I stayed here for 4 nights in October 2007 as part of a corporate function. We did not have a choice of hotels - this was it. Before arriving, I read all of the scary reviews on Trip Advisor and set my expectations to "LOW" accordingly.
WOW. These reviews are all spot on. Roaches, loud air conditioners, poor maintenance, and a general "we're not on top of it" attitude ("express" check out took the clerk 5 minutes). Even wearing my "Trip Advisor" t-shirt, the staff could care less. Not so smart. The air conditioning (and heating) system is located about 6 inches from the thermostat. This means that the unit clunks on and off (think of dropping a brick on concrete from a height of 10 feet) literally every 5 minutes. Many of us in the group had trouble sleeping until I found out that by taking the shower cap from the "luxury amenities" in the bathroom (read as one soap that you had to move from the tiny tiny sink to the tiny tiny shower) and putting it over the thermostat, and opening the grate on the air conditioner, I could get it to run for longer periods of time. You're sort of on your own at this hotel after you check in so you need to learn these types of things.
After spending 15 minutes trying to get one of the two treadmills in the tiny gym (size of a guest room) to work, I called the manager and was told they were both broken and he didn't know when they'd be repaired/replaced. I asked about nearby gyms and he was similarly unhelpful, and quite rushed to get off the phone.
At the attached restaurant, La Madeleine, it became sort of a sick game each morning to see who would find the roach in their food first. The ice machine was a guaranteed roach producer. The Vietnamese restaurant across the street was very good.
I could go on, you get the idea, and besides, many of the other reviews mention many of the same things. There's a definite trend, which I'll recap:
Pro's:
* Close to lots of shopping, $20 cab to DCA airport
* Quiet, set back from street (but a/c is noisy)
* Recently refurbished rooms, nice sheets but pillows are like huge foam rocks, not down/feather.
* Good price relative to location, but there's a reason these rooms are only $200 a night!
Con's:
* Indifferent service
* Poor maintenance (stopped up sink drain, broken fitness equipment, a/c issues, etc.)
* Very small rooms with microscopic bathrooms
* Far from the closest metro (subway) stop
* No one to help with luggage, taxi's, etc. Once you check in, you're on your own.
* Roaches
With this and other reviews you've been warned. Suggest you choose another place.
hotel reviews