spgplat21

Had another wonderful stay at the PH DC. We had breakfast at Blue Duck one morning and room service the next morning. As a diamond member, I always love places that give you the option of in room dining. It's also been a while since we stayed here and breakfast was in the actual restaurant this time. I remember it used to be in the tea area, which I actually preferred because the tables are not right on top of each other like in the restaurant. The decor is starting to show a little age and it will probably be time for a minor renovation soon, but the service was excellent and I find that the price is pretty good compared to similar properties in DC.

We had one issue with a forgotten item on our room service dinner. It took a few calls and 45 minutes to get the item, but they took the entire meal off our bill, brought the missing item and gave us an apple pie. I was very nice the entire time, so it was very refreshing to have a property proactively make things right without a guest causing a fuss. It's this type of service recovery that keeps me coming back each time I'm in DC. There usually aren't issues, but I like knowing that I'll be treated right should one arise.

K79

This was my first time to this property. I had a two night stay with family over 4th of July; used a DSU and was given an Executive Suite. I was not dissappointed nor impressed with the overall property and stay. There were some good points about the stay. I enjoyed the downtown proximity and the "extra" room space. Decor in the room was fine. The in room diamond breakfast was perhaps the highlight of the property. Breakfast at Blue Duck was mediocre. Buffett offerings were average and the physical setup was awkward. The service, well, being a Park, I expected a lot more. I have had better food and service at category 3 property's.

I would like to return in the future and give it a second chance.

zzrayzz

I will be staying at PH Washington next month for 1 night. Just want to clarify.... the diamond breakfast is now NOT limited to just the American breakfast? In room diamond breakfast is now available!? *MIND BLOWN*

DCA-Flyer

PH Washington has been offering room service as a Diamond breakfast benefit for at least a year. It is indeed a wonderful benefit, and they are quite generous with the allowance. I signed several $80-90 breakfast charges (room booked for double occupancy; they require that you sign the room service receipt, then remove it at check-out) and was amazed at time of check-out that everything was removed appropriately.

FlyingDoctorwu

I am not sure what the view is of from the PH. It's located in a fairly residential area. I would probably go for the larger room.

FDW

lawyertalk

This is the view from an Ambassador Suite (so probably one of the best "views"): http://imgur.com/9EFtJ18,MrMaI0p. I'd take the larger room.

jepiv

Stayed here for a quick weekend for work/play. Not as eventful as my write up at the Maui Andaz. I'll just post some pics and a some quick bullet points.

-Very nice hotel with a modern/minimalist feel

-Diamond Breakfast option was offered via room service as well, but we went to BDT. Started with the buffet, it was not very good so I ordered an omelet off the menu which was excellent. $67 for two people was taken off upon check out. (We paid for drinks) The one breakfast picture is of the buffet items which look better than they tasted. The eggs had zero flavor and the potatoes were undercooked.

-I didn't care for the Bergamonte bath products. I had some Beekman 1802 shower gel from NYC Andaz I swapped for instead.

-Staff was super friendly. Was upgraded to a Premiere Park Deluxe both nights (flight got cancelled Saturday, so I checked out and back in. Same room type, different floor)

-The bathrooms are HUGE and the shower is amazing.

-The bed and linens were very comfortable

-I didn't understand why the iron was permanently attached to the ironing board. It was a total pain to fill with water.

-I have no idea why there is a bench in the elevator, but twice when waiting to come up from the lobby we caught people off guard posing and taking pictures which was very funny.

-Nice quiet location, away from most the monuments and Smithsonian, but was never more than a $8-9 Uber ride (with the current 25% off UberX promo)

zzrayzz

We stayed here for 1 night this past weekend and it was great. The gf and I arrived at Noon and was able to check-in, which was very convenient to drop everything off and head out to brunch (at Founding Farmers!) Front desk did acknowledged my Diamond status, advised my benefits, and offered me 4PM check-out and if I wanted points or food&beverage (I took the pts). I had originally booked a Park King Deluxe with MER, and was given a Premier View Deluxe King (view of N street). I was very impressed with the room! It looked more like a junior suite with a HUGE bathroom. We ate dinner at Blue Duck Tavern. It was a nice cool night, so we requested to sit outside. It was funny watching diners come through the front door (the front door is like 30 feet tall!!) and everyone that opens the door, instantly tilts their head up and gaze in amazement. Food was delicious and the waiter even comped our desserts! (not sure if being a Diamond had anything to do with it) but it was a nice surprise when he brought the bill over. As for the Diamond breakfast, we did in-room dining. We placed our orders the night before via the menu hanging on the room door knob. We requested for 10AM and I believe the arrived a few minutes before. The bill came close to ~$100 after tax+tip and was directly billed to the room. The breakfast charge was later removed at check-out. Great stay and can't wait to stay again soon!

