BLAR

Hello,

First time in Washington DC. Can someone describe Marriott Metro Center? What is the CL like? How about the amenities? Would you stay somewhere different in DC? How are the rooms and upgrades for GOLD members? I will need to keep in touch with work so how is their business center?

I am going to be in DC for 8 days.

Any help would be great.

cundo

Hi BLAR,

I stayed at this hotel a couple weekends ago and want to give you a review to help you out but I honestly don't have much time this afternoon so forgive me for being brief.

Description:
The Marriott at Metro Center is a 12-floor hotel on the same block of the Metro Center subway station and about five blocks away from the White House as well as eight blocks from the National Mall.

Comfort:
The hotel is in a very convenient location and quiet place for a hotel. The rooms were rather tiny for my tastes but still very clean and modern. The lobby level is very simple with

Concierge Level:
The concierge level is on the 11th floor w/ about six or so tables with one TV (pretty common for a CL). Breakfast served scrambled eggs, grits, fresh fruits, etc. For evening snacks, the CL served some tasty Chinese snacks.

MR Gold Treatment:
When I checked in, my reservation was ready and even had my keys scanned. All I had to do was walk straight up to my room on the 12th floor. I asked if I the room was upgraded based on MR Gold and was confirmed it was. That said, I still found the room to not be so spacious and the walls were rather thin.

Later in my stay, I received a phone call from the manager, Sarah, to make sure I was enjoying my stay. I found Sarah to be a pleasure to speak with and listened to my comments very politely. She was very kind with her services and offered to help with my business errands in the case that the business center didn't suffice. I never went down to the business center (which is one level below the lobby) but I hear there are two computers (pay to use) with a printer.

Overall:
The hotel was simple and quaint. The stay was comfortable and the staff was friendly. The location was convenient but I wouldn't say that I was getting the biggest bang for my buck. Staying once was good enough for me. If/When I return to DC, I'd look to other hotels such as the Grand Hyatt a couple blocks away or the JW Marriott that isn't too far, either.

seawolf

Try searching the threads.

Basically, the plus of the Metro Center is that it sits on top of the Metro. As a Plat, you get breakfast buffet on the weekends; CL during the week. Not sure about GOLD. Rooms at JW are better (renovated) but prices are more expensive. The other hotel I can think of sitting on top of the Metro is the Renaissance Mayflower.

bitburgr

If "by on top of" you include within a block, then Wardman Park, Crystal City and Crystal Gateway could also be included. The Renaissance by the Verizon Center would be a stretch.

NJUPINTHEAIR

In an effort to encourage the use of Master Threads on certain properties in "heavily forested" cities with multiple Marriott brands, I am resurrecting this thread so that it hopefully will be used as the number one resource for this particular hotel.

I recently hopped between various DC properties on a business trip so that I could obtain a few Megabonus free night certs. DC city center w/o a car and DC suburbia w/one is a particularly good place to do this.

I stayed at this property over a weekend where the Concierge Lounge was open.

Yes, you read the above correctly.

This hotel was holding a nurse's convention while I was there and it also was one of the weeks designated for the Cherry Blossom festivities (however, most of the major events, like the cherry blossoms, themselves, had long ago expired).

I was informed by the front desk that on certain holiday weekends during the upcoming summer season, the Concierge Lounge was likely to be open -- at least for breakfast -- like it was for me -- it was closed the rest of the day.

I interpreted the above to mean the Memorial and Labor Day holidays, but as to the July 4th holiday, your guess is as good as mine as this day falls smack dab in the middle of the week and I have no idea whether the lougne will be open the preceding or ensuing weekend days, or for that matter, the 4th, itself. I would suggest contacting the hotel if you have any questions, as this is exactlly what I did prior to my arrival.

In any event, I was advised over the phone and in person, that henceforth, Gold and Platinum members and at least one of their guests would receive a breakfast credit on weekends that is good for a combined $44.00 -- this amount will cover their buffet breakfast, but not the accompanying gratuity -- which you should leave for your server/clearer.

Although I am not a big fan of the familiar breakfast foods as they are too fatty and caloric for my own good, I can report that this buffet also contains lox!! so that you can make yourself a bagel and lox sandwich should you wish.

