We stayed at the Willard for 2 nights in November. I chose it for the location, as we only had a couple of days of sightseeing. The location is PERFECT, a block from the White House, the Washington Memorial, The Mall and many of the Smithsonian Museums are all close by.
However - for a tourist, dressed in jeans and tennis shoes - you get strange looks from other guests in the lobby who are dressed in business suits and ties. Be prepared for this if you are a leisure traveler. Perhaps there is a more relaxed atmosphere on the weekends.
The lobby is magnificent and splendid. A harp player and piano player entertain in the evening and it is just a beautiful place to relax and people watch. The room we had was nice, I have not a single complaint about it, it had nice amenities that you don't find elsewhere - the TV was piped into the bathroom with a speaker, the typical bathroom amenities included cotton balls, q-tips and luxurious bathrobes. The hotel has true turndown service with mint on pillow and they even put a little weather forecast for the next day by your bed. The closet was large and included a safe.
I must say: I was disappointed in the personal service, however. There are many bell staff roaming around the lobby, but not once did any of them open the lobby door for me when I was coming or going, even they were standing there doing nothing. Further, they allowed me to drag my luggage out of the hotel without ever offering to help. Upon checking in, we were told our room would be ready within 30 minutes and they would call our cell when it was finished. We did not hear from them for 2 hours. When we finally got to our room, the luggage took another 40 minutes to arrive. We also requested that space be made available to us in our mini-bar, for which they charged a $15 fee and then it took 4 hours to get someone to get it done.
I also found the attitude of staff to be quite snooty rather than warm and inviting...but, again - perhaps that was due to the jeans!
Overall, this is a wonderful hotel property with a wonderful location...but, there are just a few things that keep them from perfection.
hotel reviews