joejones

Wardman Park has one of the biggest convention spaces in DC, so once that market comes back, I suspect business will be very good.

nequine

We've stayed 3 times at the Omni and its a nice hotel but very big - the rooms in the main part of the hotel are very large (small bathroom though) but dated whereas the rooms in the addition at the back [hike and a half to get there!] are smaller but have a bigger bathroom. I only know there is a pool at the hotel because I've seen it on Google Maps! LOL

The steep hill to get into Wardman Park puts us off staying there.

bitterproffit

I went to a really fun New Year's Eve party at this hotel a couple of years ago. The location was fantastic. I had a nice room, but my hallway turned into what sounded like a frat party at about 3 AM. LOL. Hard to get mad though, its NYE.

The facilities seemed really nice to me. The decor was a little dated in the common areas, but the federal style fits. My room was more modern. I ended up shoving towels under the adjoining room door as I could hear conversations like they were in my room.

It was so cold that weekend. We went to the zoo and the panda's were banging on the door to get back in to the enclosure. LOL

The Lebanese Taverna on Connecticut was amazing to warm up in though. Great food.

DELee

Personally, what I've liked about this property is how it is ensconced in a residential suburban neighborhood with ready access to its own Red Line Metro station. As others have noted, the majority of rooms aren't that modern but many of the towers aren't that historic either.

David

p.s. FWIW, as a historical reference, there's still a whole bunch of older threads in the now archived Marriott | Rewards forum specific to this property as well as a relatively recent discussion on trying to find reasonable parking near by.

Zorak

When my wheelchair-bound friend and I got "walked" from the Marriott to the Omni some number of years ago, there was an alternative to go through the garage entrance on Calvert St. where there is an elevator at the far end.

DELee

In a 5 month span between December 2017 and April 2018, I was able to stay at the property three different times because of flexibility in my travel schedule as well as room rates at per diem.

Anyway, for posterity, here are a few shots of the place.

Turns out there are three different towers that comprise the property. The one just above the Metro entrance is, of course, the Wardman Tower - and apparently has private residences as well as guest rooms:







The tower in the middle is....the Center Tower:



The Center Tower has the lobby, restaurants, fitness center and the Concierge Lounge on the 10th floor.

Here's a view of the Center Tower and the Wardman Tower in a stitched panorama from the back of the property taken from Calvert Street (and I think the alternative path that Zorak and his friend had to traverse to get to the Omni):



The third tower is the Park Tower - which I don't have a picture of because a) it is the only tower I haven't stayed in and b) looks like I confused what I thought was the Park Tower with what appears to be an adjacent building that is a separate set of luxury apartments called the Woodley.

Anyway, have a bunch more pictures of the three rooms (once in the Wardman Tower and twice in rooms in the Center Tower), the Concierge Lounge and a few from around the property. Looking back I think I intended to post to FT after I'd stayed in a Park Tower room to be able to compare the three but, as noted, wasn't able to complete the tower trifecta and completely forgot about the photos until closing of the hotel was posted to this thread.

David

DELee

And, a photo testifying why I was looking for "reasonable parking" in a suburban neighborhood:



David

radonc1

I have spent at least 1 week a year at the Wardman Park for the past 8 years for a professional meeting, so I know the property well.

Several interesting points. When I went to book my room for this year (in early January), my convention room rate was $325 without taxes and fees. As March rolled around, I went back to see what the room rate was, and it had dropped to $125/day. Subsequently, the meeting was cancelled and the hotel was closed soon thereafter.

One of the great tragedies IMO is the loss of the great staff that I had the pleasure of interacting with over the years. There was one absolutely fantastic African American hostess/greeter who was without doubt one of the nicest persons I ever dealt with. It breaks my heart that she lost her job due to this pandemic.

I do hope this hotel survives the pandemic, but if it doesn't, my professional organization is going to have to find somewhere else to meet.

Paolo01

Just an update. It looks like Marriott is trying to walk some of this back a little. Not to say that the original post is incorrect (about it closing) but Marriott is attempting to specify that the announcement above was released by the union and not Marriott itself.

Paolo01

https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...-for-good.html

Zorak

I looked it up on Google Maps Street View and the alternate route I remember is further down Calvert St, near the intersection with 28th (see below). I remember at various times going in or out the pedestrian entrance under the red awning (on the right in the photo), but also distinctly remember a few times we went in through the vehicular entrance (on the left) and thence to the back of the garage. I forget why though, it's possible this saves an elevator "transfer" to get to the convention area.

Boraxo

Used to live around the corner from this property. The rooms are quite serviceable and I have found the rates are often a deal compared with the downtown hotels. Woodley Park is really a fantastic location for visitors. It is a quick hop on the red line metro - 5-15 to get to downtown offices or to capital hill offices. Or a very cheap taxi/uber ride. Many good restaurants are walking distance (assuming they survive COVID) in Woodley, Cleveland Park and Adams Morgan. Also convenient to rock creek park path for jogging/biking and a quick ride down the parkway to Georgetown or to cross into Virginia.

It will be a shame if it closes because one could see this being converted to expensive condos.

GrandOldTurkey

See https://wtop.com/business-finance/20...-bankruptcy-2/

ckendall

https://www.popville.com/2021/01/dc-...-woodley-park/

WTOP reported: “Wardman Hotel Owner LLC, an affiliate of Pacific Life Insurance Co., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has ended its management contract with Marriott International.”

radonc1

There are pictures showing that the Marriott name has been struck from the signage.