stevens397

Hi-

Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson are moving to DC. We'll be going down once a month to visit.

They will be living in the city - he'll be teaching at George Washington U. What's the best Starwood to stay at. Which one will give me the best treatment ongoingly as a Platinum? Do they all have club lounges where we can get comped continental breakfast?

Thanks for any insight.

Singlepoint

I'm not sure where the university is but if it's downtown at all (or he lives there), the Four Points Sheraton is quite good - and maybe the most reasonable in terms of cost. They offer a decent continental breakfast in their Club lounge. The hotel is just a few blocks off the Mall so there are plenty of other things to occupy your time if that is necessary.

Singlepoint

ghia74

Are they living close to the campus? If so the Westin Grand is probably closest. While the Westin Arlington is the nicest in the area and has a lounge it is not in the city. While they do not have lounges, the Embassy Row and the Grand have some pretty inexpensive weekend rates. You also have better luck with upgrades on the weekends. It is a crap shoot but I have gotten breakfast vouchers out of the Grand sometimes. Keep an eye out for package deals at the Westin properties that include parking and breakfast.

Singlepoint is correct about the Four Points being the only one which will guarantee you a breakfast if that is your key criteria.

bocastephen

There is a new Westin that opened downtown that gave me excellent pricing - better than the 4Pts. It's the Westin Washington City Center.

I think it's a new hotel (it never came up on my searches before). I will post a review when I return from my stay in 2 weeks.

mlatuchie

I am pretty sure the Westin City Center is a converted Wyndham.

Occupationalhazard

Gets my vote.

For these reasons, plus location.

O/H

postnobills

The Grand is reasonably close to GWU and a very nice in-city property. Numerous decent restaurants in the vicinity. As mentioned previously, you can often find good weekend rates, although this is very variable from week to week.

slawecki

all dc center city starwoods are not cheap. all have very expensive overnight parking. none treat plats like v.v. special people. none to my knowledge have a club, or offer comp breakfast. seasonal dc fills up, and gets very very expensive for reasons you would not begin to track.

unless you need the stays/days to qualify, use priceline or some such tool, and take the train. Unless your siblings are independently wealthy, or provided housing, there is a very high probability they will not live in and around GWU.

foggy bottom and georgetown and downtown dc are seriously expensive places to live.

krystle920

Ok, I'm planning to stay in DC this weekend Friday-Sunday. Initially considering Embassy Row because I really like traditional furnishings and I like my Starwood points. Given the reviews here though, I'm having second thoughts. What should I do? Thinking of the Westin Grand or a non-Starwood hotel alternative, but at the same time, I like more classical designs, Starwood points, and would want to keep the price to around $150 a night.

stc

I'd go with the Westin Grand. It's walking distance to Georgetown, etc.

bocastephen

I booked two nights in DC this past weekend, one at the "new" Westin City Center, the other at the Westin Grand.

Apparently the Westin City Center was a recently converted Wyndham, and as far as Westin standards are concerned, it's not quite ready for prime time...

1) check-in - young russian-accented female clerk didn't have much grasp of SPG Platinum benefits and did the "since I don't know, I will say 'no" routine...which highly annoys me. No mention of upgrade until I asked, and only after asking 3 times did she claim the suites were all taken, and said I was on the SPG floor "and is that what you meant by upgrade?" - no it wasn't what I meant.

Asked about lounge - no, we don't have one here. In lieu of lounge, asked about breakfast for Platinum members - she scoffed like I had asked her to hand over her first born. Another check-in clerk nearby asked how long I was staying, disappeared into the back and returned to pull a breakfast coupon from the drawer.

2) Room - the room was done with a collection of Westin furniture and the traditional color scheme. The Heavenly Bed and Bath were there - the only thing missing? The Heavenly Air Conditioner. The AC was barely cool, and the room was so damp, the carpet was actually wet to the touch. I needed to run out, and when I came back, I didn't see anyone to talk to who was in charge and I was too tired to change rooms at that point.

I called Service Express and they promised the manager would call me back - he never did. I am still going to follow up on that issue so they can correct it.

Check out - the TV system wasn't working, so I did the check out over the phone...no biggie

The next night was the Westin Grand...

