Hello everybody, I am a 25 year old who visited D.C. with my father between October 25th and 28th of 2006. I read many favorable reviews discussing this hotel and decided to book it even though I had more convenient and economical possibilities available. I have mixed feeling about this hotel which I will elaborate on.
ROOM: B+/A-. The best feature of the hotel. We got a room with two double beds for a pricey $289 per night. The room is spacious and bright from natural sunlight. It was clean and housekeeping did an exceptional job keeping it so. There was a large, hygenic bathroom area, with beautiful floors and walls and a small work desk. The TV was rather small ( I have the exact same model RCA in my room) but fully functioning.
LOCATION: B+ (A+ if you love shopping). The Monticello is located in a rather posh neighborhood near a very busy commercial street. There are tons of boutiques, stores and restauraunts to explore. You can find virtually anything on these roads, from high-end shopping (Benetton, SAKS Fifth, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein) to more mainstream stores (Abercrombie, American Eagle, GAP) as well as plenty of franchises with more eccentric products (I counted three palm readers on this road). A large mall (called "The Shops") is also present on Wisconsin Avenue. The road reminded me of Via Del Corso in Rome or the commercial district in Paris. Beautiful stores and beautiful people walking around. The people are quite posh and well dressed, but polite. Although D.C. is notorious for its crime, I never felt threatened or uncomfortable, even walking around alone at 2 or 3 a.m. The restaurants are fabulous and reasonably priced (there is an excellent italian restaurant named Fino very nearby). To get to the historic and sightseeing portion of D.C. you can take a cab ride (roughly 12-20 bucks) or a combination of buses (for $1.25 a ride). A sight seeing trolley is also available on Wisconsin Avenue, but ridiculously expensive at 40 dollars a person. I preferred to ride the same route on a public bus and read about the trivia through other sources.
HOTEL AMENITIES AND SERVICE C+/B-. The Monticello is located in an area where virtually everything is at hand. That being said, the Monticello offers exceptionally little in the hotel itself. There is no dining hall in the hotel. They offer a complimentary breakfast, but this consists of a coffee machine and an o.j. dispensor, as well as croissants and pastries, all in the space of an average sized closet. You are supposed to take whatever breakfast items you want, then take them outside or to your room to eat, due to the lack of any sort of table. There is basically nothing else in the hotel itself to entertain you. It's similar to living in a classy apartment building rather than a hotel. They offer a small room with a computer than you are free to use, but the computer has dreadfully slow and rather frustrating internet access.
The service was another weak point. Upon arrival, I was informed that they did not have my room ready. It took a good 15, 20 minutes to get it ready. I wouldn't mind so much if this was a Motel 6, but if I'm paying almost 300 bucks a night, and since I reserved my room at least two months prior, you should have my room ready. The employees were mostly very courteous. There was a female front desk clerk however, who was quite rude in a scenario which I will not extrapolate on here.
I really hope this review could be of any help. If anybody has any pressing questions about the hotel, please feel free to email me. I will try to respond as best I can. Overall, the Monticello is a hotel with beautiful rooms, and it is located in a fun part of town. The service for the most part is excellent. It is probably too expensive for the services offerred, but most people who go will enjoy their stay. It's a safe choice; you will NOT go wrong with it, but it might not be the best choice either. You might want to stay at a Holiday Inn on Wisconsin Avenue for a cheaper stay in the same area.
Happy traveling, Matt.
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