Uniter

Has anyone ever stayed at this Hilton? It's near the Vienna metro stop outside DC. I've got a wedding coming up in a few weeks and we're staying there. I'm hoping for some sort of upgrade, but Hilton.com seems to imply that there are no suites. Any help is much appreciated.

DH

I stayed there a few times and it's a nice hotel. I got breakfast and pantry coupons without asking. As far as suite wise, I don't know whether it has or not.

BTW, it's about 10-15 min from the Vienna metro station.

sjunkerg

I have stayed around 100 nights at this hotel. Nice quality HGI with a great manager (Steve) but there are no suites.

Uniter

I stayed here last night for one night. A decent HGI over all, and I'd stay there again.

Rooms: There's didn't appear to be any upgraded rooms in the place. But the room was standard HGI.

Amenities: As a Diamond, I got breakfast (full) for my wife and I plus $5 to spend at the little store (despite reports of this benefit not being available any more). There were some cookies at check-in on a big platter.

Pool/Gym: Indoor, heated pool that was pretty small (not good for laps). But the hot tub was nice. The gym was standard was basic equipment.

Breakfast: Pretty good breakfast. There was a waffle maker and you could over cooked-to-order items such as pancakes, omlettes, french toast, etc. The stuff on the buffet was pretty good (perhaps because it was a Sunday), but there were blintzes and eggs benedict as well as the meats and hot cereals.

Location: It's a decent drive to the airport (IAD) and DC. But it's 1 mile from the Fair Oaks Mall (a pretty big mall with restaurants, stores, etc). We were there for a wedding, so I'm not sure why else to stay at this place.

sdsearch

Have you stayed at ANY HGI previously?

What you get at HGI is dependability. As in all rooms are equally dependable, but thus generally equally the same (bed differences and smoking preferences aside). I don't understand the concept of "upgrade" at the typical HGI.

Meanwhile, be aware that the $5 pantry coupon which other posters are reporting having received was a standard HGI benefit before June 1, but is gone chainwide as of June 1. So don't count on it (despite all the reports of everyone having gotten it previously).

Uniter

I recently stayed at the HGI in downtown Napa, CA. Was offered an upgrade to an executive suite with whirlpool tub. Before that, I stayed at the HGI Arlington outside of DC. Was offered a suite there as well.

I think if you stay at more HGIs, you'll realize that there's a wide range of HGI properties, many of which have suites and larger rooms available to Diamond (and even Gold) members. Keep looking, and you'll find them.

diamondman2006

Recently spent four nights at Fairfax HGI. I can't fault the place. $89 per night with breakfast thrown in. The staff are the friendliest I've ever encountered and Steve, the manager, is a good guy. Great value for money.

cayenne92

How did you score a room rate that low? I am frequently in DC and never see anything under $149 for the Hampton Alexandria. I have a hard time even getting a government rate ($188) at any HH property in Fairfax.

JT_BOS

My thoughts exactly.

Uniter

Obviously you don't come to DC on the weekends or in the summer (esp. when Congress is out of session). Rates are pretty darn low. Last time I stayed at this property it was for a Saturday night and I think I paid $69.

diamondman2006

I was fortunate enough to be able to plan my schedule almost 12 months in advance. I booked online and presumably benefited as a result of doing so.

Stefan Daystrom

I just stayed there last Friday, and now I see why the confusion:

What was supposed to gone was the $5 pantry coupon in addition to the 2 bottles of water and breakfast. And it is.

What the HGI Fairfax gave me was the $5 pantry coupon instead of the 2 bottles of water. (Of course, since they price the bottles at $1.50, I could get 3 bottles of water! But I already had enough water for the rest of my trip, so I got some batteries intead.)

Btw, I found the dinner menu at this HGI to be of far higher quality than I've found at HGIs elsewhere. (First time I've tried a dinner at an HGI in a while, though, so I don't know if this difference was to due to a superior kitchen at HGI Fairfax, or a general improvement in HGI restaurants chainwide recently.)