lamphs

Good reminder DELee. I also reported this upthread in 2019. Unless someone says otherwise, I'll try the Gateway property and report back this weekend!

DELee

Go LTP!

David

DELee

Only other idea would be the Marriott Marquis - I was a fan of their MClub in my one and only stay where I was upgraded to one of their larger suites. Usually not cheap even on weekends (and probably need to check to see if the MClub will be open). That being said, the property is offering up a room for $206 on this Friday while the CG is showing $136.

I only note the Marquis since you can also play the free parking game if you can find a spot on the short section of 10th St. NW adjacent to the hotel (but that ends at 7 am).

David

lamphs

Just a brief update.

Platinum, paid, one night.

Needed one more night for LTP. This property was one of the cheapest in the WDC area.

Arrived about 3 PM Friday. Note that this day was a parking holiday for Arlington County, so parked right across the street. (As reported before, street parking is free after 8 PM weekdays and free all day weekends and holidays.)

Check-in was, shall I say, curt - not rude, but not friendly. I was offered points or a $10 F&B credit. I already had dinner plans, but I thought I might have a drink at the bar. Good thing I mentioned that because the $10 F&B credit could not be used for alcohol. I took the points. (Is that a thing now or have I missed some fine print before?) Agent did insist on seeing my ID and my credit card was on file with my Marriott profile. (Can't recall the last time that I had to show the credit card.)

Booked cheapest room, 'upgraded' to M Club king room. Note the room was on the 16th floor while the M Club is on the lobby level. I did try to apply a SNA, well just because. The only offers were the M Club king room or some sort of allergy free room. The junior suite (the only suite the property seems to advertise) was not available for sale or via SNA at time of booking.

A couple of items of note. And again maybe I have just not paid attention before to these nuances. Official check-in time is 4 PM (seems a bit late) and the cancellation period is 72 hours out (not the 48 that Marriott changed to several years ago.)

Anyhow, the room was fine.

M Club - evening appetizers, evening dessert, and breakfast. I went to McCormick and Schmick's for happy hour. (10 minute walk, a full burger with fries and a rail drink for $15...not bad.) But I took one for the team and checked out the appetizers. Bite size butternut squash ravioli (it was actually good), two-bite size pork BBQ sliders, bite size cup of turkey salad. Basically nothing. (non-alcoholic drinks were plentiful but the water dispenser was out of order and there was no ice.) Went into DC and walked from the Jefferson Memorial to the Washington Monument to the WW II Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial to the Memorial Bridge (one of my favorite nighttime DC walks). Returned and checked out 'dessert' - small brownie bites.

M Club breakfast. What a let down from my 2019 stay. Yes, it was a breakfast buffet of hot and cold items. But all 'Sysco' food now. Cheap bacon, frozen potatoes, powdered eggs. (FS Marriotts used to have decent bacon and potatoes that were quite good with onions and green peppers.) Omelets - nope - only on weekdays. Note when I was leaving a few minutes before 8, she was setting up a waffle station (not self-serve). I'm not interested in waffles, but just a FYI. In fairness to the employee, it seemed as if she was responsible for the entire buffet - she was rushing around quite a bit. I stopped in immediately prior to checkout and only non-alcoholic drinks were available - no snacks.

(And this is why we can't have nice things. Couple adjacent to me gets a call at breakfast. Someone in their party (from the conversation I am guessing son or son-in-law) couldn't access the lounge. 'You poor dear, let me walk to the door and let you in.' And in he came.)

I think this covers the gist of the property.

lamphs

Any recent intelligence re: Sheraton Pentagon City vs. Westin Crystal City, specifically re: breakfast games. I am LTP and note that I will be staying at one or the other briefly July 3 (so holiday is July 4).

I briefly checked marriott.com and TA reviews, but nothing recent from anyone with status (or mentions status).

lamphs

I thought I'd call and ask. Sheraton Pentagon City - "since the lounge is closed, you'll receive both breakfast in the restaurant and points as the welcome amenity". Westin Crystal City provides points or a $23 credit per person towards breakfast as the welcome amenity. There was a bit of a language barrier, but it seems as if the $23 covers the full breakfast buffet.

I'll be staying at the Sheraton - cheaper, breakfast, and just as easy to get to DC for the 4th rehearsal. I'll report back.

ikwia

Is the lounge just closed because of the holiday, or has it not reopened since COVID?

lamphs

To answer the question…I checked with the front desk re: lounge status. Staff advised that it closed prior to COVID. There is some consideration to re-open it, but staff is an issue as it is two part-time positions – one morning and one afternoon and no one is applying. Staff also advised that the breakfast buffet in the restaurant has also been better than that in the lounge.

