Hyatt Centric Arlington REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Nov 20, 2016, 9:09 am
Really not pleasant at all. Very tiny room with scaled-down furnishings (no dresser, just two tiny drawers for clothing, no armchair and occasional table, etc.). Bathroom is small enough to be claustrophobic, and I can't imagine how a man could even fit in the shower stall. Not that there's enough hot water for a shower anyway. Plus the toilet is so badly positioned. Right next to the door and juts into the middle of the room, wedging you between the toilet and sink when you're standing at the sink. So when you turn to leave the room, the side of your knee inevitably whacks into the toilet seat. Just got here yesterday and I already have a big, painful bruise from it.
The fridge isn't cold, the water isn't hot, and it's basically a tiny dorm room... which makes the new 55" TV feel like you're in the front row at the movies. It's also right across from the ice machine, which is noisier than usual because the cleaning staff also congregate there. They're yelling back and forth, their walkie-talkies are blaring, and the only way to drown it all out is with the air purifier. So you can't hear the TV anyway unless you blast it. No thanks.
I stay here a few times a year and will continue to do so, but I really can't recommend this particular line. I didn't want to go through the hassle of moving rooms for a 2-night stay, so I'll just stick it out. But I still want to warn others of what to expect. The corner rooms in this hotel are not all the same. For instance, at the other end of the hall, the room ending in 26 is normal. Room ending in 25 across from it is so tiny it can only barely fit one double bed and the fridge is in the nightstand. Room ending in 00 at this end of the hall is one of these mini rooms.
Last edited by Freckles68; Nov 21, 2016 at 4:44 am
Dec 22, 2016, 7:21 am
http://www.hotelbusiness.com/Brands/...ic-Hotel/55912
https://arlington.centric.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html
Jan 6, 2017, 6:38 pm
I did request a food and beverage welcome amenity instead of points for the first time ever -- amenity is both a full 750ml bottle of wine and a $15 appetizer, so it seemed like a fair trade to avoid getting back out in the cold. The wine is cheap but drinkable and came in an ice bucket; the cheese and charcuterie was okay -- the "charcuterie" was below average but the cheese selection itself was pretty good (I'd pay $10-15 at a restaurant) and it came with a few decent accompaniments (apricot chutney, cornichons, some honey).
As for the renovation, I don't notice much. Room feels the same as before, the robe is different (it's like a college hoodie in robe form?), the guest-services book isn't rebranded.
Last edited by platbrownguy; Jan 6, 2017 at 7:28 pm
Sep 5, 2017, 2:02 pm
Sep 5, 2017, 4:14 pm
Sep 6, 2017, 6:07 am
In Arlington - remember I'm living on per diem of $6/day - I enjoyed Tom Yum District, Roti Modern Mediterranean. I heard good things about Capriotti's Sandwiches and SpinFire Pizza; alas, I'm vegetarian, so had to take a "miss" on these. There's the ubiquitous craft beer "Alehouse" a block away. And there is a string of about a half dozen "nicer" places on the uphill stretch of Wilson within five or six blocks.
Sep 6, 2017, 6:18 am
As others have mentioned you can walk 10-15 (uphill) minutes to Court House, which has several bars and restaurants, or keep going another 5-10 minutes to Clarendon which has many additional bars and restaurants. If you make it all the way to Clarendon, I especially like Lyon Hall and Liberty Tavern for nicer dining.
Nov 28, 2017, 12:39 pm
Location: The hotel is located a block away from the Rosslyn Metro Station on Wilson Blvd. which makes it a very easy ride to anywhere in DC including IAD thanks to the 5A bus to Dulles or the Metro. There area around the hotel is perfectly safe and mainly used for commercial purposes but there's nicely a Target and a Safeway a block from the hotel as well as a number of restaurants and bars. It's also very easy to get an Uber from here even on off times like Sunday evening
Hotel: The hotel is an older building, it was formerly a Hyatt and it has the concrete structure favored by Hyatts built a few decades ago. Thankfully it's been renovated recently. The lobby area is fairly small but does feature a coffee shop area that has a nice sitting area. The second floor has a restaurant called Cityhouse and there's a gym on the third floor.
Check In: I was able to check in and get into my room at 2 PM. The agent did thank me for being an Explorist but beyond that there are no Explorist benefits which seems to be the same as anywhere else save the 2 PM check out I was offered.
Room: I was upgraded from a Queen to a King room which was very nice as you can see. The bed was large and comfortable, wifi worked well and the bathroom was nice and modern. There was also a huge TV, Kuerig and a refrigerator. Sound proofing is not the best: I could hear the takeoffs from DCA as well as people in the hallway. Also, the outlets near the bed are actually in the headboard which is a really awkward design and causes them to fall out.
Other: The hotel is really good about bag storage and even let the people checking out in front of me store theirs for 2 days past check out.
My rate was $79 which was incredible. I was happy with my stay overall.
Nov 28, 2017, 3:53 pm
From the floor layout, it seemed a lot of the suite rooms were located next to one elevator and across from the other two in the main area for the elevators. I found that a bit odd. The gym on the third floor is where one of those suites would be located on other floors. This made the gym rather small, and there are a lot less strength training equipment due to the smaller gym space.
