We stayed at the Palomar for 5 nights over Spring break. We'd chosen the hotel due to both its ranking on Trip Advisor (it was #1 at the time of booking) and because of a fantastic stay we'd had at a Kimpton Hotel previously. When we arrived the double queen executive room we'd booked wasn't available and we were put into connecting King and Queen rooms on a conference floor. Although this was dealt with politely and relatively efficiently it wasn't ideal after a long, tiring journey but I get that these things happen sometimes. One of the guys on reception promptly took our youngest off to get some juice and as we'd arrived when the complimentary wine hour was in full swing, a nice glass of wine for us too. The Kimpton Kids check in gift was not offered to our children.
On our second day we checked with the reception staff before heading off and were told our booked room would be unavailable for the second night and we were to stay in our conference floor room and check with them again the next day. However when we returned to the hotel in the evening we were told housekeeping had been unable to move us as planned to the room we'd booked because we weren't packed up. It felt rather unorganised.
Once into the room we'd booked it was a nice room with plenty of space, lovely Aveda toiletries and super comfy beds. Housekeeping was efficient and the rollaway bed we requested was quickly supplied. The complimentary wi-fi for Kimpton In Touch guests is handy although as hotels and business are increasingly offering free wifi anyway I'm not sure how much longer this will be viewed by guests as a great perk of membership.
Out of the five days we ate breakfast, on two days we were sent to a conference room. Although it felt a little odd to be eating in such a room on tables that were obviously delegate tables the breakfast selection was excellent and the staff efficient. On the other three days we ate breakfast in Cubana. Although it's at odds with other reviews of Cubana on Trip Advisor we were disappointed - the breakfast selection wasn't as good as the conference room selection and the tables and chairs seemed in need of refurbushment. The complimentary continental breakfast area was screened off from the main restaurant area making us feel rather like second class citizens.
The Palomar is in a geat location only a short walk from nice eateries and the DuPont Circle subway station making it a great choice for visiting the sights of Washington. It's a very stylish hotel and clearly very popular and this unfortunately seems to lead to long waits for the lifts on many occasions.
The complimentary wine hour is a great touch but it did feel like a hotel more suited and geared towards business travellers or couples. We have travelled widely as a family of four and stayed in many hotels in both the States and Europe and despite the family friendly promises of the Kimpton brand there was little here that made us feel it was the best choice as a family hotel.
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