Frequent_Flyer1

One, and I might add, (maybe) totally "insane" question concerning the PH Washington. Will be staying there over a weekend in two weeks time after a business trip; I'll be travelling for eight days and naturally with hand luggage only, so unfortunately won't have space to take a pair of trainers/sport shoes with me. Does somebody know if the PH offers running shoes for their guests? I guess not after searching this thread, but before you start laughing (yes, you do ), some hotels do offer this service... so worth a shot!

thucanhho

I just called the hotel for you, the answer is NO. If you really have a hanker to run, consider shipping the shoes to the hotel, or more obvious, buying them. Also consider weight training, stair climbing in slippers, etc.
The pool is not a lap pool, so I do not think that would be a good option to get a workout.

(I'm going to go ahead and give myself a pat on the back for keeping my response professional and a second pat for bravery in posing that question to the hotel.)

FlyingDoctorwu

Why the pat on the back? It's a legitimate question for a luxury hotel.... I will give you high marks for calling the hotel...

I've borrowed shoes, shorts, and even a swimsuit. I don't think I've ever done this at a Park Hyatt but definitely at the Four Seasons...

FDW

m0hamed

Hyatt has a campaign stating they have items you may forget at home. See http://www.experience.hyatt.com/#hyatt-has-it

Westin has a point of different in *wood with Westin Workout rooms, and renting guests New Balance running gear and sneakers for a minimal fee.

thucanhho

[QUOTE= I've borrowed shoes, shorts, and even a swimsuit. FDW[/QUOTE]

We will have to agree to disagree on this one.

Frequent_Flyer1

Thank you so much thucanhho for your efforts! ^ Truly appreciated!! And yes, thanks for staying professionally Just kidding, like FlyingDoctorwu I had rented/borrowed fitness gear at several luxury hotels so far, e.g. Four Seasons, Mandarin Orientals. Fairmont even has a dedicated programme for this (in cooperation with Addidas or Nike). Truly think this is a great benefit and I do would appreciat if Hyatt offers something similiar!

So with regards to the PH Washington, I took advantage of their bike rentals instead and used this as a work-out - sun was shining beautifully yesterday!

The PH is indeed a lovely hotel and can certainly keep up with international propierties, so well done. Was upgraded to a View Premier Park Deluxe on a high floor on my FHR-booking, very nice and absolutely lovely! Took the F&B offer as the Diamond welcome amenity, it consisted of a cheese plate (three different cheeses) and comes with a small bottle of red wine (Boxwood Winery, Virginia) as well as some bread. Very tasty, alhtough next time I would ask if it's possible to substitute the wine/cheese for the Apple Pie form BDT.

FlyingDoctorwu

Planning/Booking
Spring break… what to do… now before I start, I have two kids: aged 5 and 2. They are wonderful kids. I love them very very much… but we don’t typically travel together. I am blessed to have two wonderful parents who don’t mind babysitting and my wife and I try to get away at least once a year on a nice trip; if not more… But, spring break is upon us and I guess that means family time… now here’s some information about my family: since the arrival of the deuce, we haven’t flown together… it is not something that we are looking forward to.. our last trip involving flying with a child was BWI-ORD-NRT-TPE-NRT-ORD-BWI…. And I guess that that scarred us for life… so our primary goal was to either drive or take the train… our kids have surprisingly good tolerance for driving (routinely drop 600 miles in a day with them, which is about mom and dad’s tolerance for driving)… but we also considered a cruise.. unfortunately, mom and dad broke the bank at the Amans so we scaled down to something shorter and closer: a quick 3 night getaway to Washington DC… Now onto the second requirement: space. Space is absolutely one of the most important things for us… whenever we occupy the same space it’s absolutely brutal.. Mom doesn’t sleep, Dad doesn’t sleep and the kids don’t either. So space is the number 1 priority in picking a hotel room… searched all over: Embassy Suites, Four Seasons, VRBO… it ran the gamut from ½ star to 5 star… I recalled that the Park Hyatt had a confirmed upgrade at booking with Virtuoso so I reached out to DavidO and surprisingly I could confirm an upgrade at booking to an Ambassador Suite by booking the Premier Park Executive Suite… Now I’ve stayed at the PH before and it’s not my first choice in DC… I find the area quite sterile and much prefer to stay in Georgetown.. However, the PH offered me 1200 square feet for the price of a standard room at the Four Seasons… so, in the end, it was an absolute no-brainer to pick the PH… After booking, my parents decided to join us as well so I ended up booking them a room via the Hyatt Free Time promotion- which gave them the third night free and breakfast each morning. I then reached out to the PH and was able to have their room connect to the Ambassador suite. So, in the end I was able to secure a two bedroom suite for the price of a Premier room at the FS (though FS later added a 3rd night free deal; however there wasn’t any availability the dates we traveled). Finally, because of the cold winter/spring the cherry blossoms ended up blooming later this year so that we were in town for almost peak blossom season- most of the other hotels were sold out at this time period…..

