NewbieCollegeFlyer

"Navy Yard has the advantage of being one of the few places in DC where there was a clean slate "
Yea, a clean slate if you mean a place where they pushed all the blacks and gays out, leveled the neighborhood just to let the land sit empty for years.

arlflyer

I was speaking from a purely architectural/urban development standpoint: it was a post-industrial area with some spaces that, yes, had been repurposed, but were not considered to be of historic or architectural significance.

An argument can always be made that redevelopment of any area comes at the detriment of some group, but the policy trend in this country has been to support urban redevelopment, and most associated economic indicators and studies seem to indicate that the net result is positive.

Skimanant

2 night stay at Washington Hilton tonight, no upgrade showing at the moment. Will report back.

pretzlaff

Had a Friday night layover at Dulles. The Hilton had a very low rate on a junior suite. Shuttle seems to pick up at the curb every 30 minutes.

The front entry road is under construction so we were dropped off at the back of the hotel. Long way thru the hotel to the desk. Pleasant desk clerk. Asked about an upgrade and she said the JS is what folks get upgraded to. Asked if breakfast downstairs was available for diamonds. She didn't directly answer but gave me vouchers for the buffet.

Room is great. Huge with huge bath. Really nice expensive furniture. Very comfortable big chair with foot stool.

Lounge is only 2 doors down. Lynn runs it and is very nice. Food between 5 and 7. Several hot foods. The soup was really good, chicken noodle. There were also mussels with garlic bread. Soft drinks are free. Beer is $4 and drinks $5. Not free like Europe and Asia but cheap and easy.

At a weekend rate with status, the Dulles Hilton is very nice.

pinniped

Any reviews of the Homewood "NoMA" in Northeast DC? New property...looks pretty nice...but I'm wondering what's around it.

I lived in DC in the late 90's, and this area had not been revitalized at that time. What's there now?

It's a family trip...game plan is to walk a lot, use Metro, etc. We like the idea of a Homewood, and this one has an indoor pool which the kids will like. Alternative is the Homewood near the Convention Center, a neighborhood I'm more familiar with, but no indoor pool...

Paid rate at the NoMA isn't too bad for March ($200/nt.). At Convention Center, it's over $300/nt. but we'd probably do cash & points then.

Probably don't want to do Navy Yard since the Nats aren't there yet.

amanuensis

I know that you said you don't want to stay at the Navy Yard Homewood. But from a Metro standpoint, it is ideal. The station entrance is right across the street. And the property just barely opened so everything is fresh and new. I was going to stay there next month but that will now be pushed back to Spring.
http://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/en...AHW/index.html
And of course when the Nationals are not playing is when rates are lower.

pinniped

Last time I was down there there wasn't much besides the ballpark and lots of construction. Is there a lot to do right there now? I'm thinking about nights when the kids kind of want to chill and we're looking for street pizza or similar...

The Homewood Convention Center and the Navy Yard both have high rates right now....but CC has a C&P award for 24k + $100/nt.

The Homewood NoMA is in the aforementioned $200 range, although upon closer review that's a prepaid rate. It also has the same C&P as Convention Center.

Splitting weekday/weekend to 2 stays didn't unlock any great rates.

I snagged the C&P at Convention Center just to have something...I can change/cancel if something better pops up.

omghaxcode

Just a warning for those seeking an upgrade at the Capitol Hilton: I was upgraded to a junior suite upon request and was less than impressed. It is this odd room which looks like 2 rooms sandwiched together. It has an embassy suites layout but with a terrible division between bedroom and living room. Basically it was just a crappy room. I'd rather have stayed in a smaller, new room than that "suite".

