This week on a very, very special 'Reston Heights': Pagan rituals mark opening of hotel, gates of hell

The first part of the awesome Reston Heights development, a high-end Westin Hotel, opened on May 1 with some sort of weirdly phallic celebration:

An elaborate maypole dance and ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled today for a Westin hotel in Reston.

A bit pagan for Reston, but maybe that's what prompted the Feds to mysteriously change their minds about Metro's awesome silver line!

John Schlichting, managing director of development for the JBG Cos., a Chevy Chase-based real estate firm that has made vast investments in properties along the proposed Metro line in Tysons and Reston, said in January that the rail project has such national importance that he refused to entertain the notion that it could die.

"We're not surprised at all," Schlichting said yesterday. "We're very happy about it, I'll tell you that." He said he did not know what had swung the balance. Schlichting also declined to say precisely how much his company has invested in the area but said it is "in the hundreds of millions."

"We've assembled that 35 acres over the last eight years," he said, referring to the Reston Heights development, where the hotel is opening. "All along, it's been in anticipation of rail coming to Dulles."

We love it when a plan comes together. So tell us more of this awesome hotel:

The 191-room luxury hotel is at 11750 Sunrise Valley Drive. It is owned by an affiliate of The JBG Cos. and is managed by Crestline Hotels & Resorts Inc.

Envisioned as an urban retreat “designed to renew, refresh and rejuvenate visitors to Reston,” the hotel will be the focal point of the Reston Heights area, which will ultimately include high-end retail, restaurants, residential and office space in a planned park-like setting.

The opening launches the 35-acre Reston Heights planned community, which is designed to serve as a “decidedly upscale” center.

"While many people primarily associate Reston with Reston Town Center, there is so much more to our town, and we are thrilled to play a major role in bringing new opportunities to the community," said David Catalon, Westin Reston Heights director of Sales and Marketing.

Or, with its pagan rituals, inadvertently open the gates of hell. Same diff.