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Park Hyatt Washington D.C. REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

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Park Hyatt Washington D.C. REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

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Old Jul 21, 2013, 7:33 pm
  #406  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 757
We were very well taken care of

My wife and I just celebrated our tenth anniversary here.

The staff was very attentive in both ordinary interactions and in their special touches. I booked an FHR rate for one night and used a suite upgrade from the credit card. For the second night I used an award night from the card.

When I booked the suite upgrade they told us based on availability they may let us stay in the suite or may move us. As it turned out we were upgraded to the executive suite (huge!) and allowed to stay.

In terms of special touches, when we were seated to dine at the BD Tavern we were greeted with complimentary glasses of champagne. Furthermore, the next night when we returned from an outing there was a bottle of champagne on ice and an apple pie waiting for us in the room. Very unexpected.

The room was very quiet, and the whole experience was very relaxing. And that is not just because it was the first two nights away from the kids in eight years.

I am a plat, via the CC and am relatively limited in my biz travel. This is hands down one of the best hotel experiences we've had.
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Old Jul 23, 2013, 12:48 pm
  #407  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Programs: AA PLT, DL GM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 241
Stayed here for the first time recently--I really enjoyed the property/hard product, but definitely had some service issues.

As a diamond member, I was upgraded to a Premier Park Deluxe (definitely not a View Premier Park Deluxe as I looked onto some cooling/heating units on a low roof). The room was fine, but the room next door was particularly noisy and it was easy to hear everyone inside and their television through the connecting door. People were also going in and out between at least a couple different rooms, and I didn't know why they didn't just have connecting rooms.

I went downstairs at around 5pm to ask if I could be moved to another room without a connecting door. The girl working the front desk told me that all rooms in that room class had a connecting door and that all rooms were full, but she said that she would speak with her manager and call my room later and let me know. An hour later, having not received a call, I went back downstairs to check on what was happening. I was told that the manager hadn't gotten back to her and that she would call my room when I heard. Another hour passed, no word, so I went down again and I was told the same thing.

About 45 minutes later, I had to leave the hotel, so I just let the front desk girl know that I wouldn't be in my room. At that time, another girl was working the front desk with the girl with whom I had been speaking the previous times. The newly-present girl asked what was wrong and was able to move me to a new room (I think a View Premier Park Deluxe as I looked out onto the street) without connecting door within five minutes.

Basically, there were two problems: (1) I was not upgraded to the best room available, but that's not a big deal when the rooms were pretty much identical in terms of size and layout; (2) The girl at the front desk was a very poor communicator with me and/or her manager. The manager may also have been slow to respond, which would also be a problem. It really should not take nearly three hours for the front desk to let me know whether I would be able to change rooms, and good customer service would dictate that they should at least call me within an hour to say that they were still looking into it. I have another reservation coming up in a few weeks, and I hope the service will be better then.

Last edited by lawyertalk; Jul 23, 2013 at 12:56 pm
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Old Aug 8, 2013, 6:55 am
  #408  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Just finished up a stay here, full trip report with 30+ pictures can be found here: Weekend Blitz -- Park Hyatt Washington, D.C. Review

For comparison, I stayed at the St. Regis Washington D.C. right after this and posted a review of that property here: Weekend Blitz -- St. Regis Washington, D.C. Review


Booking/Check-in
I booked a 2-night stay in a "Premier Park Deluxe" about 3 days before check-in at a great rate.

As I approached the entrance, 2 bellmen sprinted towards me to help with my luggage and escorted me to the check-in desk. The counter was spread out and quite spacious. They thanked me for my Diamond status, explained that breakfast was included for Diamond members and that it could be taken in the restaurant or ordered in-room. Because I'm still new to Hyatt, I was thinking that the breakfast was in lieu of the amenity, but the next question was what Diamond amenity I wanted. It's a habit now to just say, "I'll take the points" (1,000 points in this case), but I'm now regretting not hearing them out on food and beverage options. The agent then confirmed that they had me in a "Premier Park Deluxe King" and reached to imprint the keys-- as she did it, I subtly asked if there might be any upgrade opportunities? She checked for a few minutes (I mean, what are they really doing on that computer? making it look like they're pulling strings?), consulted with her co-worker and, about 3 minutes later, confirmed that they could move me up to a "Park Parlor Suite"....a move up of about 2 tiers (sample pricing based on a 2-night, midweek stay July 30-Aug 1, 2013):

