mikeef

This may be sacrilege, but DC is one of the few cities where I avoid SPG brands altogether. Good luck here.

Mike

MC891

Hi Choptliva, well, I guess now it's down to amenities. Was kinda hoping to earn points, but would prefer a pleasant hotel room and experience as I will be there for a week, and of course, it would have to be the week of Valentine's Day, meaning that most hotels hold tight to their rack rates (beyond my work allowance), especially since it melds perfectly into President's Day weekend. Thanks for your recommendation.

I have to admit, before I found these sites, I would blindly go into hotel rooms with the only expectations being a clean bathroom and a clean, dustfree room. Now, being a more seasoned traveler who's discovered all these wonderful sites, I seek comfort beyond cleanliness. I seek peer recommendations.

Well, unless something comes up that makes the Westin Embassy Row more inviting, I guess I'll keep my hotel room at the Palomar (yes, it's part of the Kimpton group).

BlissWorld

Hey MC891, I was in the same predicament a few months ago. I was torn between the $99 per night Ambassador suite at WER or $169 per night spa room at Palomar. I ended up choosing neither. I went with Westin Arlington for $89 a night and I couldn't have made a better decision! I posted a review of Westin Arlington and I highly recommend this property over the other two. There is a fantastic club lounge offering an amazing selection of food. It is also only a couple of blocks away from Ballston station making it only 15 minutes from DC.

MC891

Thanks BlissWorld. Will look into the Westin Arlington.

I'm not an SPG anything, just your basic level points earner, as I usually stay elsewhere when I'm in DC *gasp!* So this is a brand new predicament for me. Wow...a $99/night Ambassador Suite? How does one score that? I'd go for shoddy service if any DC suite was $99/night. Ok. Maybe that's going too far...

DCBob

Who cares about the shampoo and soap? The Hotel Palomar was the former Radisson Barcelo, which was completely gutted and rebuilt as a luxury boutique hotel. It is MUCH NICER than the Westin Embassy Row. No contest whatsover -- I would stay at the Palomar. I live in DC and have seen both properties -- inside and out. I live 2 blocks from the Wyndham Washington (soon to be Westin) and I know that it was an absolutely dump as a Wyndham. Westin would have had to spend millions to make that hotel worth staying at. The location is great, however.

MC891

Hi all,

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping me choose a place to stay. I've returned from my week in DC, and want to post a review on my experience at the Palomar...where would I do that? I can't seem to find a proper channel...

Thanks again for your guidance again!

DCBob

The Hotel Palomar is a Kimpton Hotel, which has a frequent guest program, In Touch, so start a new thread here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=431

Also, post your review at www.tripadvisor.com as that is "THE" place people go for hotel reviews worldwide.

thor17

Anyone know when Westin rebranded the DoubleTree in Tysons Corner? Just drove by there and noticed it and didn't notice it before. Anyone stay there yet?

stc

I hope they put a lot of money into it. Last time I was down there the DT was significantly worse than both the Sheraton and the Hilton. I'm used to the Hilton schizophrenia of sometimes Doubletree being better than Hilton and sometimes Hilton being better than Doubletree, but I don't think I've ever seen a local before where the Sheraton was better than the Westin.

kalorama

I believe it opened as a Westin on 2/23/07. Supposedly, a complete upgrade from the Doubletree. Good $99 rates available. I am staying there twice in March. Hopefully, if there is a problem, someone will post before my first stay. IMO, the only superior SPG property in the DC area is the Westin Arlington Gateway -- which is only moderately convenient for business. The rest of the properties are a mixed bag -- although I like the Westin Embassy Row more than most posters.

MrAOK

i can't see how it wouldn't be, but will find out saturday night.

by the way, the tv's are 32" compared to the hyatt place's 42 inch
the internet requires you pay compared to hyatt place's free internet.

then again. there is an inside pool at the westin.

jerseygirl

Wondering about this new DC option, anyone stay here yet? opinion? is it close to transportation, convention center?
I assume Heavenly bed and shower since it is "new"

Starwood Lurker

Not as a Westin yet. This property will not be opening as a Westin-branded hotel until April 19th.

Supposedly, the Westin Heavenly Beds and Baths will be in place when they do.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

mpagefromord

This is the old Washington Vista (hotel where Marion Berry was taped smoking crack with a woman other than his wife) back in the early 90's.

Most recently it's been Wyndham. It's in a somewhat quiet part of the District (northern part of Downtown). That area has improved quite a bit in the past five years or so but still pretty isolated. It is about seven blocks from the new convention center and not all that close to a Metro (McPherson SQ is about five blocks south)

Will be interesting to see what becomes of the Westin Embassy Row . . . stayed there last week and the staff was talking about a re-flagging to Lux Collection post-renovation. There's been a proliferation of Westin's in the DC area with Tysons, Arlington and now City Center all coming on board with another on the way in Alexandria. Starwood is making inroads into what has been traditionally a Marriott mecca.

belynch

Stayed at this property Sunday night. First SPG stay for the year and I would have been better forking over the extra beans for the Hyatt, which has been my program of choice YTD.

Quick trip report:

Didn't see Marion Berry.

Driving from DCA was easy (which isn't always the case in DC). Ample parking in front of the hotel on M St. so I saved my company $35. Just had to move the car by 7am, which was no problem for me.

Location isn't great, but not bad. Quiet part of town, but walkable to a lot (not Georgetown though, don’t get fooled by the M St. address.

Checking-in: agent was rude. SPG gold status ignored. Didn't confirm my rate or # of nights reserved. Put in a room on the 10th floor. Common areas were clean, but you could tell they were going through a rebranding.

Room: recently renovated. Heavenly sheets were pretty stiff. I actually slept horribly, which is a first for me at a Westin. Nice plasma TV. Room not huge, but totally functional. Why can't SPG get with the program and put in iPod docks?

Bathroom: Heavenly shower was a sham. Only one nozzle worked, barely. Water temperature problems and there were snot-rockets from a previous guest. Toilet didn't work when I arrived. I called down to have it fixed before I left for dinner and it was functional by the time I got back 2 hours later.

Now the fun part - being on the 10th floor, I thought I was away from the renovations (which I didn't see posted on the web anywhere?) - until 645 am when I heard hammering and drills. I was already up so it wasn't a big deal, but I would have been PO'ed if I was trying to sleep. When I was leaving my room I was surprised to find a ladder directly in front of it (fire code?).

I stopped by the front desk during check-out (instead of using the TV) to ask what the deal was with the construction noise and the gentleman doing the check-outs was even ruder than the person that checked me in. His response was “I don’t know what’s going on, I just got here.”

Overall I’d give this property a 3 out of 10.

On a positive, it did function to reaffirm why I’ve moved away from SPG this year. No status recognition, inconsistent properties, and aloof service. No hotel company is perfect, but in my humble opinion, the grass is greener elsewhere. I’d actually rather deal with the Hyatt kiosks than rude employees.

Edited to add: okay, maybe I was a little harsh. I just read William's post above and I had no idea the hotel was reflagged only last week. Maybe I just experienced some growing pains as the hotel is obviously still teething.

In other news, not all the rooms are renovated as of yet. The elevator stopped on the 3rd floor (?) and it was an absolute mess with construction debris. Perhaps all rooms cleared for occupancy had been renovated though.