I arrived at the hotel on a Saturday afternoon after a trip across the Atlantic. Checkin was swift but no one offered to take my bags to the room. The room was OK but not welcoming, though I can't put my finger on why not. Very clean, but only a very basic range of toiletries. The lobby area is large, and nicely divided up into what are best described as a number of room areas, which is a neat idea. Coffee comes from an in-lobby Starbucks, a trend in US hotels that I do not like. Service was not brilliant. There is a restaurant on the lobby level, Fifteen Squares, which is really a bistro without the bistro atmosphere. In addition there is a sandwich deli which had a cheery member of staff but a total lack of style in its offerings.
Then came the internet access problems. On the Saturday I could connect to the wifi but not get internet access on a predictable basis. I went down to the reception desk to see if there was a problem but was told that it was my pc. Which I knew it was not becasue I'd called the technical support number for the service that the hotel was using, and was told that it was a problem with the router equipment installed by the hotel. The same problem on Sunday, and again the view taken by the reception staff was that this was my problem, when I knew it was theirs. I warned the hotel that on Monday a conference was starting with 400 delegates all trying to access the internet. Little concern was registered, and for the duration of the conference internet access was close to terrible. Check out Twitter at #kmw10 if you want to see the evident frustration of the attendees. Incidentally the card in the room indicated that the active net work was 'Wireless" whereas it was actually "GuestRoomWireless". There was also a network called guestroomwireless (ie no capital letters) but this was not operative. Need I say more.
I'm making a lot of this issue because a major conference hotel should not have these issues, and should have someone on staff to deal with queries from guests. All to often I have found that reception staff have had absolutely no training in the internet service the hotel offers, and as was the case with this hotel the staff then put the blame on the incompetance of the guest.
Overall this was not a great experience. The hotel location is certainly close to both Metro Center and Gallery Place metro stations, but apart from Chinatown there is not much in the immediate area. The front of the hotel overlooks a very large car park area, which is due for redevelopment.
If your business takes you to this area of Washington and you cannot afford the Hyatt across the square then the Renaissance is OK for a good night's sleep. But if you are looking for atmosphere both inside and around the hotel Georgetown/Dupont Circle style you are going to be disappointed. Come on Marriott - I know you can do better than this.
hotel reviews