Arrival
Ahhh how easy it is to hope in the car and only have to make a 1.5 hour trip.. We left mid morning so missed traffic as well. Given that I wasn’t planning on using the car, I elected to find a self park close by for cheaper than the $45/day that the PH wanted for valet. I had used ParkingPanda last time and ended up parking at the Westin across the street. I turned to them again and secured parking for 3 days including tax for $67. Not too shabby. We arrived on foot/stroller therefore and entered through the main entrance. One thing to note is that the main entrance is not handicap/stroller friendly. So, it’s actually kind of a pain in that you have to go around to the side entrance. Given that it’s actually only like 3 steps from the main entrance down to the lobby, it would have been fairly easy to build a small ramp. We are able bodied, but if one wasn’t so mobile, it would definitely be a pain having to go around to the side entrance every time. We were met by doormen who helped us up the short flight with our stroller (Joovy Caboose for those of you who care). Proceeding to the front desk, I was informed our connecting room was available at that time (1130 AM) but not the suite. The front desk agent remarked that the Ambassador Suite was occupied but that the party was due to check out soon and that she would have them expedite the room turnover. She also took my cell phone number promising to call given that we planned to go out for lunch. She explained the Virtuoso benefits for the suite and went ahead and took off the 3rd night from the other room.

Location
The location is actually fairly sterile. It did, however grown on me. It’s about a 7-8 minute walk to the Foggy Bottom metro. In addition, there’s a Whole Foods located there too, which was helpful. It’s not a terrible walk to the heart of Georgetown or to Dupont Circle.. there are some fairly good restaurant options nearby. We ate at both Sushi Taro and Obelisk, both of which were excellent… One of my biggest complaints with this location is the proximity to GW means that there is a lot of ambulance noise, which can be quite annoying…

Room
The Ambassador suite is on the top level of the hotel. It’s a beautiful suite, with a large green apple, Bang and Olufsen stereo and a nice area with plates and flatware. It’s kind of like a railcar though. All the spaces are quite narrow. The bedroom and bathroom are spectacularly beautiful but to sum up my thoughts I though the room had some misses in my book. We ate a lot in the room, due to having both our kids with us and it’s almost criminal in such a suite to not have a dining table. The only real option is to eat around the absurdly long couch and the coffee tables. Not exactly ideal. I recall in the park executive suites that they do indeed have a proper table for dining with for four. Beautiful floors in the bathroom; but with a little water and the little slope down from the shower turns it into a slip and slide for the little ones (my daughter took a nasty tumble). I would also think that the elderly would be prone to problems as well. Things I like about the room include the absurdly long couch. My entire family (kids, parents and grandparents) was able to sit comfortably around it (though not ideal for eating). Nespresso machine is huge. Having plates and flatware was a big bonus. I do wish that the living room had blackout drapes as well. Both my son and daughter slept there and it wasn’t a great sleeping environment. Alternatively, a door between the bedroom and office would have made a good sleeping nook. The connecting Park Deluxe King was actually quite cozy. I was surprised at how small the room was. My guess would be somewhere around 300 square feet. The bathroom did not have a separate shower and bath nor was it outfitted in limestone. It seems that for a room designed to connect with the Ambassador suite; it should have carried over the same design themes present in the suite (at least in my mind). The toiletries in the suite were Le Labo Santal 33 and Le Labo Bergamonte in the room. Wifi was slow(poor ping and download speeds) and ATT LTE was a much better option...

