The Washington Plaza hotel is a great place to stay for its location and cleanliness. Given these two positive attributes, it has numerous negative ones.
I traveled to Washington D.C. for business training for four days in November. Due to a major scientific conference, the Washington Plaza was the only reasonably-priced hotel available. This should have served as a warning.
I was pleased to be able to check-in early, and profusely thanked the woman at the front desk. However, when I arrived to the fourth floor, I can see why the hotel was not at capacity and my room empty. The fourth floor had dated purple carpet, a dropped ceiling (circa 1969), and dim lighting. I opened the door to my room and was shocked to see how tiny it was. I'm glad that I was traveling alone, as two people would have been cramped. I closed the door to find a cheap lock at the doorknob; no chain, no deadbolt, no security feature whatsoever. Additionally, the door to the shared balcony had a simple door lock (no deadbolt, chains, or anything). The door lock in the bathroom did not work. The window had also been left unlocked. I felt completely vulnerable.
The room was one of the smallest I have ever been in. There were less than 18 inches from the corner of the bed to the dresser. The bed had no headboard, only a painted wall behind it. A 13 inch TV barely received local channels.
The bathroom had a commercial-grade toilet (like those found in public restrooms), mildew, and needed caulking badly. The Bath and Body Works toiletries seemed at odds with the aged, cramped bathroom.
The restaurant had decent food and was priced reasonably. The front desk employees friendliness seemed forced and unnatural; the supervisor (a large black man) seemed overbearing and intimidating. The housekeeping staff did an excellent job each day considering the condition of the hotel.
For those of us without laptops, the internet costed $0.30 per minute, calling-card long distance calls were $1.00, and most everything else had a price. I felt like I was being nickle-and-dimed to death.
Don't expect any sort of shopping or local culture nearby. It was a 15 minute walk to the National Mall, which was fabulous, but I was shocked at a complete lack of personality to downtown Washington D.C. Of course, the locals say this particular hotel is located in the "Red Light District," so maybe the personality was there in high-heels and revealing clothing?
So, would I stay there again? Only if there were absolutely nothing else available. While I loved the location and decent food, the complete lack of security and building condition would have me seek accomodations elsewhere.
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