- $469 Park Deluxe King/Twin
- $519 Premier Park Deluxe (618 sq ft) **BOOKED**
- $544 View Premier Park Deluxe
- $569 Park Parlor Suite (626 sq ft) **UPGRADED TO**
- $769 Park Suite
- $1,219 Park Executive Suite
- $2,469 Ambassador Suite
- $6,874 Presidential Suite

The bellman quickly approached with my luggage and gave me the nickel tour of all of the lobby dining options on the way to the elevator.

The Room
The first thing you'll notice about the rooms and the property is that The Park Hyatt Washington (and other Park Hyatts, for that matter) does an excellent job of having very winding hallways, which prevents you from looking down the hall at a row of room doors. It almost makes you feel as if you're the only guest.


My first impressions of the room: not necessarily "luxurious" but extremely nice. To some, it might seem a little spartan, to others, tastefully modern and sleek. The Park Parlor Suite was one of the longer, narrower rooms of the property and the windows opened up to another building, so it was a terrible view. You entered into the living room area with a large desk, 2 chairs, TV and a half bathroom. A recessed, nearly hidden door separates the bedroom: .again, a very large space with modern decor--bookshelves, light wood colored furniture.


The bellman, either extremely customer-focused or extremely bored, insisted on giving me the full tour of my room. It lasted at least 5 minutes, all the way down to detailing the location of the complimentary toiletries, shoeshine kit, bottles of water, etc.


The Bathroom
The bathroom was enormous! Equipped with a shower and a tub, both finished with a very rustic, yet elegant tile. According to the website, it is a: "spa-inspired" limestone bathroom with a separate soaking bath and rain shower.





The Gym
While it was a little hard to find (you take the elevator to the 3rd floor, walk all the way down the hall, take the steps down a flight and then walk over), the gym was great. It was clean, bright and, best of all, had windows across the length of it overlooking 24th street. There were more than enough cardio machines and they had a good selection of weights.


Right next to the gym are a pool and sauna-- somewhat a shame that it's all indoors, but a nice feature.


Lobby/Bars/Restaurants/Room-service
The property has 216 guestrooms:

  • 28 suites
  • 84 Park Deluxe rooms
  • 104 Premier Park Deluxe / View Premier Park Deluxe rooms


The Park Hyatt Washington hosts three dining choices on the property:

  • The famed BLUE DUCK TAVERN--a crowd favorite
  • A bar simply called "LOUNGE"--open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A little more casual than the Blue Duck Tavern
  • And the TEA CELLAR--serving "vintages" tea (never found out what that means, does it imply old tea?). Free coffee is served in the tea cellar in the mornings, but they also have an espresso machine that is open all day.

While I didn't have a chance to try the Blue Duck Tavern for dinner, I really enjoyed their breakfast. I was the first one there at 7:15am, but slowly more people trickled in and the service was super quick. I ordered the SLOWLY POACHED EGG ($15) with charred corn, spinach and wild mushrooms. I liked it a lot although it was barely what I would consider to be a breakfast dish--very light and earthy tasting. The poached egg was very softly poached so really designed to just crack over the dish and mix around.


While the prices were the same as room service, it looked like the restaurant had a few more choices on the menu. Just to be sure what the deal was for Hyatt Diamond members, the server confirmed that you can order anything from the menu free of charge.

I already mentioned that breakfast as a Diamond member can be taken in-room in addition to the Blue Duck Tavern, so how could I not give the room service breakfast a shot at least one morning? I called to confirm that the included breakfast is the AMERICAN BREAKFAST ($32) which includes the "Continental Breakfast" + "A La Carte Eggs & Omelets" + fresh juice + hot beverage--basically anything from the menu.


