Hotel website. Cat 5.

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/trav...n-dc-downtown/

"Adventure is palpable at the stylish Moxy Washington, D.C. Downtown. The hotel offers a paramount location near the White House, the Smithsonian, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the Lincoln Memorial, Capital One Arena and the Spy Museum.

Live like a luminary when you book your stay at the brand-new Moxy Washington, D.C. Downtown. Our unique hotel pairs funk-inspired furniture with innovative amenities for your getaway to Washington, D.C. Enhance your Instagram catalog with images captured at nearby attractions including the White House, eclectic dining destinations or with the stimulating curations at the Smithsonian. Housed in our brand-new hotel, you can fully embrace our bright and open lobby offering Plug and Meet gathering areas with ergonomic seating, large writing walls and flat-panel TVs. When hunger strikes, the bar offers a full barista station and freshly baked French pastries, shifting in the evening to feature wine by the glass, local brews and expertly crafted cocktails to pair with light appetizers and flatbreads. Wrap up a long day in your stylishly chic rooms featuring furiously fast Wi-Fi, flat-panel TVs and d�cor that is nothing short of thoughtful and fun."

Anyone have any first-hand experience here yet? My current plan has been to stay there for a night this weekend, but the comments on Trip Advisor are pretty dismal. I'm game for a hotel with a bit of "different" (I get tired of cookie-cutter Marriotts), but no hot water and broken air conditioning are more adventure than I want from this weekend excursion.

I read the reviews. Sounds like most are not familiar w/ Moxy concept & are comparing it to more full service (which it isn't).

Do agree for $100 in DC I'd be willing to deal w/ small room, etc.

Cheers.

Color me impressed. I booked a night here because it was essentially half the price of any other decent option ($168) and just a quick overnight for me traveling solo. The rate, rather ominously, said "2 double bunk beds--no upgrade," with the T&Cs specifying no upgrades would be provided based on status. (The standard and member rates were more than $100 more; this cheaper rate appeared only for the 150 sqft bunk room, not for the other rooms.) But I booked it because what the heck.

Arrived at 3pm, very friendly check-in agent acknowledged my Ambassador status, asked whether I needed the bunk beds, and then said she would see what she could do. She was able to put me in a Premium Corner King room (her words). I chose $10 F&B as the welcome benefit. Breakfast is not included but some sweet-talk/banter resulted in a breakfast voucher as well. And everyone gets a token for a free welcome drink.

Lobby is fun: foosball, chess, etc., and a DJ was there around happy hour time.

The room itself was great: very efficiently set up (folding table and luggage rack on hooks, etc.) with overall good hard products. This is obviously not representative of the smaller rooms but it is more than good enough for a solo traveler. Would stay again under similar circumstances.

Some pics:

Had a recent stay here that was good! At the end of the day it's a Moxy, so if that's not your thing, this location probably won't convince you about the brand. But if you're fine with it, I found this a pleasant property.

I was staying on a long term stay rate for 5 nights in a queen room. Officially there's no upgrades, but I was told I was placed on a higher floor with a nicer K street facing view due to my Platinum status (rather than being on the side or back of the building). The room is tight like most Moxy's are -- folding table and chairs hung up on the wall, wall pegs with hangers instead of a closet, etc. There was a tiny mini fridge which was a nice touch. There's a steamer in the bathroom, but ironing boards are shared in the hallway.

This location offered free coffee/tea in the lobby, the free Moxy drink poker chip, and provided me a breakfast voucher, in addition to the Platinum welcome gift (so I got the $10 F&B voucher on top of the breakfast vouchers - I'm not sure if the breakfast vouchers were due to status or my rate though). Color me impressed. Breakfast voucher was good for a hot breakfast sandwich or grab and go breakfast item + a drink from the refrigerator case. $10 F&B vouchers were good during the whole day for grab and go items, or for bar drinks and food in the afternoons/evenings.

