hothen33

I checked in to the hotel at 1 AM last night and have had a markedly different experience than belynch above. I presume it is because the hotel has passed through the initial teething problems.

Mrs. Hothen and I arrived at via car and were immediately met by a valet (at 1 AM was quite a surprise to us) who took our car and said he'd bring the ticket to the desk as we checked in. He was there within 3 minutes. Check in lady was friendly and helpful (I asked my wife for a tissue, she overheard and offered me one herself). I did not get an upgrade, but given that we were only here for one night's sleep, I did not mind at all.

I think the public areas have been updated and are Westin-esque, but of course, I wasn't in the country during Marion's days, so I don't have any crack-smoking affiliation with the property. I was in room 1131, interior facing, that was spacious and has all the new Westin furnishings (pull out power strip in table, excellently functioning heavenly shower, chaise lounge, textured wallpaper, etc.)

There are a few downsides of course: The hallways still have an old hotel smoky smell, the painjob on exterior doorways looks a bit shoddy and is stripped in places, the gym has no elliptical trainers, and there is no club lounge yet. However, for the price ($120-odd a night) in DC, I think it's great. I may switch my cheapo Four Points in DC allegiance if the rates remain this low.

lynowens

hothen33, can you comment further about the 4 Points? My search produced rather scary reviews which scared me off and over to Marriott Courtyard for an upcoming trip. What has your experience been there, and how recently? Thanks.

hothen33

Sure, lynowens:

I've stayed at the Four Points about five times in the last six months with my most recent stay being in February. I am surprised there are 'scary' reviews about it - the hotel is perfectly reasonable for the price point in the DC area.

It's a fairly tall hotel (8 or 9 stories) with a small, indoor, heated pool on the rooftop. The lobby area is modern and functional if not terribly grand and has a number of couches / seats to sit and wait for visitors. There is a bar on the second floor which is fine if you've had a long day, but not that great a spot to hang out. I'd get a drink and take it to my room...

I've always been greeted by friendly desk agents upon check-in and always been given a club floor room. The rooms are not very large but the yare new and therefore don't suffer from the wear and tear evident in a lot of FP properties. They've recently upgraded their bathroom toiletries (can't remember the brand right now) and those are nice. Water pressure is always strong and I've never had a problem with dirty bathrooms or bedrooms.

In summary, I've always found the hotel to be livable and functional. I have no experience with Courtyard properties so cannot really compare, but I'd say it's better than the average Four Points.

Hope this helps.

joelfreak

I just stayed here for one night at $390 a night, when I NEEDED to stay in the district, and there wasn't much available at all via any chain. I got a Jr Suite, which looked like a regular room to me, but was fine...my major complaints are that the internet didn't work, and there was NOT enough power in the room at all. Other than the power strip in the desk (which it would help if they labeled), there were only outlets for my cell phone chargers in the bathroom...they told me that they were sold out thru July, so I guess things are going well for them...

possebob

Greetings.

I've got a room booked for 6/29 thru 7/2 at the Westin DC Center. It was only Westin I could get that offered two double beds during Peak Season they said. 'They' being Startwoods Westin Reservations. I was hoping for a room at the Westin Grand, but to no avail. No double beds available there.. I'll keep calling, though. One can always hope for a cancellation.

Does anyone know if the renovations are complete at the DC Center Westin yet? I recently stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Danvers, Mass., and it was under Major Construction.. Ahhh, there's nothing like the taste of drywall in the morning...

Cheers!
-pb

avanpelt

I stayed at this property for 3 nights at the beginning of June '07. I have to say, for the amount of construction that was still going on at the hotel, they're charging insanely astronomical rates! I believe my corporate rate (meeting at the hotel) was $329 a night, as I recall. The hotel was still under construction while I was there. Painting was going on in the hallways around the meeting rooms.

Room service was a joke. After the end of a 12 hour day of meetings at the hotel, I got to my room around 8:30 PM and decided to order in. Their restaurant was under construction at the time, which will explain what I'm about to write...but still. I wasn't able to find any trace of a room service menu in my room. I called the room service extension and the lady told me she would just read me the menu...gulp! Choices were a ham croissant, turkey croissant, chicken caesar salad, and something else I can't recall. No dessert offerings. I opted for two glasses of milk, the grilled chicken caesar, and the turkey croissant. I've ordered room service many, many times, so I know it's far from the least expensive bill in town. However, 46 bucks for two glasses of milk, a chicken caesar, and a small turkey croissant sandwich is asinine, in my opinion.

