city is home to both a JW Marriott Residences and a JW Marriott; the two properties opened at the booming Reston Station site last year.
They’re the first JW Marriott properties in the state of Virginia — an overdue addition to the footprint of the global hotel chain’s luxury portfolio.
According to Bruce Rohr, Vice President and Global Brand Leader, JW Marriott & The Luxury Collection, the hotel chain already offered a “quintessential urban experience” with a JW Marriott in the heart of D.C.
“JW Marriott Reston Station complements that offering,” Rohr said, “by providing a different expression of luxury – one rooted in a vibrant, transit-oriented community where guests can seamlessly access world-class dining, wellness, residential, cultural, and business experiences in a more balanced, walkable setting.”
Chef Anthony DiGregorio, executive chef at the Simon in the JW Marriott Reston Station , called it an “up and coming area.” That’s true, but not in the usual sense. Before the properties opened for business, Reston was both affluent ($154,151) and educated (71.8% of adults have a bachelor's degree or graduate degree) according to Census Bureau data.
The arrival of Metro's Silver Line in July 2014 was an obvious catalyst. Four years later, Reston adopted detailed urban design guidelines, building heights, streetscapes, pedestrian design, mixed-use requirements and public space standards. A sleepy upper-class suburb transformed from a bedroom community to an edge city.
All of this was spelled out in municipal planning codes before Marriott signed on to join The Row at Reston Station .
“We're seeing strong demand for places that offer the convenience and energy of an urban center while providing a more balanced lifestyle experience,” Rohr said.
Tysons (Fairfax County's central business district) shares a similar profile in the region. It has a Silver Line station, affluent residents, and major employers (Booz Allen Hamilton, Freddie Mac, Capital One, etc.). But the area is less walkable than Reston and, once Reston Station fills out its row of tenants, there will be more to do there between trail-seeking and catching the Silver Line to D.C. or Dulles Airport.
Besides the twin Marriott properties, another residential tower anchors the station. BLVD Haley features an indoor golf simulator and boasts a two-bedroom unit renting for $6,900 a month . Both it and the Marriotts were developed by Comstock. While BLVD Haley appeals to renters, the JW Marriott Residences is appealing to well-heeled buyers to live where they work (or near it, at least). Its penthouse unit sold for a whopping $10.25 million in April .
Marriott takes a selective approach when choosing to combine a hotel with luxury residences. Rohr emphasized that the two JW Marriott properties complement each other, rather than compete.
“The strongest hotel-and-residential developments feel integrated rather than adjacent,” he said.
The JW Marriott hotel features 14 junior suites, four executive suites, and a presidential suite, each with floor-to-ceiling windows. One notable perk: 14 “mindful rooms,” a concept geared toward travelers inspired by wellness. These standard or junior-suite accommodations come with an enhanced wellness program layered on top of the room itself.
Guests who stay in these rooms have access to a dedicated wellness alcove with a yoga mat, light weights, and curated mindfulness tools. A personalized sleep and wellness consultation highlights the experiential component of your stay. Marriott selected the Reston Station property for the debut of its “Mindful Rooms and Floors” concept, “designed for travelers seeking a more intentional and personalized stay.”
Maybe it’s an experiment. Or maybe it’s a necessity in D.C. compared to other urban markets.
“As the neighborhood continues to mature, I think it will feel increasingly like a self-contained urban center – one that offers the access of the greater Washington, D.C. region with a more balanced, lifestyle-driven rhythm,” Rohr said.
The Marriott properties are the jewels of The Row at Reston Station , a $1.3 billion project spanning approximately 1.5 million square feet. It’s beginning to state its case as the best option among many in the D.C. area for those visiting the area for business or pleasure.
More than that, the Marriott brand is helping put Reston on the map as a destination unto itself.
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