Marisaac

Stayed here this past weekend as Platinum Amb. on the IHG free night. I was upgraded to a 2 Queen Bed Executive Suite with all the benefits proactively delivered. Checked in at 4pm but had to wait 15 mins to verify that the room was ready.

Overnight Parking was difficult to find. Spot Hero does not have the closest 24 hr parking; 1325 G street @ $34 every 24hrs. Most parking options on Spot Hero do not accept overnight parking.

Overall a great stay with my SO and 2 kids.

TravelTheWorld66

Very interesting. I stayed here last month as a Spire RA on a paid reservation and was only upgraded to a Junior Suite (they call it Willard Suite). And to make it worse I would consider myself a frequent guest, staying 5-6 times a year for the past five years.

Marisaac

I asked the same this past weekend and was told that they will be closing 1-2 floor(s) at a time for the refurbishment; modern furniture and equipment only. The hotel will still be open and functioning throughout the period.

Lewis42

Ahh ok, thanks for clarifying

darby1970

scubaccr

Can you please expand, what was discussed and why, ity

zitozac

Just completed a 3 night stay over the weekend combined as a Free night from the Chase CC and a 2 night paid stay. I only have Platinum status through the CC. I had booked a single queen room. I arrived around 1pm on Thursday and inquired on an early checkin.

The front desk agent upgraded me to a King bed and processed an early checkin, along with combining my two separate reservations. He also told me he would give me bonus points for EACH reservation (He did, 600 points x 2). Room 601 was a corner King room offering 2 window views. There was some maintenance/construction going on in room 600 and the Thomas Jefferson suite down the hall most of that afternoon.

I didn't really make use of any of the F&B outlets as I was in town for a conference at a neighboring hotel and we had some long days. Super convenient location for walking to the monuments, memorials, and White House. Housekeeping was very attentive. Upon checkout Sunday morning, I asked if they had any of the puppets I could buy to take home and they went to the sales office and brought one back for me but refused to charge me for it. I won't hesitate to stay here again.

mcgahat

Finding myself at this property next Wednesday on a FHR booking. It appears there is the French restaurant and the Round Robin bar as far as F&B outlets to use the credit. Would more experienced folks at this property rate one better than the other for food quality etc?

CMK10

Stay Report - 12/13 - 12/14

Location: The hotel's location on 14th and F is really good for a DC visit or if you were there on business like I was. The hotel is an easy five minute walk to Metro Center which means a one train ride to Union Station, Reagan Airport and most other parts of DC. Nearby are a number of restaurants and bars (the Hamilton across the street is a personal favorite) plus some coffee shops and fast food places.





Hotel: In a word: gorgeous. A beautiful classic building exuding old world elegance but still modern and comfortable. There are entrances on both F and Pennsylvania though Pennsylvania is easier to get picked up or dropped off on. The lobby has several shops inside an arcade which right now look amazing for Christmas. There are also several restaurants and bars there.





Check In: Handled really well by an agent who actually appreciated my IHG Platinum status which isn't a given at ICs. He also gladly confirmed a 2 PM check out for me which is better than the 12:30 PM my status guarantees.

Room: I had used an IHG CC Cert to reserve a Deluxe Room with two queen beds and received room 845 which I think is an upgrade. As you can see it was a gorgeous room with a large bathroom with separate shower and bathtub, kitchenette, work/dining area and a really comfortable king bed. Everything worked well and I had a very nice stay.











I love this hotel, it's one of the best ICs and a European feel in the US.

DaveH

Just checked in for a 4 night stay as a Spire Ambassador. My first time at this property. First two nights Chase Anniversary, then last two nights the Amb BOGO certificate.

The friendly young agent checked us in to room 921, billed as an "upgrade" to a White House view. Just a standard queen room (albeit very nice), but somewhat disappointing they didn't offer something with more room. As it is mid-week and we checked in late, perhaps they were inventory constrained. He did say that our three reservations were all "upgraded" to this class of room, but he had to combine them then and there. I wonder if that means no one read the email from the ambassador desk asking them to do this ahead of time?