Breakfast reminded me of the buffet at Hyatt Fairfax Fair Lakes except they had a few more pastries and no bread rolls. There is no smoked salmon, and I heard a waiter tell another guest that the full buffet is $19. This is almost as much as the buffet at the Hyatt Dulles ($20) which has smoked salmon, chicken, and extra hot items.
They had a lot of newspapers next to the front desk. I asked them to deliver a WSJ to my room, but they didn’t do it. I ended up taking it and a Washington Post before checking out.
Nov 28, 2017, 7:50 pm
For the very short stay I was pleasantly surprised by this location as my last stay at a Centric (Long Beach) was far from good.
Nov 28, 2017, 8:22 pm
Nov 28, 2017, 8:24 pm
Nov 28, 2017, 10:27 pm
Actually, I found the $79 rate for Hyatt Centric Arlington on December 15 for a one queen room. You can save some points if you are willing to hotel hop outside the 495 beltway on weekends and/or do some stays right before or after Christmas.
Apr 23, 2018, 12:35 pm
Hyatt Centric Arlington
1325 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22209
Hyatt Centric Arlington: Comfortable and impressive suite for 1 night stay (21 Photos)
Hyatt Centric Arlington
I used to stay frequently at the Hyatt Arlington for business and with my business tour groups. However, when the nearby Le Meridien Arlington (just 2 blocks away) opened 4 years ago, converted from a Kimpton, I shifted my business to that newer property (and because I was more a fan of SPG).
This April, I had the opportunity to return to this renovated and rebranded Hyatt Centric Arlington--because its group rate was substantially better than that of my preferred Le Meridien Arlington.
I only spent 1 night here, but I was upgraded to a suite--most likely because I had booked a total of 18 rooms for one of my tour groups.
I was quite impressed with the refurbished suite--for the most part. It was largely comfortable, modern, and had excellent working air conditioning. My room service dinner and breakfast also were quite good. But the bathroom was narrow and oddly laid out, and had only a single vanity, and the bedroom closet couldn't even open fully due to the bed nightstand. Those were curious, and would have been more problematic had I stayed longer or been traveling with my husband.
I certainly would consider putting my groups here again, depending on how the rates compare with the Le Meridien Arlington. While I still prefer the Le Meridien Arlington, this hotel is now back to being a more worthy option.
Check In
As we were a group, check in should have been quite easy. I left my business card on my room for incidentals and otherwise quickly had all the keys for all the rooms in our 18 room block. I learned then that I had been upgraded to a suite.
On checking back in with the front desk about some other room issues, the FD clerks seemed always too busy, answering the phones or taking questions from passers by. Very annoying, actually.
Room
The suite was very fresh, modern, and pretty spacious.
To the left on entry was a closet:
The living room was spacious and brighter than the photos might suggest:
I quite liked the colorful accents.
I was pleased to see complimentary water despite my limited Explorist status:
I was also pleased to see the coffee maker, even if a basic brand type:
A small hallway led to the masted bedroom on the left and bathroom on the right. The bathroom was narrow and oddly laid out, actually:
With such a huge countertop, it is disappointing that the suite lacked double vanities.
The toilet/shower/tub area was VERY narrow and restricted in space, anf was pretty uncomfortable to be in even as the lone occupant in the suite. It would have been very uncomfortable for 2 persons.
The bedroom was more comfortable but had its own oddities:
The spacious closet on the other side of the bed had a door that couldn't open fully due to the side nightstand. Very poor design.
The view:
The air conditioning in both the living room and bedroom worked very well--but the bedroom worked better.
Overall, it was a pretty comfortable stay for a single night. But if I were staying more than 1 night or with a companion, the closet and bathroom space issues would have been annoying.
Service
I had few occasions to test the hotel service. But both times at the front desk, I would say the service is a bit haphazard and not as good as it should have been.
At check in, the FD clerk was trying to answer multilpe phone calls while also checking in me and another guest. It wasn't smooth.
When I called for room service in the evening, it rang and rang for almost 30 rings. I had to call three times before I got an answer.
When I called the front desk for another matter, it alsio rang and rang. I had to call back before I got an answer.
When I had an emergency and had to take a student to a local hospital, the FD quickly got me the hospital info.
When we returned from the hospital at 2 am, a different FD clerk was oddly inefficient in getting my student another room key. He took questions from random guests passing by, and answered the phone while supposedly handing us. I wasn't impressed.
I recall front desk service being an issue for me during my previous history at this hotel. That seems to have continued despite the rebranding!
Dining
Food and beverge insofar as room service were quite good.
Dinner room service:
Breakfast room service:
Both room service orders were delivered promptly, though it did take 3 tries to get someone to answer the phone for the dinner order!
Location
The location is very convenient to the Roslyn metro station, just around the block from the hotel. It was a 5 min walk to the Le Meridien Arlington. It is a 20 min walk into Georgetown across the Key Bridge.
Overall
Overall, I liked the refurbished design and fresh decor of the hotel and suite. The suite layout was generally OK but a bit oddly laid out for a longer stay perhaps--or for more than 1 person.
If the rate is rightk I would gladly return to the Hyatt Centric Arlington. But I probably prefer the Le Meridien Arlington for its better and more spacious suites, its better laid out rooms, and far more spacious lobby, bar, and restaurant spaces.
Aug 28, 2020, 7:36 pm