Just got back from a quick one night stay... here are my thoughts...
Booking/Pre-Arrival
I had an expiring Chase CC night that I needed to use... unfortunately the only room available via the website was the ADA King. A quick email later and I had been assured that I would be in a non ADA room, with a separate shower and tub (I think the entry level rooms only shower/tub combos)- assuring at least a Premier Park Deluxe. I also inquired about paid upgrade options and was offered a Park Executive for $100 and a premium suite for $500. I chose the $100 option. I contacted the concierge about a spa treatment and reservations at Blue Duck.. I could only secure a 5:30 slot (no openings on Open Table). I felt that the pre-arrival communication was excellent...
Arrival
We drove down from Baltimore. I used Parking Panda for the first time and was able to secure parking at the Westin across the street for $14 for the 24 hour period. Definitely a great option! We arrived at 2 PM and were offered assistance with our small bags by multiple people, which we declined. I was welcomed warmly, but incorrectly informed that I was upgraded to a Park Executive suite as a Diamond member (I'm merely a platinum). No mention of the upgrade fee was made. She did note that the first available room was on the 4th floor unfortunately; not a higher floor as my profile states. I was told that the room was clean, just awaiting inspection from a supervisor. We opted to wait, upon which we were offered water. I did ask to see a copy of the room service menu, but she was never able to procure one for me. No offer of any additional diamond amenities was made unfortunately...AFter about 15 minutes she found us and gave us our keys and pointed out the elevators to us.
Room
Much has been said in the past about the Park Executive suite but I'll offer my thoughts. I'm not a huge fan of the Shaker type decor, I think that I tend to like the more modern look that most PH seem to embrace. There is of course the gigantic couch. Really that thing is huge. I enjoyed the bathroom but felt that with the limestone it was quite dark. I really think maybe going with lightbulbs that have a cooler temperature might make the bathroom brighter. The warm color really makes it feel dark. I like the shower and it's great tub though. And I love the products that they used. We really spent a lot of time in the room and felt like it was quite comfortable, but it felt very residential... Kind of like we were in a 1 bedroom apartment. I'm always a fan of the Nespresso machine. Included wifi is nice, but only because I'm used to being gouged for it...I agree that HD is sorely needed for the TV.. my wife kept asking me what was wrong with the picture...
Food and Beverage
I ended up canceling the reservation for Blue Duck Tavern at 5:30 because we felt it was too early. Through much diligent checking of OpenTable I was able to secure a 6:45 reservation. However, we in the end decided to just take advantage of the room and get room service. I ordered the Wagyu Culotte of Beef, primarily because I had seen it on the BDT menu, and my wife the Penne bolognese. We also got an order of grits and a cheese plate. DElivery was very swift, about 25 minutes. The food was.. disappointing... I know for $38 the beef was going to be the etheral melt in the mouth experience I had in Japan.... but this thing was tough, not well seasoned, and overcooked.. probably a medium to medium well instead of medium rare... and the penne bolognese was mostly penne with very little bolognese... The cheese plate was solid and the grits were excellent. The highlight of the meal was the excellent rustic thick white bread and butter... We also ordered breakfast... The short rib hash was solid, but quite heavy .. good sticky buns and pain au chocolat.. I asked if they could send us some of the bread we had from last night but they were unable to....
Spa/Fitness
My wife very much enjoyed her massage there.. one of the best she's ever had in her words... it's a small spa suite.. no fancy loungers, cucumber water or etc.. at $175 for 65 minutes it's kind of pricey because there isn't any of the other stuff like at the FS Baltimore.. but it was a good massage and that's what counts the most. I used the ellipticals while I was there and it's nice modern equipment but placed too close to each other... There are 3, placed in a room. The only open one was the middle one and it was really tough to get on it because it was so close to the others... The pool is small but a great great temperature... Both the pool and hot tub have a lift available...
Location
West End seems quiet... but there's a fire station nearby so there's some noise from that... about 4-5 blocks from Georgetown which is fine.
Service
Here's where I was disappointed...There were a number of service lapses which is a shame because it would have been a great stay... I called and asked for a bucket of ice and two champagne flutes.. the ice arrived promptly, but the person bringing them had no idea I had requested the flutes. To his credit, he brought them promptly... Room service breakfast had an item that was forgotten as well... I interacted with the same front desk clerk 3-4 times; never was my name remembered... These are all little things but it's the little things that really help separate the upper echelon hotels.. and finally the biggest problem with our stay is that they were doing some work somewhere on the 4th floor... I'm not sure exactly where but there was a fair bit of noise... they had even rolled out plastic to cover the floor in the halls... we spent a lot of time in the room, so it was a bit of a nuisance.. I ended up calling around 9 PM, just to ask exactly what was going on... Whoever answered sounded flustered when I asked what was going and how long it would last... lots of uh's.. she basically told me that it shouldn't last too much longer... It ended up finishing up around 1030 PM I think... I really really think that a more proactive approach should have been made; perhaps a warning at check-in or a letter of some sort. At check-out, I mentioned it (to the same clerk who checked us in) hoping for some sort of service recovery. None was offered...
Conclusion
I think that if I had paid for the room, I would have been quite disappointed. I probably would have complained a bit more about the noise. Our bill did reflect the $100 upgrade charge. We've stayed at the Four Seasons Georgetown before, and if I'm going back for a paid stay in DC that'll be my choice. It has a better location (for me), better service and better spa.
FDW