A welcome amenity of fruit (2 apples, 2 bananas, a few strawberries and citrus slices) and a bottle of wine was a nice touch.

Looking forward to the stay. Will try to update with anything interesting.

scubaccr

Maybe not upgraded ahead of time all four nights because unlike 2x Paid Qualifying Rate nights (2x Bogo Nights which both qualify) , neither CC Free Night Certs, IHG Freenight Certs (or award/points nights) give an Ambassador any guaranteed upgrade benny. Not to say many IC's don't upgrade Ams/RAs on free nights, but more likely one's free night upgrade luck depends on nicer cat rooms being unsold at checkin time.

Hotels always prefer to keep you in same paid-upgraded-room for the extra 'free night bookings' as long as the paid night was booked into higher category than basic room a free night books into, as then free nights need a multi-cat upgrade to match paid room.

I always tend to find paid nights at IC's show upgrades earlier than award night or mixed paid/free night bookings

uclacolumbiaunc

trying to book a reward night at IC Willard. My question is : what's the difference between a "deluxe" room and a "superior" room? Other than superior room not guaranteeing bed type, are other aspects of the rooms the same?

view-with-a-room

Booked Chase free night + BOGO nights (Willard Room). Arrived 4PM and room was not ready. Room 1129 with a nice view. A long room with the desk on one side of the room and the TV on the other side of the room with the bed in the middle. Not ideal as the desk faces the wall and a couch blocks the view. The desk has a big mirror over the desk. I don't like to sit and work and look at myself constantly. I do give the hotel credit as the room does have a desk and a chair as newly refurbished hotels often do not have a desk and a chair. No water or fruit or other welcome amenities in the room. Check-in was chaotic with an excess of tour groups. Although all three nights are Willard room I do not find pleasure in receiving a welcome letter indicting the room was upgraded when the room was in fact not upgraded. The room was upgraded the first night but not the 2nd and 3rd night. I checked online often and the BOGO price varied over the course of month from in excess of $400 to a low of $279 for the Willard room. I booked the Willard room via BOGO for $279. I also checked a few boxes for the upgrade such as the breakfast for $19 but no mention of the upgrades at check-in. I also asked about the Ambassador renewal and was told to renew online as the process required the hotel to call. I thought the hotels received benefits of sorts if the member renewed at the hotel. I am a Spire Ambassador with 480,000 points, for reference. I have stayed at the Willard on average once per every other year for the past decade. The minibar was emptied as instructed by room service to provide room in the minibar for food and drinks purchased elsewhere. The sticker on the minibar indicates room service will empty the minibar for a "minimal charge" and so I called. No do not disturb sign to be found so room service is constantly knocking on the door. I eventually gave room service $10 to come back later. The room is oddly sparse as room a plenty for more furniture such as more chairs or more chest of drawers or more tables. The long room does have advantages as the bathroom separates the bed and the noise makers including the HVAC and the refrigerator and the entrance. The room is very quiet. The room is very clean. The TV works well enough. The preset volume for the TV is quite loud, though. The shower head is a top mount shower head and without sufficient water pressure is not ideal. I prefer the standard wall mount shower head. The setup is elaborate with 5 valves and I have yet to determine how to set the pressure or the temperature. The perfect setup installs the standard shower head on one wall and the top mount shower head on the other wall.

view-with-a-room

Look at the priced rooms and determine which type is more expensive. Ideally book the more expensive room. Not all award rooms are created equal. If the booking is additional paid nights the additional room types is important as the hotel will more often than not upgrade the award night to the paid nights. Additionally the status with the hotel loyalty program is important. The older hotels are a mix of rooms and room types. Not all deluxe rooms are created equal. I once booked the cheapest room in London hotel and the room was at the peak of the hotel with the view of the lifetime but room enough for one person and only one person. The Willard is a good example of an older hotel.

view-with-a-room

I do hope the desks and chairs are not eliminated. I hate hotels without desks and chairs. Ideally the desk and chair are not situated with a view of the wall... I like to work and look out the windows and enjoy the million dollar views.