The night before, I had sent my shoes off for the complimentary shine, requesting an 8am return...so what does The Park Hyatt do? Promptly at 7:59am, there was a knock on the door to deliver my freshly shined shoes, presented neatly in a wicker basket and wrapped in Park Hyatt bags. Then, just a a minute later and without missing a beat...breakfast was knocking on my door right at 8am--just as requested. The attendant wheeled in a cart, removed a ."silver" tray and then set all the dishes upon it. I had the EGG WHITE OMELETTE with goat cheese, ham and mushrooms. It was very fluffy, not noticeably oily or buttery. Since gratuity and tax is automatically included, the total came out to $47.04! The full amount, however, was removed at checkout for being a Diamond member.



Service
Much of staff was foreign, many of the wait staff and front desk agents had European accents. Likely a practical move to better accommodate international guests but also a good move to make the property feel international for sophistication reasons as well.

A previous review that I read was very well stated: "Service uncannily there when needed and absent when not." This was spot on of my experience, it started to feel like a mansion where service staff just disappear into the bowels of the building, using their own elevators, hallways and stairs. This feeling is probably attributable to the huge property and the hallways snaking around, leaving very little chance to see another guest on the floor or service staff moving about.

All staff was extremely professional, even the bellman (who might have just earned the title from bell boy just days before) that was still on his first month of the job.

BOTTOM LINE: Unparalleled service, the serene property and excellent recognition for Hyatt Gold Passport elites makes the Park Hyatt Washington a top choice for D.C.


Full post with photo gallery here: Weekend Blitz -- Park Hyatt Washington, D.C. Review
jmgriffin is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2013, 12:09 am
  #409  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,632
I forget if I posted a review of my second stay or not, and am too lazy to click "search", but jmgriffin's review reminded me -- when staying on an Amex FHR rate, I was able to get free breakfast, and with some persistence, could get it at the BDT or as room service (I believe we did one of each). And the gratuity came off as well. I couldn't tell if they made an exception for us, or if it was simply that no one on an FHR rate asked about room service vs. BDT. In any case, we got both.
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Old Sep 10, 2013, 5:34 pm
  #410  
dw
 
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
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Posts: 7,484
Originally Posted by jmgriffin
confirmed that they could move me up to a "Park Parlor Suite"....a move up of about 2 tiers
Thanks for the review and the pics. So THAT is what the "Park Parlor Suite" looks like (I've been wondering as there are no photos on the web site)... to be honest, I think I actually prefer the layout of the Premier Park Deluxe room as both room types look similar in size, and I like the bathroom layout of the Premier Park Deluxe more, as the shower and the tub are adjacent and open up into one another, creating an extremely large/luxurious feeling shower or bath space.
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Old Jan 24, 2014, 7:21 pm
  #411  
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Baltimore MD
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I'm considering a stay here in April... Will be with kids so, the PH has great room rates for suites.. Any thoughts about what the difference between a Park Exec and Premier Park Executive suite are? What times of the day do the town car run? Also, is there a side of the hotel that gets less traffic (i.e. sirens and etc)

Thanks
FDW

Last edited by FlyingDoctorwu; Jan 24, 2014 at 7:27 pm
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Old Feb 23, 2014, 8:45 pm
  #412  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NJ
Programs: UA MM, HH Gold, SPG LT Gold
Posts: 263
Lounge?

Is there a Grand Club lounge at this hotel that provides continental breakfast, evening hors d'oeuvres and all-day refreshments? I know Grand Hyatt Washington does have the lounge.
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Old Feb 23, 2014, 8:51 pm
  #413  
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Originally Posted by pm6163
Is there a Grand Club lounge at this hotel that provides continental breakfast, evening hors d'oeuvres and all-day refreshments? I know Grand Hyatt Washington does have the lounge.
Like most Parks, the Park Hyatt Washington DC does not have a club lounge. Meals are available at the in-house restaurant, the Blue Duck Tavern.
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Old Feb 24, 2014, 5:43 am
  #414  
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Originally Posted by pm6163
Is there a Grand Club lounge at this hotel that provides continental breakfast, evening hors d'oeuvres and all-day refreshments? I know Grand Hyatt Washington does have the lounge.
Grand Clubs are in Grand Hyatts. Regency Clubs are in Hyatt Regencys.