Let’s talk about breakfast. First, I was recognized at check-in (Platinum) and offered a choice of welcome points or breakfast. I advised that I was told that since the lounge was closed, I would receive both. No pushback from the front desk staff and both were received. Breakfast was a minimal Sysco experience although ‘eggs to order’ were available when I asked, but not advertised. I had a fairly decent omelet. Unclear if tip was included with the breakfast offering, so I did leave $5 as service was friendly and attentive. That said, I did not have coffee at breakfast as I had an errand and needed to return to the room to work a bit. Upon return from the errand, I stopped at the restaurant and asked for a coffee to go and mentioned that I had just had breakfast 45 minutes ago. Same server provided the coffee, but I could tell he was annoyed.

(As I was typing this, I was reading the printed information sheet. It indicates that since the lounge is closed, I would receive vouchers for food and beverage at the restaurant. Maybe that means breakfast or something else. Too late now and I wasn’t there in the afternoon/evening anyway.)

Room was ‘upgraded’ from a basic king to a king Capitol view. I’ve been upgraded here before to a king suite, which I recall being a true suite. But being solo, and not spending any significant time in the room, the room was fine (everything relatively new, great view, not much can be done about the old design bathroom and in-wall HVAC, but I had to laugh at the ‘desk’ chair).

Parking on S. Orme Street is restricted to residents 24/7. However, the next two parallel streets to the east have both completely unrestricted parking and/or unrestricted parking nights/holidays/weekends. There is a similar situation to the west, but past the I-395 overpass on the opposite side of Columbia Pike.

There was a complimentary water label in the room, but no actual water. Front desk provided water, although I should have checked the gym to see if it had a water bottle fill station. I didn’t need it, but there was no lotion (individual or bulk) in the room. Don’t know if that is standard or just an oversight.



My only frustration was the shuttle to DCA. I called for the shuttle and I was told it picks up on the hour from T1 and doors 4 and 7 of T2. Reality was that it leaves the hotel on the hour to make those pickups. I called at 4:10 PM. Given that information, I wrongly assumed that I missed the pickup and made a few phone calls in the air conditioned comfort of the baggage claim area. I went back outside at 4:50 PM, just in case it was a bit early. No shuttle as of 5:15 PM. I called again and the staff clarified it leaves the hotel on the hour. If I hadn’t made an assumption about missing the 4 PM shuttle, I likely could have made the 4 PM shuttle. Note that the shuttle also goes to the Pentagon City metro station on the ½ hour.



Re: going into DC. Either take the shuttle to the Pentagon City station or the DCA station. Get on the yellow line. After the Pentagon, it is only one stop to L’Enfant Plaza with easy access to the mall. If you chose the blue line, there are many stops prior to getting to the mall area.

Finally, a bit of a rant. I observed a couple, educated guess not destitute, filling up used Starbucks cold drink cups with fruit and potatoes. They kept looking around to see if any staff were watching. (And I know these cups weren't the 'to go' containers as staff were handing our plenty of 'to go' containers.) It is unfortunate that guests feel this entitled for a few crumbs. End of rant.


Air Force Memorial with Capitol off to the left.

The desk chair!

AmericanCasey

The desk chair in your room doesn't look like the desk chair in the picture on the website. Your chair and the one in the picture, even though they don't swivel, look more comfortable than the one at the Sheraton in Reston. The Reston chair is short and has some kind of metal webbing that digs into one's back. Plus, the round table, which is supposedly the desk, has a charging block in the middle; so a bigger laptop hangs off the table. Here are links to the photos on the websites. The bigger chair is comfortable enough. The suites have a sofa and an enormous TV.

Sheraton Pentagon City - https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotel...otel/overview/
Sheraton Reston - https://www.marriott.com/search/hote...rshaCode=WASSR

ikwia

Thank you very much for checking on this and reporting back. I was deciding between this hotel and one of the Crystal City properties, and I will pursue one of the latter.

qwertyking

lamphs

Thank you, as well, for all the intel regarding Sheraton, especially the “Fact Sheet” (shown below)! The front desk voluntarily told me that I will receive both breakfast vouchers and points. I had to ask about the “food and beverage voucher” that you mentioned and is written on the fact sheet. They said it is a one time voucher for $25 at the Potomac, although I am staying several nights. Not complaining, as it is better than nothing at all.