On the first night of my stay, I noticed that the bar that goes across the door in my room was decidedly absent and the deadbolt wouldn't turn to lock. I'd forgotten to call and make mention of it the next day; but sure enough, the next day the bar was back but the deadbolt still didn't work.

There's nothing else really to report about this stay. The beds were comfortable, and I didn't have any issues with the shower. On balance, though, it was definitely my worst stay at a Westin property in the last couple of years. It will be interesting to see what comes of the hotel once the renovations are complete. I got the sense from the front desk staff upon checkout that they've been hearing that the renovations were "almost complete" for quite a while now.

Life_Platinum

I just returned from two nights at the Washington DC City Center, a former Wyndham property that opened as a Westin in March. I had concerns about my upcoming stay upon reading the poor reviews this property received from many of you, but I decided to persist as I tried the other DC Starwood properties.

Upon arriving, I was immediately met by the deskclerk at the SPG desk who welcomed me to the property with a smile. He told me how valuable SPG members are to his hotel and they will do their best to please. He then asked if I wanted the 500 Ammenity points (I did), then voluntered that I was upgraded to a SPG floor with a view out front to the park. I asked about a suite, and he said that they only have 6 suites, and with two weddings scheduled this weekend, they were spoken for.

The hotel configuration is unique for Westin, as it has significant resemblance to the Hilton Suite hotels with a central lobby extending the 12 floors to the roof and rooms opening onto the lobby, as well as to the exterior of the building, where appropriate. However there is a small block of a couple rooms per floor that were built into the lobby space as special projection, but only extend about 10 floors. There is no swimming pool, nor is there a Club Room where breakfast is served, but an adequatae workout facility is located on the ground floor. As I walked down the hall to room 1132, I thought it had the feel of a W property with the dark brown carpets and brown wallpaper and paint.

I dropped of my rollaboard in the room, then left to join friends for dinner. Upon returning to the room, I unpacked and decided to sleep on the left side of the king bed. As I prepared for sleep, I noted that the wall about 3 feet from the left side of the bed had a 3 foot square of wallpaper cutout of wall, revealing a bare white 9 square foot section. I walked to the bathroom and noted that the bathroom sink was against this wall, causing me to believe that the plumbers fixed the plumbing and needed to bore through the wall. Upon completing the job, they forgot to have the wallpaper people fix the wallpaper. I then decided to take a shower, noting that the heavenly shower was installed. However, when I turned on the shower, and later the sink, no water came forth. Being tired, I went to bed, convinced I would need to use another room in the AM to shower. However upon arising, the water worked. When I went downstairs, the front desk manager told me that a water pipe broke during the evening and they needed to turn off the water. After I mentioned the 9 square feet of the wall without wallpaper, she offered me a free breakfast, but when I refused, she said Starwood would credit some points to my account.

The room was overfilled with furniture, as a couch was wedged in between the window and the left side of the bed, allowing one to walk both in front and behind the couch. However, this required the couch to be positioned against the night table so that the drawer could not be opened. Later in the day, I spoke with the desk clerk who checked me in, and he told me that they had worked hard to improve their service, citing many customer complaints. He thought service was far better now as when compared to when it opened;however construction still continues as a number of rooms still have not be remodeled and a number of rooms are not yet ready for occupany.

I asked for a wake up call on both nights: the first was delivered promptly, but on the second night, I never received my wake up call. My bill was correct, and the front door staff as well as the concierge were always ready to help.

Overall, I thought the hotel offered better value than either the Embassy Row or the Westin Grand. The staff appeared willing to please, and I did not detect any employees with attitude problems as previous posters indicated. I suspect that service has improved remarkedly, but the staff and managers still need to further shake out some of the rough edges that occurred during my stay. Incidently both of these above-mentioned Westin properties are to be rebranded after significant remodeling with the Grand becoming a W and the Embassy Row a Luxury Collection, leaving the City Center as the only Westin in DC.

In my view, one of the major shortcomings is the lack of a club room, as I have looked forward to the convenience of such a room for a fast breakfast when I stay with Starwood. I also predict that the service at this hotel will continue to improve, such that I would again try this hotel after the staff have another 3 months of experience. :-:

bocastephen

Well at least somebody had a good experience at this hotel. When I was there, the front desk staff were clueless and disinterested, as was the management. Did you ask for and receive a coupon for breakfast (if you're Plat)?

My saga with this hotel just took a turn for the worst. After a miserable stay in early June with a malfunctioning AC unit that left the room cool, clammy, damp and wet (damp bed, wet carpet, etc.), the manager never returned my calls, the hotel never offered any compensatory points - but the folio never hit my Amex.

I figured the manager knew what was up and decided to make my stay 'on the house', without bothering to call me and discuss my concerns. OK fine...I'll take it.

However, imagine my surprise when the folio hit my Amex 6 weeks later with a totally different transaction date. That is just ridiculous - who runs their back office??

Needless to say, given the unpleasant stay and the lack of interest from management, I went ahead and did a chargeback since technically I did not stay at that hotel on the date they claim the transaction occurred. That should be enough to wake up their management and perhaps I will either get a call back, or if they don't respond, I will get the stay free after all.

Life_Platinum

[QUOTE=bocastephen;8102907]Well at least somebody had a good experience at this hotel. When I was there, the front desk staff were clueless and disinterested, as was the management. Did you ask for and receive a coupon for breakfast (if you're Plat)?

I found the front desk staff hardworking and willing to please. When I went down to the lobby in the AM after we did not have water the previous evening, the hotel manager and the front desk manager were both in the lobby answering questions for guests, and were offering an apology to guests who asked about the lack of water. They also were offering free continental breakfasts that they had set up in the lobby.

There was one other "glitch" that I did not post. Upon checkin, I was told that had two reservations for the night and the clerk asked was I going to use both rooms. Well, when I checked and printed out my reservation upon leaving the office, I had only 1 reservation listed in my Starwood portfolio for the evening. I showed the desk clerk the reservation, and he told me not to worry, he would cancel the second reservation without penalty. No problem, and I did not even have to suggest he needed to do this!

No, I did not ask for a coupon for breakfast, as I had a Saturday and a Sunday meeting in the Sofitel a few blocks down the street, and breakfast was served at the meeting. (The manager did offer me a free breakfast though on Saturday AM). And yes, I am a Platinum, and will qualify again next year for Platinum status.

bocastephen indicated the Air Conditioning did not work in his room. Well, each room as an individual air conditioning unit that is controlled from the room. I like it cold when I sleep, and felt very comfortable with the temperature set to 64 degrees F.

Yes, I would rate my stay as "good", but I did have a number of issues with my stay. I suspect that many of these issues will disappear once the staff has more experience. I don't think that I would ever give a hotel an "excellent" review unless they had a SPG lounge and a swimming pool, and I believe this hotel would be rated "very good" by me on my next stay a few months hence.

bocastephen

That's a dramatically different experience from mine. When I checked in, the clerk was totally clueless about SPG benefits, disinterested in discussing them or providing the ones I pointed out were required (like selecting the Plat amenity). The next day, the crew was not really interested in discussing the AC problem, nor was the manager.

Now I get to deal with this billing mess. I think I will stick to the other DC Westins in the future.

Thunderroad

My wife and I stayed at the Westin City Center last week for a couple of nights. It had a decent rate going ($189/night) that fell within her budget for a business trip that I tagged along on.

We had a mixed experience. We were greeted cheerfully at check-in and were even more cheerfully upgraded to a suite when I casually asked whether a better room was available. (My status is only Gold.) More generally, the personnel in the hotel were friendly and helpful.

The suite was unusual in both good and bad ways. It juts out into the hotel atrium and is nice in that it does not adjoin any other rooms. It also has a nice-sized balcony overlooking the atrium. A flat-screen tv in the bedroom and a very large one in the living room

OTOH, and while we still very much appreciated the upgrade, the suite does get a fair amount of music drifting up into the atrium fairly late into the night, until at least 11 p.m. or midnight. I imagine this is the same for the many other rooms that face the atrium. Not so loud that it kept us from sleeping, and not featuring loud drumming or thumping, but definitely an intrusion. The windows all face onto the atrium, not out onto the street, so light sleepers who don't have ear plugs might want to specify a street-facing room or simply seek another hotel.

Also, the suite is set up a bit oddly--many of the pieces of furniture and fixtures are close to each other and you have to squeeze by some of them in the living room, bedroom and especially bathroom.

Various other glitches: the jets in the jacuzzi tub didn't work; it was necessary to hold down the toilet handle to get it to flush; the bedroom phone didn't work; and the pre-check-out bill incorrectly billed me rather than my wife, despite the fact that at check-in we'd requested she be billed even though I'd originally made the reservations in my name. Correcting this meant we had to wait on line at check-out for about 15 minutes. The staff were nice enough to offer those in line canned energy drinks for the road, but we would have been much better served by their opening up another check-out line.

In view of our short stay, we didn't bother to try to get the other glitches corrected.

The selection of tv channels and on-demand movies was adequate but not extensive--maybe 20 or so of each. The $35 (or was it $39?)/night parking seemed on the high side, but perhaps I just don't know the DC market that well. In response to an earlier poster's query, I didn't look for or notice nearby alternatives to parking at the hotel.

We didn't eat at or order room service, so nothing to add in that department.

A friend was staying in a regular room. It looked decent--not expecially large or small.

On balance, I'd give the hotel a C+ or B-. If the price were right, I would give it another try in the hope that the friendly attitude would remain (with or without the upgrade) and that the glitches will become less common.

Life_Platinum

About two weeks ago I posted my experience at the new Westin City Center, and wanted to give the board a followup on a promise that additional points would be added to my account because of a minor glitch. In that post I indicated that I was pleasantly surprised by the service at this property. However, based upon previous reports of incompetent front desk staff at this property, I kept the letter and card of the front desk manager who offered me the additional points. After waiting 9 days after my points and nights had posted from this property, the promised additional points had not posted. I then pulled out the letter and card of the front desk manager and emailed her about another potential glitch, quoting what she had said in her letter to me. I also pointed out that some of you did not have good experiences with the followup skills of front desk staff and offered to provide this URL so she could see what her customers were saying. After a three days I did not get a return email, so I did my daily SPG account check and found the points had been posted. It now has been almost a week, and I have come to the conclusion that I will not be getting an email back, and needless to say, this glitch has added to my dissapointment about this property.

CheapSk8

We stayed at this property for 3 nights at the end of July. We secured a $119/night rate (plus tax). We checked in well after midnight but check-in was prompt and they apologized for not being able to grant our upgrade request. Off to a good start. Unfortunately that quickly came to an end.

The next morning, we realized that the TV remote didn't work. It was a problem with the TV receiver or something, not a simple battery problem. After multiple front desk calls and two visits from an engineer, the problem was fixed. This is obviously a problem that could've been detected by housekeeping and corrected before we checked in.

After that was fixed, we were walking out for the day, and realized that the safe was locked. 2 calls to the front desk and far too long later, the safe was opened. Again, obviously a problem that could've been detected by housekeeping and corrected before we checked in.

Later that day, we received a call from the concierge asking if we needed anything. I reported that the problems had been resolved, assuming that was why we were getting the call. No apology, and it became clear that wasn't why they were calling.

That night, we discovered that they had split up a bachelor party and divided them between the rooms on either side of us. We discovered this when we returned at 10:30 p.m. to find a guy walking up and down the hall looking for a drunk friend who had wandered off. To make it easier for them to wander between their 2 rooms, they propped their doors open with the deadbolts, meaning there were 2 loud BANGs every time one of them stumbled from one room to the next. As another poster noted earlier, the walls are very thin, so we heard them carrying on during the night. We had to call security 3 different times before it quieted down. Then, we were woken up at 3:38 in the morning when they returned to their rooms. That time it took 1 call to get it solved.

It also took room service three trips to our room to deliver the food we ordered. (It was an order off of the breakfast doorknob menu -- nothing complicated.) By the time we had it all, of course the food that had arrived first was cold, but as the bread had never been toasted, it didn't make much of a difference.

The next time when we checked out, no one even asked how our stay was. We received no apology during any of the 4 calls regarding the obnoxious drunks (including the 2 calls which were with managers on duty, one of whom was a jerk), the calls regarding the safe, the calls regarding the television, or the calls to room service.

We have stayed at the Westin Grand and Westin Embassy Row multiple times, and did not expect much when we booked this hotel at this rate. All we hoped for was a place to sleep and for Mr. CheapSk8 to relax while I was at a conference. Unfortunately, it didn't even satisfy those modest expectations. It is pretty sad that we've decided that next time we will return to the Hilton Garden Inn at Arlington or Franklin Square, where we have had better service and better experiences.

lalala

I'm here tonight and in the presidential suite (lowly gold).

Check in was brusque!

No hello, no welcome just asked for name, gave it.

Asked to Show ID and give credit card.

Room key shoved in my hand, asked if there is a club floor, told I'm on the SPG floor and breakfast is in lobby. So, no club.

Okay, go to room, go back down to see if I can get a non atrium room (I hate atrium rooms).

Given a room on a lower floor on the outside. Go to room, it is not made up and there is crap all over the bathroom.

Go back downstairs, ask if I can have my atrium room back.

New desk guy punches in a bunch of numbers and gives me a new key, tells me that I'll like this room better.

I do, I would have had a party here tonight if I could.

Go back down and thank him.

I couldn't get into the Westin Grand for anything near per diem, so this is the best I could get within reasonable spitting distance of work.

Not bad for a near per diem rate.

lala

KENNECTED

I love checking out property's I haven't been too albeit, I was a little late getting to this one. I have wanted to check out this property since it became a Starwood property.

I'd only been in this property once when it was a Wyndham and wasn't impressed, so I walked in with pretty low expectations.

The property is located off of Thomas circle wit easy access to many areas, via foot, public transportation or car. There is 24 hour CVS around the corner and one block down.



SUMMARY
Check-in/Check-out
Arrived about 5 PM and there was nobody in line. The check-in person informed that there was construction taking place in the hotel, and gave me the option of moving to another property(honoring my rate, etc) I said no.

Common Areas
Reminds me of an Embassy Suites (anyone know what this property was built as?) with the open atrium. Nice fresh decor, slightly above average restaurant and interesting elevated bar.

Some of the smaller rooms of to side of the lobby and lower levels that are not used and haven't been renovated are horrible and still have the wyndham feel to them.


High Speed Wired/Wireless Internet Access
Free access in the lobby and lots of places to sit without feeling cramped.

Guest Rooms
I was assigned a corner King room with a Juliet balcony and view of the circle.

Overall First Impression: very nice.
Bed: One of the best heavenly beds I've been on!
Furniture & Decor: New furniture, nice layout with lots of space to spread out.
Noise: Could not hear a thing from the hallway, atrium or adjacent rooms.
Closet Space: above average, some what deep
TV: nice 40" LCD
View: View of Thomas circle.

Please note some of the interior rooms face the atrium, and connecting corridor. If you leave the curtain drawn ANYONE from your floor or the floors above can see in.

Guest Room Bathrooms
Typical modern Westin bathroom, great lighting, big mirror.
Sink: great counter space
Shower: Heavenly Shower with good pressure
Toiletries: Typical heavenly bath toiletries

Housekeeping
No issues as I only spent one night in the property.

Club Level/Lounge
No.

Fitness Center
Nicely equipped space but on the small side.

Pool
Didn't see or use

Business Center
It was in the process of being upgraded and moved.

Concierge
There is a concierge on staff, but I did not use them

Parking/Valet
Very good! I drove in and three people approached the car offering service and asking if I needed help with my bags, information about the hotel or the general area. The valet seemed very light the one night was at the hotel. Each time I called for service the car was in the motor lobby when I arrived.

Dining
Nice restaurant on site. Do to the construction, the water in the property had to be shut off for a period of tine over night and the property provided all guest with a continental breakfast, this is not normal everyday issue.

Would I return? Yes
Would I recommend? Yes
Would I recommend restaurant? N/A
Value for price paid? Very good, compared to the rates at the four points & Westin embassy row.

Overall property rating on a scale from 1 to 10 = 8[/FONT]