Only a few PH have Park Lounges. In MEL it is called an Ambassador Lounge.
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Old Feb 24, 2014, 1:57 pm
  #415  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Los Angeles,CA,USA
Programs: UA MM, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 929
Great service

Stay here often. Like to have dinner at the bar, but it's become nearly impossible to get a bar stool when I get to the bar. So...last time, really pretty much just joking, asked to reserve a seat for 7:30, after I'm done at the gym. "Sure." And when I get there, there's a little sign with my name on it next to the only empty seat. Yes!!!

The barkeeps are great, food is great. But please, don't tell anyone my little special way of making sure I get a spot!
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Old Mar 23, 2014, 12:04 am
  #416  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 5
Guys, I need your advice here. I am going to DC on early April for 3 nights, and trying to decide between PH Washington vs Ritz Carlton Georgetown.

The PH is a Park Deluxe King and the RC is a Premier King at similar rate. I do not hold any elite status at gold passport. I have a silver at MR.

Any idea which is nicer?
We are typical tourist seeing the famous sites in DC for a few days.

I am traveling from asia with my wife and it is our first time to the US.

PS, we plan to stay at the GH New york before coming to DC.
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Old Mar 23, 2014, 8:38 am
  #417  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CHS
Programs: DL Diamond, WN A-List, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 685
Originally Posted by flyinginu
Guys, I need your advice here. I am going to DC on early April for 3 nights, and trying to decide between PH Washington vs Ritz Carlton Georgetown.

The PH is a Park Deluxe King and the RC is a Premier King at similar rate. I do not hold any elite status at gold passport. I have a silver at MR.

Any idea which is nicer?
We are typical tourist seeing the famous sites in DC for a few days.

I am traveling from asia with my wife and it is our first time to the US.

PS, we plan to stay at the GH New york before coming to DC.
Of the 2 you mentioned, I've only stayed at the PH before. I scanned through a few pictures on the Ritz Carlton TripAdvisor page and can say that the PH looks far superior.

If you're interested in just sightseeing have you considered anything closer to the National Mall? The St. Regis D.C. is significantly closer (by about 1 mile/20 mins on foot) to many of the sights than the PH or RC. I've stayed at both the PH and St. Regis and liked them both a lot but would probably pick the St. Regis over the PH in the future. If you're interested, I have detailed reviews of both the PH and St. Regis here:

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Old Mar 23, 2014, 9:53 am
  #418  
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Join Date: Sep 2002
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I have never stayed at the RC Georgetown. Folks on the luxury hotel forum used to like it quite a bit but there isn't much mention of it now. Still, if I thought the rooms and service were equivalent, I'd be tempted to go for the RC simply because Georgetown is a nicer area to be in as a tourist.

If access to public transport is a factor, both hotels are some distance from the nearest metro station (Foggy Bottom for both) but it can be reasonably walked from the PH and not from the RC -- you will need taxis there.
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Old Mar 23, 2014, 9:53 am
  #419  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 236
I have never been to an RC in the US but I have found the Washington Park Hyatt to be excellent (on the US hotel rating scale).

Having said that, I found the Park Hyatt to be somewhat poorly located (relative to other intown hotels) if sightseeing is your goal while in DC. However, the same could be said of the RC. The benefit of the location is I found the Park to be one of the quietest hotels in town.
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Old Mar 24, 2014, 7:48 am
  #420  
Aman 5+ BadgeFour Seasons Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Baltimore MD
Posts: 3,457
Originally Posted by flyinginu
Guys, I need your advice here. I am going to DC on early April for 3 nights, and trying to decide between PH Washington vs Ritz Carlton Georgetown.

The PH is a Park Deluxe King and the RC is a Premier King at similar rate. I do not hold any elite status at gold passport. I have a silver at MR.

Any idea which is nicer?
We are typical tourist seeing the famous sites in DC for a few days.

I am traveling from asia with my wife and it is our first time to the US.

PS, we plan to stay at the GH New york before coming to DC.
Of the two, I would pick the RC... the RC's location is in the heart of Georgetown so quite close to shopping/restaurants/cupcakes/etc... The PH isn't terribly far away but it's still about a 15 minute walk to the heart to Georgetown.. that all being said it is possible to walk to dupont circle from the PH... Neither is convenient to the sites of DC...

FDW
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