While we were there, the batteries on the thermostat went out so the AC stopped working. It got very hot since we didn't know until we got back to the room. They came up and fixed it reasonably quick but that wasn't where it stopped. The nice maintenance guy asked if he could do anything for us. He first offered club access which we already had because I'm diamond. Then he said free parking which I didn't need since I wasn't driving. He said he would go downstairs and see what he could do. Well I don't know exactly what happened or who dropped the ball but we ended up being charged for parking for a night ahaha. My gut tells me he said add free parking and the person who tried to do it either added a night of parking or assumed we had a car and added parking to the previous night. We had to call to get it removed from our room since I didn't notice it at checkout (only 1 night of parking and in the very middle of our stay). Overall the location is great but the room is extremely dated even with a junior suite.

pinniped

OK, one wrinkle that does bring the Navy Yard Homewood into consideration: I took a closer look at weekend rates and it, unlike most of the others, actually has a much lower rate for those two nights.

So mixing/matching paid and points nights, I have these choices from the DC Homewoods for five nights:

- Convention Center: 120k + $570 (Cash & Points)
- NoMA: 120k + $570 (Cash & Points)
- Navy Yard: 120k + around $600 (2 award 3 paid)

The Downtown Homewood is high rates all 5 nights + no C&P. I already have the 120k, but not 300k points. (Not that I couldn't get them if necessary, but I haven't seen anything about that particular Homewood that makes me think it's worthwhile.)

We definitely would use an indoor pool if we had one. NoMA and Navy Yard have them. 2 kids in tow...across-the-street Metro is better than 4-blocks-away Metro.

My only question is how much is built up around the Navy Yard hotel? We'll probably have nights where we want to grab dinner close to the hotel... I believe my last time there was the Nats' first season in their new yard. Guessing it's changed some since then?

And I guess a general question of what's in the streets/neighborhoods around the other two as well. Reading about NoMA, it sounds like it's still in the "revitalization" process. While I'm not worried about it being unsafe, I wonder if that means less density and longer walks to get anywhere...

arlflyer

Ha, yes, that's an understatement. There's a ton of options in the immediate area (4 blocks). And Barracks Row / Capital Hill is not that far away.


The Convention Center / Mt Vernon Triangle area has been super hot the past few years. There is a ton going on there and in walking distance. This is undoubtedly the best location of your three options in terms of what is in the immediate vicinity. I would argue that it is in just as good a location as what you termed the "downtown" one.


The NoMA HS location is basically on the furthest periphery of the revitalization. The stuff going on at and around Union Market is cool but there's not much beyond that in walking distance.

Personally I would choose the Convention Center property.

pokeable

Would second. So many great restaurants/bars in Mt. Vernon/Shaw that are within walking distance, including my fave, Kinship.

Srkn41

I have a reservation at Capital Hilton for my summer vacation. I am not with Diamond Status however I checked my reservation and don't really know how but I happened to book an executive king room with access to executive lounge. My stay is is starting on Friday night through Monday. Not sure if the lounge will be open on weekend but should it be open, will I have any problem accessing it?

arlflyer

Why not post this in the property-specific thread rather than a thread about choosing between different properties in D.C.?

(But if you do, delete this post so that you don't get in trouble for double-posting)

That said, in my understanding, the lounge at this property has historically been open on weekends. And if you have an executive room, however you get it, you'll have lounge access.

wharvey

Dear Friends,

We are looking at doing a mini-vacation before the hubby has a conference in Pentagon City.

I would prefer staying in DC the five nights before the conference.

I am planning to use my points to maximize the free fifth night benefit.

What would the experts recommend as the best property to maximize that strategy? Want to be near the attractions. Best bang for the buck?

Thanks in advance.

William

KENNECTED

Deja Vu
DISCUSSION Hilton HHonors Hotels in or near Washington, District of Columbia {US-DC}


I'm not a fan of any of the Hilton properties in DC or VA. The only options in my opinion are the Capital Hilton or the Washington Hilton. Both are large and impersonal. Capital Hilton is in a better location for visiting sites, but very few restaurants around. The ES G'Town/Dupont or the Doubletree on scott circle are standard in a pinch.

The DC Hilton Family properties are "meh" to me at best. There is no W=A or Conrad.