Stay Report - 12/19 - 12/20
Location: The hotel is located pretty far south for the Crystal City hotels, on the other side of the VA-223 overpass right next to the Courtyard. It's about a .6 mile walk to the Metro and a few blocks to a couple dozen restaurants ranging from fast food to upscale chains to even a combo steakhouse and strip club (yes, really). It's also .4 miles from an Enterprise Rent-a-Car which is a nice feature. The area is safe and I didn't feel scared walking around even at night.
Hotel: A fairly generic looking monolith from the outside but pleasing on the inside. The lobby has a central atrium which is flanked by a bar and restaurant and the check in areas. Below the lobby are two vast floors of meeting space. There's a "business center" in the lobby but do note if you use a computer for more than 15 minutes or print more than 6 pages a day you get charged which feels really chintzy. The airport shuttle runs every 20 minutes starting on the hour. It's currently picking up on the upper level at DCA but that'll probably change six times in the next week.
Check In: I arrived at 8 AM and was able to get right into my booked Ambassador Suite which was a huge, huge plus. I was also asked if I wanted to use my 2 PM check out. Staff were always friendly when I interacted with them.
Room: The suite itself has an odd design. The bathroom is located just inside the entrance before you get to the living room. The living room itself is dominated by a massive 65 inch TV above the work space. The bedroom has another, smaller TV as well as outlets next to the bed and lots of lighting. There's also a balcony with a scenic view of a bus depot.
Other: I requested room service which was oddly food and drink from the coffee shop in the lobby served as to go. It strikes me as a huge waste of plastic.
My rate was $119 for the suite ($89 for a regular room). I was impressed by the hotel and would gladly come back, even with the longer walks than some of the other properties to the Metro.