The Green Apple


Living Room

Office

Suite Bedroom

Suite Tub

Park Deluxe King

Park Deluxe King Bathroom
[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/14766514688_4b32349286_b.jpg[/IMG Park Deluxe King Bathroom

PH Wifi

ATT LTE
Food and Beverage
We had breakfast each morning in the Blue Duck Tavern. The first morning we opted for the a la carte option. I’ve had the hash in the past and enjoyed it so tried it again and guess what? Thoroughly enjoyed it. My wife went with the crab omelet which was also a hit. The staff at breakfast were for the most part all excellent, very attentive to us and our children. However, the first day when I asked our waitress if they had a kids menu, she merely told me that they did kids portions at half price. So, we ordered off the menu for them. Only the next day did we find out that the kids could eat off the buffet at no additional cost. We went with the buffet option the next couple of mornings. Everything was of fairly high quality; however, nothing seemed to stand out as exceptional. All and all it’s a pretty solid breakfast but I don’t think I would be overly inclined to pay for it if it wasn’t included. We did opt for room service one night.. burgers all around and they were quite good; as well as the fries. I remember being disappointed with out last room service experience (but the bread was quite good) so that was a relief (though we did all opt for safe options).

Pool
We hit the pool. Everyday. It’s a small saltwater job but for a 2 and 5 year old it’s perfect. In fact, if you ask them their favorite part of that vacation it’s not the air and space museum or the natural history museum. It’s the pool. So, I could probably have taken then to the Hunt Valley Embassy Suites and they would have been just as happy. But I digress. The pool was always fairly quiet. It’s a little convoluted to get to as it’s in another building but if you go down the long hallway on the second floor it’s possible to get their without going outside. The jetted hot tub was unfortunately broken and thus only a hot tub during our entire stay.

Service
Very very hit or miss… Mostly miss I guess.. The doormen were always very helpful. The promised expedited room turnover and call were well executed- we received a call to stop by and pick up the additional keys about 2 PM. The side entrance was right by the concierge stand and one of the concierges would always go open the door when she saw us coming. In addition to the crib, they also provided a Park Hyatt Panda (which my daughter now loves) and a set of Bert’s Bees baby toiletries. I’m trying to think if there are anymore hits. My mom wasn’t feeling super great and finally I convinced her to go to the emergency room for more diagnostic testing (turns out she had pneumonia). The concierge gave a great recommendation to go to Sibley Hospital instead of George Washington Hospital (which is a matter of blocks away). However, I asked the front desk if the hotel car was available for transportation and the agent said yes. Gathering my mother from breakfast, we went outside only to find another guest getting into the hotel car. Apparently, there was some sort of miscommunication and the very nice Mercedes Benz was not available. Fortunately, the manager came out and offered to pay for a taxi to take my mother. So, the service recovery was seamless there. One of my biggest troubles was getting ice. I had injured my ankle earlier in the week playing ultimate Frisbee (at least trying to play) and needed to ice it every afternoon. Given that there aren’t any ice machines, I had to call down for ice. It usually took about 10-15 minutes, but one day it just didn’t come. By the time I was going to call again (around 6 PM- almost two hours later) housekeeping had come around for turndown and I was able to get ice from them. I understand at a certain level hotel that they don’t have ice machines, but for me it would be so much easier to just walk (or hobble) to the machine then to wait for someone to bring it to me. I much like the approach of some hotels where the ice bucket is always filled; having to call for ice is a gigantic pain (plus do I have to tip the guy/gal who brings me ice?). The plates/cups/silverware in our room was never consistently replaced. By the second day we were out of knives; on the third afternoon we had no coffee cups, no plates, no glasses and no silverware. I ended up having to call down to get everything replenished; but at least I made sure that they brought a bucket of ice with them. Finally, my parents room did not come with tea or a tea kettle but the instructions for the coffee machine state that complimentary teas and a tea kettle are available. So, I called down for them, asking for the complimentary tea. They asked what sort of tea I would like and I replied some sort of green or Japanese, which was brought fairly quickly. At checkout, however, there was a charge for $15.88. Inquiring further, it turned out that the tea request had somehow morphed into a request for room service tea. They did end up taking the charge off. In summary, I felt that for the most part the front of house did a reasonable job but that that didn’t filter all the way down through the rank and file.

Summary
I’m pretty sure in my last review I said something like I would pick the Four Seasons over the PH for a paid stay. The Park Hyatt however, offered me a lot more value than the Four Seasons. If it’s just my wife and I then yes we will probably go to the Four Seasons. However, with my kids and parents I was able to get a two bedroom suite for a steal. I would have paid more for two suites at the Embassy suites. I will, however, probably opt for a park executive suite next time. The Ambassador suite is beautiful but honestly not too functional. No dining table is a big turn off and the living area is quite narrow actual. The Foggy Bottom area has grown on me (due to proximity to Dupont and Georgetown) but the sirens are annoying (but not a dealbreaker). Food and beverage is solid and service is adequate. I don’t think Park Hyatt can compete with the Four Seasons but it’s definitely a strong option in DC.