Also to note, I heard parking has been discounted to $15 a night down from originally $32. Not sure if $15 was just for now, or the price, based on the “check with the Front Desk”

lamphs

If you are choosing based on the lounge, I posted re: Crystal Gateway Marriott previously. Much more expensive and the lounge in the evening may as well be non-existent. There is a McCormick and Schmicks within walking distance 1/2 way between the 2. Good happy hour pricing at the bar. 1/2# burger, fries, and a house spirit for less than $20; also other beer, wine, and food selections including some sharable plates.

elmira56925

The hotel has great capital views but that’s about it. The shuttle to/from DCA is a joke. It takes forever to get picked up. The hotel is milking the covid excuse until the absolute end.

cmculp

Anyone have an update on the Sheraton lounge?

Norexan

Just finished a trip to DC and stayed at three Marriott properties in Arlington/Crystal City.

Crystal City Marriott (not to be confused with Crystal Gateway Marriott!): This is an older property that looks like it had a fairly recent refurbish. It is connected directly to Crystal City Metro via a subterranean walkway, as is the Crystal Gateway, but is a very easy walk above ground as well. There is a complimentary airport shuttle but I didn't bother with it and just took the Metro one stop to get here. The National Mall is only a few Metro stops away, making this hotel's location very convenient despite technically not being in DC. Crystal City itself is modern, clean and safe but rather quiet at night. There are plenty of restaurants and other stores within a 5 minute walk too. The Metro is also very easy to use and you can even buy and load your transit card via Google/Apple Wallet and use your phone to tap at the gates. Front desk service here was pleasant and professional but not overly friendly. No suite upgrade but I was given a higher floor room away from the elevators facing the street. Soundproofing is weak here as I could hear quite a bit of road noise despite being pretty high up. My room was perfectly fine and clean, although the AC was noisy when it kicked in. As it wasn't warm at night, I just turned it off so I wouldn't be bothered in my sleep. Breakfast was excellent with plenty of choices and the staff are extremely friendly in a bit of contrast from the front desk staff.

Renaissance Arlington: A much newer property than the Marriott. The lobby is quite stylish and contemporary. A bit of a quirk but the automatic revolving door wasn't working upon my arrival and from the tone of the staff, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Staff were very nice here. This property and the Residence Inn I'll write about below are right next door to each other and are actually connected and share a restaurant. They are south of the Marriott property above and are about a 15-20 minute walk to Crystal City Metro station. It's a very pleasant, flat walk but these hotels do offer a complimentary shuttle to the Metro station every half hour, as well as another shuttle to the airport also every half hour. There is also a public bus stop very close by. No suite upgrade here either but I was given a high floor room overlooking the airport. It was neat seeing planes take off and land. Soundproofing here is much better than at the Marriott. The room was very nice with a comfy chair for watching TV. Aveda toiletries were a nice touch. I was here on a weekend night and the lounge was only open on weekdays, so breakfast was served in the restaurant on the main level with plenty of choices. There is a buffet but you can also order a la carte. I was a bit surprised that the cafe latte I asked for was not included in my Platinum breakfast and I had to pay for it.

Residence Inn Arlington: An extended stay all-suite hotel right next door to the Renaissance. Although it was the "budget" option of my three stays, it was actually the biggest room I had and was actually the most expensive of the three hotels lol. Again, very friendly staff. My suite was nice with a kitchenette. I didn't use it other than keeping my water cold in the fridge though. I liked the TV that was placed on a lazy Susan so you could easily spin it to watch TV from the L-shaped couch or the bed. The room even had a blanket to wrap yourself in when sitting on the couch. I had a high floor room facing the street. This part of Crystal City is especially quiet on weekends and there isn't much of note in the immediate area. Note though that there is a huge building construction project going on immediately south of this hotel that is expected to last until Summer 2024. There was no work being done as I was there on a weekend, but take note if you plan to stay here during the week and are sensitive to noise. I honestly wasn't expecting much from breakfast as it is complimentary for all guests but it was actually quite good and pretty much on par with the Renaissance next door. Who knows, maybe they even share a kitchen.

So overall, I liked all three properties and would stay at any of them again. The Marriott is the most convenient for those wishing to sightsee in DC but the other two aren't far behind in terms of convenience. I can see the AC and street noise being a potential issue though for those more sensitive to sound. In terms of just the properties themselves, the Renaissance wins for modernity and service. And on a final note, as a Canadian, I'm always delightfully impressed when I travel to the US by the ease by which Americans can make small talk. You guys really make an artform out of it!