Note that there's a rooftop bar/club which seemed to be very busy on weekend evenings, with a waiting line that wraps through the lobby, and also fills up the lobby bar with a bit of a party atmosphere. (I did not go to the rooftop bar, but it did make the lobby bar crowded enough on a Saturday night that I aborted my plan for a calm evening drink at the hotel). My room was 2-3 floors below it, but I can imagine that the top floor rooms would get quite a bit of noise from the rooftop. There's a seating/lounge/work area on the second floor ("The Library") that's usually not too crowded, and a small balcony off the gym that's also nice.

Location is not as close to the Metro/subway as some other Marriott properties, but it's within a 10 minute walk to the Metro Center, Chinatown/Gallery Place, and Mt Vernon Square/Convention Center stops. (Also near some convenient bus routes and Uber is always an option too).

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. I do think that personally, 5 nights in any Moxy is a lot for me and I'm not sure I'd do that again, but I'd definitely be happy to stay here for a few nights.

I had another one-nighter here the other day ($144 rate was too good to pass up) and I was again upgraded from the "bunk" room to the corner king room I had before (pics two posts up).

The rooftop bar (Lucha Rosa) was open and there was no line so I went up and enjoyed a mezcal cocktail. Fun place, great bartenders. There is also a new restaurant next door called Parlour Victoria that has a whiskey bar upstairs. Neither the rooftop bar nor the next door place allow room charge to the Moxy (and you can't use the moxy drink token or the $10 credit at them), but still nice to have close options.

I return to the St. Regis for my next few DC stays, but the Moxy is pretty good for 1/4 of the price...

Stayed here for $116 last night. Can't really fault it. I was again upgraded from a bunk room to a nicer room with a view. Friendly service. No charge to receive a UPS package.

How are the beds at this one? Some of the Moxy's I have stayed at have an almost plastic-type mattress that gets really hot and isn't tremendously comfortable.

I know the kind you're referring to! This definitely isn't that. The mattress on the thinner side for sure, but my #1 consideration for sleep is that I need it to be cool and I need air flow. Never had a problem with that here. Even though the A/C doesn't go below 68, it gets to a true 68, and neither the mattress nor the linens induced waking up in a lake of sweat as typically happens to me when it's 70+ or when the bed doesn't breathe right.

Perfect. Thanks.

Stayed here again last night -- hard to beat the price at $97. Upgraded in advance to a corner. Free drink token at check in, $10 food credit. What a deal -- or so I thought.

Unexpectedly, I had to have a car for my overnight. No big deal, valet is $60+tax ($64.35 all in). (There are cheaper garages nearby but I had to come and go a few times after I arrived.)

I checked in around 4:20pm, gave the car to valet, paid online via their provided link for my parking (payment doesn't go through the hotel), and had no problems--until I tried to get my car at 4pm today and the car-retrieval link asked me to pay another $64.35.

I went down and the valet guy fired up his machine, which showed that I owed a total of $120+, I had paid $60+, and I thus had a balance. "You must pay." He did not dispute that I already paid, but he said his system said I still had to pay. He did not seem to understand that this was a problem.

Now, I've seen occasional hotels (Westin FLL, for instance) that charge extra for late checkout on an overnight even if you're within 24 hours, but that's always been advertised. (And Westin FLL didn't actually charge it.) But the signage here has no such extra charges and clearly advertises $60 for overnight parking for Moxy guests. I've never had any hotel in DC try to charge me for 2 days of parking for a period under 24 hours.

Valet guy called his boss. I tried calling the phone number on the parking sign but no one answered. Long story short, valet guy's boss told me that "his company's system" resets the charge at 1pm. It doesn't matter when you arrive, if you stay past 1, you pay for a new day. Valet guy tried to make me a deal so I would only pay an extra $35 (the "day rate"). I said the same thing I say to my toddler ("no bargaining"), and I went to the front desk agent, who offered to have them just put the charge on the hotel's house account and deal with it later (because I had to go) but the parking boss wouldn't talk with her.

I then called the cops, explained the situation succinctly, and they came in less than 5 minutes. Had my keys within 2 minutes after their arrival. But wow. I'm used to scammy parking but this was next level. Caveat viator!