In addition, I should add that in the C/L, there were both scrambled eggs and bacon and sausages and yes, the aforementioned lox!! ^

Those of you seeking a suite upgrade should forget about it as I was informed that this hotel only has 2 suites and they are generally taken on weekends for wedding parties being held at the hotel. However, there are a number of Corner King rooms that are larger and elites should request these.

The bed that I had in my room was typical Marriott quality, however, my side sagged a bit, but as I was staying only one night, it was not a big deal. What was very good about this property was that the A/C really cooled the room off well, so those of you who like to sleep cold should have no problem.

This property does have a pool -- not a postage stamp but not Olympic sized either, and a fully equipped health club, but as so often is the case, the fitness club is near the pool, and at least when I was there, the smell of chlorine permeated the fitness room -- although, it is likely that you would not notice it once your sinuses adapted to the smell, as they usually do.

Another great bit of information about this property is its location, very close the the new DC convention center, Verizon Center, the Smithsonain Art Museum and Portrait Gallery, the Spy and Newseums, as well as various of the Mall musuems. In addition, on the corner of the block where it is located, is the Metro Center subway stop, where at least 2 and perhaps 3 of the color coordinated subway lines converge.

Hope this post is helpful to those of you considering this property and please leave your comments about this hotel to this thread and not proceed to bury them in the ubiquitous DC hotels threads that abound in this forum -- as you can see, I have tried to do the aforementioned and the last time anyone posted anything about this particular property to this thread was 4 years ago!!!

NJ

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update!

Cheers.

dave-b

I just had an enjoyable stays there the past few weeks. The CL breakfast was good, but I was a little less impressive than NJUPINTHEAIR had. No Lox or Sausage, but there was plenty of bacon! The evening spread was nice with 2 hot items. The also had mini-Perrier water bottles.

My latest trip, I was there for one Wednesday night and as a PP was upgraded to a junior suite.

One important fact is that the CL is on the 2nd floor, but the Concierge rooms are on the 14th & 15th floors, so if proximity to the CL is important, ask for a low room.

rasheed

Hello,

Just completed a two night stay at this property. I found the rooms to be 'standard' size for the downtown areas. The CL was good to have, but not matching the level I would expect based on average room rates in this area. The housekeeping staff always ensured to greet me each day and the CL person did a great job helping me navigate through the unlabeled offerings.

This property seemed to cater more to groups than other ones (but they all likely do their share). I would probably recommend choosing another one if you did not mind walking a few blocks for a metro session.

Compared to the Renaissance property on 9th, this one was was not as memorable even when considering just the lobby/common/CL/ambience without regard to the room itself.

Rasheed

InHouseCounsel

Had two stays here in the past few months, each involving 2 rooms at a time, and each on a weekend. The CL is not open on weekends, and the PLT benefit they offer is two vouchers total (not per room) good for continental breakfast only, with a $6 upcharge for the hot buffet. The guests in the second room were not provided any credit or voucher, which is stricter than my experience with other DC properties. On the sort of plus side, the breakfast service was so bad (in once case, taking over 45 minutes to deliver bacon and eggs when I did not pick the buffet), they ended up comping the breakfast after all.

radiowell

Hi. Any updates on full breakfast upcharge (is it still $6)? Reading the official website doesn't inspire me any confidence

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel...-metro-center/
I'm debating between here or Marriott Marquis (both have good weekend rates), and I know I'll be safer with M Club at Marquis (24/7 beverage and some snacks, I know about breakfast only at weekends, but seems to be full breakfast?), but I really like the location of Metro Center.

SkiAdcock

Just called the property. It's still $6 to upgrade to full brekkie from cont'l.

Cheers.

radiowell

Excellent. Thank you!

pinniped

This is probably my least-favorite Marriott in Washington DC. You can get a worse *experience* at Wardman Park if there's a large conference there that you aren't a part of, but that property is better.

I'd probably select anywhere else, even if it meant I had to walk a little bit outside to get to the Metro.

SkiAdcock

I've stayed at both Metro Center & Marquis. They were both fine. The best of the crop. No. The worst of the crop. No.

Cheers.

t1c

I have stayed at the Metro, Renaissance and Marquis... Marquis is by far the nicer hotel.