Even at the government rate, the Hard Rock is hard to recommend for anything other than its location and excellent desk and concierge service.
Our corner room on the fifth (Beatles) floor was spacious and clean, as one would expect. But the presumably trendy decor was a bit on the bizarre side, from the lizard-skin-like vinyl lounge chair with orange shag pillow to the tiger-striped bureau, grey walls and carpeting. I didn't mind John and Yoko peering over their shoulders in the bathroom, but the photo overlooking the bed, of Sting in full mouth-taped-shut, arms-strapped-to-his-sides bondage regalia, was a bit much. The bed itself was excellent, as one would expect at this level.
Wi-fi service was strong but unnecessarily complicated to access. Perhaps because we were attending a conference at the hotel, we received wireless access codes that allowed us premium speed access, at least in theory. My mobile devices (iPod touch, Nook Tablet) were difficult to connect to the premium service, however. In fact, it was only after a call to tech support that I understood the system and connnected my iPod. My Nook never made it to the premium level and staggered along at 512k with intermittent interruptions in service. (I consider myself a fairly sophisticated user, a bit of a geek in fact. My wife, who is not, would have had considerably greater difficulty in navigating the system.)
The restaurant was closed for remodeling with the full menu being served in the bar. The incessantly loud music from the bar area, at all times of day, made me keep my distance. The music was equally loud in the lobby elevator area, though the fifth floor hallways were whisper quiet.
About the service: the folks at the concierge were bright, cheerful, knowledgeable and helpful. Our request for sugggestions for a Mediterranean restaurant gave us two within walking distance and the one we chose (Armenian) was very good and very reasonably priced (helpful when traveling on a government per diem). The baggage check for those who need to spend a few hours in town after checking out is very convenient and, again, operated by very friendly and helpful folks. If the Hard Rock has gotten anything right, it's staffing.
One more niggle: I don't like to see unrepaired water damage in a hotel bath, particularly damage that appears to have existed for some period of time. It makes me wonder what there may be that I'm not seeing. Yet, there it was.
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