1) Check-in - I arrived abit on the late side, and the pleasant and helpful clerk got all my paperwork ready quickly. He apologized for the lack of upgrade (the hotel was booked by a wedding party), but only after being prompted. No lounge is available at this hotel, and "we don't do that here" was the answer to the breakfast-for-Platinums question.

2) Room - heck, I didn't need a suite...the room was HUGE. Very nicely done with a bathroom that was almost as big as the room itself - stand up glass enclosed shower, huge soaking tub, separate 'water closet' and large sink/vanity area. The AC was working just fine.

The TV checkout wasn't working here either, so a quick call to the front desk had me checked out and on my way.

Conclusion: the Westin City Center is a decent hotel for the low corporate rate I paid, has a good location, but needs some brush up on the loose ends of the physical plant and also needs to make sure its entire staff is 'on message' when it comes to being part of the Westin and Starwood brand.

There is nothing I hate more than a staff member who says "No" when they don't "Know" - so that needs to be corrected as well. When someone doesn't know, they need to ask a senior staff member or manager for guidance.

Gregmo24

It looks like I will be making some trips to DC the next couple of weeks, and was wondering if anyone could provide some input on some of the starwood properties in the area.

I see there are 3 Westin's (Grand, Embassy Row, and DC City Center) and a Four Points in the area; so I was wondering if someone could provide some input on where to stay.

Right now I'm leaning toward the DC City Center, but since I've never been to DC before, I'm kind of flying blind on making a choice.

Thanks
The Soon To Be DC Traveler

gtownguy

Don't think you could go wrong with any of them. All are in nice areas, just depends on what you want to be closest to and how you plan to get around - car, taxi, or metro (subway). The City Center one is closer to the downtown business area, Embassy Row is very close to Dupont Circle, and the Grand is near Georgetown.

bfrederi

Recently completed a series of mattress runs in the DC area to qualify for Platinum before a number of international trips this year. I tried to spread things around among as many properties as possible in order to report back (and always find the cheapest rates...)

Below find my own personal ranking of most of the DC starwood properties. All stays were undertaken between march and may of 2007, and virtually all were done on the weekends. (So, for instance, staff could be different from those working during the week, shuttle bus less flexible in its schedule during the week, etc...) None were undertaken as Platinum, so I don't have much to add regarding upgrade possibilities.

Best to worst, irrespective of location:
Westin Grand (nice hotel, good vibe from staff)
Westin Arlington Gateway (good, "as expected" Westin)
Sheraton Rockville (all new, very helpful staff)
Westin Tyson's Corner (converted property, some kinks still)
Westin Embassy Row (slightly tired rooms, indifferent/snarky service)
Four Points Washington (basic rooms, but solidly run)
Westin City Center (newly converted, staff clueless and unhelpful)
Sheraton Crystal City (filled with tourists, staff friendly but harried)
Sheraton Suites Alexandria (poorly run, rooms average. Good breakfast.)

Best to worst, assuming you want to be convenient to downtown/Mall:
Westin Grand (10 min walk to Georgetown, 10 min walk to downtown)
Westin Embassy Row (best located property/dupont area, 2 blocks to Metro)
Four Points Washington (5 min walk to Metro, property is on K Street)
Westin Arlington Gateway (5 min walk to Metro, 20-25 min to downtown)
Westin City Center (central to K St, 5 min walk to Metro)
Sheraton Crystal City (1 block to Metro, 20 min to downtown)
Sheraton Rockville (shuttle bus to Metro, 45 min to downtown)
Westin Tyson's Corner (shuttle to Metro, 45 min to downtown)
Sheraton Suites Alexandria (irregular shuttle to Metro, 30 min to downtown)

So, the first list considers only the quality of property, while the second list factors location in along with the quality of the property. I decided both lists might be helpful, because not everyone needs to be downtown. I hope this helps with the various "should I stay in property A or B" questions for DC. I would stay at any of the properties again, except for the Sheraton Suites Alexandria.

CIT85

Thanks for the post. I am planning a quick weekend trip to DC and was seriously considering the Sheraton Suites Alexandria, because of Old Town Alexandria. Your post convinced me to skip this hotel.