Just got back from a 2 night stay at the HR in Crystal City. As previous reviewers have noted it is not attached to the "main drag" of Crystal City, but is further down in a cluster of Marriotts. Has shuttle service to both Reagan and to the Pentagon City Mall.
Hotel is in process of renovating its front drive = major chaos at arrival w/ construction going on. Hotel is valet only ($25 a night).
Check-In: I was able to score a very early check in (9 am) and was put in a Deluxe King Room (had only reserved a King room at the AAA rate) My wife had made the reservation in her name, called and had my name and GP # added to room so I could check in early. FD first couldn't find my name on the reservation, then couldn't find the GP number, and then told me I was only there for 1 night (when in fact I was there for 2), almost had to pull up the emailed itin to show her the check out date when she laughs and says "Oh I found it."
Room: overall the room (#803) was nice and quite large, not your typical Hyatt bed but still comfortable. Room layout worked well for me needing to spend the day with my laptops out on the work desk while my wife could lounge on the couch and work from there. Furnishings were modern. However there was a fairly visible red stain on the carpet in front of the couch and the bathroom was decidedly tiny with an extremely small vanity. I did appreciate the glassed shower.
Gym: nice assortment of cardio equip--not busy at 10 am on a Saturday morning. Plenty of towels (inc. my personal favorite--the chilled ones). Access to pool can be had through the gym or another door off hallway. (Pool was closed for season and though not large is workable.
The hotel is popular with conventions and tour buses--so be warned. Lobby is consistently full of people arriving and leaving. Check in and Check out can be lengthy--waited in line for 15 minutes to check out on Sunday with no option of standing in the Platinum/Diamond line b/c there was no one working the station.
Major Complaint--VALET Services. Saturday night, needed a cab to a black tie event. Went downstairs to valet stand at 6 PM to see 3 busses in the process of unloading and a valet staff completely stretched thin. Finally got the attention of the valet (after 5 minutes) and requested a cab--seeing 2 people in black tie attire must not have clued him in that we weren't coming off the bus...fast forward to 6:25 PM still no cab. Basically were given the run around by 3 different valets about whether or not they had called different cab companies or not. Finally hailed a cab coming down the street (not one that had been called for us.) Needless to say the 25 minutes spent waiting for a cab that should have taken 5 given the proximity to the airport caused us to miss the wedding ceremony we were on the way to.
Sunday morning our issues with the valet continued. Were told to call the valet 5 to 10 minutes before leaving so that our car can be brought up. Totally understandable. Tried to call the valet--four times within 10 minutes no answer whatsoever. Carry bags down to lobby, wait in line to check out as wife goes to Valet to get car. Wife brings up the phone issue and is given a curt reply, "well we have a busy check out today" and an "if you have a problem I can get the manager." Then wait another 10 minutes to get the car.
Am wondering if it is worth it to call and complain to GP about the valet and room issues for some points or just let it go.
Overall: the hotel offers a good value if you watch the rates and the rooms are for the most part clean and spacious. Would avoid if you are going to be coming in and out of the hotel frequently and pulling your car out of the valet given the reasons listed above. Also if you need a cab make sure to give yourself plenty of extra time bc there are not or were not cabs waiting or nearby when we were there on the weekend.