Burglars break into Rockville hotel room

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at a hotel in Rockville this past Saturday morning, May 13, 2023. The burglary was reported at a hotel in the 2600 block of Research Boulevard at 11:48 AM Saturday. There is an Extended Stay America hotel on that block. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry at the hotel room.

Assault at Rockville hotel

Montgomery County police were called to a hotel in Rockville, after an individual reported being the victim of a 2nd-degree assault on Friday afternoon, September 9, 2022. The assault was reported at a hotel in the unit block of Research Court at 4:17 PM Friday.

Strong-arm robbery at Rockville hotel

Rockville City police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery at a hotel late Saturday night, August 6, 2022. The robbery was reported at the Red Roof Inn at 16001 Shady Grove Road at 11:45 PM. 

Armed robbery at Rockville hotel

City of Rockville police responded to a report of an armed robbery at a hotel yesterday around 3:36 PM. The hotel was in the 16000 block of Shady Grove Road, according to crime data. Preliminary information states that the weapon used was not a gun. An indecent exposure incident occurred at a hotel in the same block one week ago.

Indecent exposure reported at Rockville hotel

A case of indecent exposure was reported from a hotel in the Shady Grove area on Wednesday. According to crime data, the incident was reported from a hotel in the 16000 block of Shady Grove Road around 6:04 AM. The call was responded to by the City of Rockville police.

Canopy by Hilton takes coronavirus message to heart at Pike & Rose

The Canopy by Hilton hotel at Pike & Rose is temporarily closed, like many hotels nationwide, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Upper floors of the building are still lit up because they comprise the 930 Rose condos atop the hotel levels. But some of the otherwise dark hotel windows have been lit up, Visiting Hours-style (ironically), to form a heart at this stressful time.

A man-made window pattern was topped off by the light of the moon over the hotel last evening. Hilton's website explains what the current reservation timeline is, and what policies the Tysons-based chain has modified or introduced to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Rockville Best Western to add restaurant

The Best Western hotel at 1251 W. Montgomery Avenue in Rockville is planning to add a restaurant to its property. Because the hotel usually has 74-164 parking spaces free, the property owner argues that the city should waive a required extra 29 parking spaces for the restaurant. The restaurant will be inside the existing hotel's lobby area, which will be reconfigured under the proposed plan.

Rockville's Planning Commission will consider the waiver request at its December 11, 2019 meeting. City staff is recommending approval of the waiver.

Comfort Inn Shady Grove gets updated branding and signage in Rockville (Photos)

The Comfort Inn at 16216 Frederick Road has updated branding and new signage. Gone is the old sun-and-waves logo. In its place is a minimalist "C" turned at an angle. I like this retro-style building. Although it's not apparent from the outside, the property did have a major interior renovation in the last three years, and is quite modern on the inside.

One plus of staying at this hotel - besides the convenient distance to Checkers, Red Lobster, Bowlmor and Burger King - is that parent company Choice Hotels is located just down the road, so you know the service and cleanliness are going to be carefully monitored by headquarters. From a nostalgia standpoint, I personally still prefer the old Comfort Inn logo - although it could hardly compete with the old Quality Inn logo, whose fonts and animation were only matched by the famous Holiday Inn signs that once lined America's highways.

Prostitution bust at Rockville hotel

Montgomery County police responded to a report of prostitution at an unspecified hotel on Research Boulevard in Rockville on Friday, just after 1:00 PM. No further details are available at this time.

Suspicious death at Rockville hotel

Montgomery County Police detectives from the Major Crimes Division are investigating a suspicious death at the Red Roof Inn in Rockville, at 16001 Shady Grove Road. Police and fire/rescue personnel were summoned to the hotel at 11:49 AM Saturday by an undisclosed caller. Upon arrival, they found a deceased adult in a room at the hotel. The gender and age of the victim have not been disclosed as of press time.

Detectives say there appeared to be trauma to the body of the victim, and are now investigating the case as a suspicious death. The next step is to have an autopsy completed by the Maryland Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore, to determine the cause of death and other details.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding this case to contact the Major Crimes Division at 240.773.5700.

ROCKVILLE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: THE UPTON/CAMBRIA SUITES (PHOTOS)

Things are coming along quite nicely at the construction site of the future Cambria Suites hotel and Upton apartments in Rockville Town Center.

THE UPTON/CAMBRIA SUITES ROCKVILLE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

The Upton luxury apartments and Cambria Suites hotel have substantially risen skyward since my last update. Here are the latest photos from the construction site at East Middle Lane, in Rockville Town Center. Some of the first glass has been installed on the lower floors (click on photos to enlarge for greater detail):

DUBALL HOTEL ROCKVILLE TOWN CENTER CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

A second tower crane is now working at the Duball construction site on E. Middle Lane at Rockville Town Center.

Here are some scenes from the site yesterday:

DUBALL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE - ROCKVILLE TOWN CENTER (PHOTOS)

Excavation is underway at the former site of the parking lot along E. Middle Lane.  This is an early step in the construction of the Duball project.

The building is a fairly good design, and fits well with the original Foulger-Pratt office building constructed years ago across the street.

But the downside is that the approval of this project officially spelled the doom of Rockville's traditional Hometown Holidays celebration.

First, the carnival rides vanished.  Now the concert "venue" (a.k.a. the parking lot) is gone, too.  That means no more Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon, etc., performing at the event.  We're told it will be more of a "street fair."

Is a street fair Rockville? Urbanization has not been kind to the "hometown" concept.  Will this mean vendors and bad wedding bands one weekend in May each year? 

City residents are awaiting word on just what Hometown Holidays will consist of this year, and going forward.

In the meantime, here is a photo gallery of all the action going on at the Duball construction site: