Westin City Center, Washington D.C. [Master Thread]
 

Hi, this is my first post here.

I just booked a spg point stay at this hotel for a long weekend during Easter in April this year. Is this a brand new hotel or is it renovated from something else? Does anyone know?

I also have a reservation at Westin Arlington based on the review here. I am a plat. member so at Arlington, I will have club access. However, the location for this one seems to be better for sightseeing.

Any input is greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

Hmm.....it looks like yet another Wyndham will soon be reflagged. :p

The hotel soon to be known as The Westin Washington, DC City Center (located at 1400 M Street NW) is currently operating as the Wyndham Washington, DC.

According to SPG.com, reservations are currently being accepted for arrivals on or after 4/1/2007.

A.J.

Thanks so much for the reply. I checked Wyndham and tripadvisor. Maybe I should still keep my reservation at Westin Arlington, I was hoping for a new hotel here:(

Wasn't this the hotel where Marion Barry was arrested by the FBI while smoking crack? :confused:

The location is actually pretty good for site seeing and restaurants.

As mentioned above, it's a reflagged Wyndham (owned by Columbia Sussex).

Now, they are doing some renovations to the hotel. But in it's life as a Wyndham it was the absolute worst property top to bottom I've experienced in the past couple of years. I had an event at work there which got put together with just a couple months advance notice, and at the very end of September this past year nearly everything was sold out in town (truly). In the end we bit the bullet and scheduled it at this hotel.

I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant the night before the event. During dinner the ceiling started to leak and then flood, with water coming in through the recessed lighting. The response team came in and set up dryers and such. We couldn't hear each other talk. Think they comped a dessert? Nope...

Simple requests went unmet, some of the rooms in our block turned out to be unavailable, hotel management was unhelpful. And I was spending over $70k.

Perhaps the Westin changeover will make a difference. Perhaps the staff will have turned over substantially, and those that didn't will be retrained. And the fresher look, combined with updated rooms, should help. My negative experiences here were while it was a Wyndham. But I'll be looking for some positive reviews before giving it a try myself.

Westin Arlington is a new property, it will be one year old (just!) when you get there. The Ballson area is not much for sightseeing, but it's right next to a mid-market mall and associated eateries, and right by the Ballston metro (orange line) so you're an easy shot right into the city.

Club access is a plus. Not a ton of suites at this property, though, so don't set that as an expectation (if you want a suite, look into the Westin Embassy Row.. but that's a tired property in need of renovation).

It is the old Vista, where Mayor Barry was videotaped smoking crack.

It's a great location near a hot neighborhood (Logan Circle)

3 Westins in DC, one in Arlington, and another new one to open in Alexandria. Does any other metro area have 5 Westin properties? It appears that all 3 DC Westins receive consistent terrible reviews, another unique aspect.

Thats not true, the Arlington property has received good reviews.

Yeah, the Arlington one is nice, but as I wrote above, it is the 3 Westins in DC that have the terrible reviews, not the one in Arlington.

Anyone know what the bath amenities are at Westins? I'm trying to decide between the Westin Embassy Row and Hotel Palomar, and it's coming down to amenities. Hotel Palomar hands out L'Occitane products...and the Westin hands out...?

Mundane and silly...but I just wanna know. :D

The Westin Grand, DC gives the standard Heavenly Bath products, I would assume the Embassy Row gives the same. In fact, I haven't been to a Westin in the US for quite a while that gives anything but the Heavenly Bath products. In any case, I've heard terrible things about the Embassy Row. The Grand isn't much better, but the staff is generally pretty good.

Alas, Westin used to carry Molten Brown but phased that out 3+ years back. Old stock still appeared at some properties, but I'm not sure (I guess I could search...) whether there have been any Molten Brown sightings in Westin guestrooms since 2005. So you can pretty much expect the usual unbranded stuff.

Thank you gleff and troyb. Sigh...unbranded. That means if I stay there, I'll have to bring my own stuff...was hoping not to do that with all the checks at the airport, etc. Certain brands completely dry out my skin, especially the "English" brands made in China like they have at the Marriotts and the Willard.

Well, I guess it's time to flip a coin, since they're literally around the corner from each other...points (mixed reviews skewing towards the bad), or a whole new experience with a whole other brand.

Isn't the Palomar part of the Kimpton chain? They always have good stuff. If it's down to amenities, then I'd think the choice is simple.