Any updates here? Trying to choose between the Fairfax and Westin Georgetown for a 4-night visit.

My wife and I are going down with friends. I frequent the Westin Alexandria and know that area well but am not sure Old Town is big enough to keep us interested for 4 nights. The Fairfax and GTown places seem in more busy areas.

My concern about the Fairfax is it may actually be a little too "high class" for this type of trip. We will walk miles by day (exploring and eating) and then at night, we may grab a pizza, find a cubby in the hotel and eat and have a few brews. Like the idea of an outdoor patio. Also like Club Lounges or Plat BFAST.

Been a couple years since I've traveled to DC on a consistent basis. Couple points though:
- Even though the Fairfax goes for upscale, I've never been made to feel out of place when I've been dressed in shorts and a t-shirt (or whatever) when I went out for the evening. Definitely haven't at the Westin Georgetown either.
- Both the Westin and the Fairfax have nice little places to sit around and eat and get some beer, though neither have a good place to do so for outside food I don't think. The Westin has a bar near the elevators that's just fine; the Fairfax has a very nice lounge/bar off from the lobby with plenty of little niches to sit in (one of my favorite parts of the Fairfax really).
- As for location, I think the Fairfax wins hands down if you want to be near 'stuff'. The Westin Georgetown, which only put Georgetown in its name a couple years ago, is really in West End. Its a good 6-7 blocks from the closest edge of Georgetown, 3-4 blocks from Foggy Bottom, and 6-7 blocks from Dupont. The Fairfax is a short 2 blocks to Dupont Circle and feels much more like its in the 'middle of things'.

Just spent a night there. Nice hotel in the West end neighborhood, sharing a corner with a Park Hyatt and Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton is around the corner.

Close enough to the White House (1 mile walking) and Lincoln memorial (touch over 1 mile), though there are more convenient options. Approximately 3 blocks to the Foggy Bottom metro station and George Washington University campus.

Rooms are updated and nice. Platinum status was recognized and I received a nice 1 bedroom suite as an upgrade. Breakfast option was $20 credit, though this could only be applied to breakfast, not other meals. Not sure if this is per person as I was traveling solo. $20 covers an in room breakfast consisting of 2 eggs, potatoes, toast, meat, coffee. Or a fruit and granola parfait. Of course there were other options.

Staff were very friendly and eager to help. Ex - I needed a lint roller and one of the front desk people let me borrow hers. Thought that was a nice detail.

Overall a nice place. I'd repeat if I needed to stay in the vicinity.

Westin Georgetown
 

I'm staying there over the labour day weekend. Any reocmmendations for nice restaurants in the close vacinity - Georgetown or Dupont Circle? Also any knowledge if their outdoor pool/deck gets any sun - their website pictures look like it does not.

Very nearby, Blue Duck Tavern, Westend Bistro, and Ris are worth looking into. All are very good. Getting into Dupont and Georgetown themselves there are too many to even cover :) For a burger though, you could do a lot worse than BGR in Dupont.

There are nice restaurants all around.
Not knowing what types of cuisine you like, I've been to and recommend:
Urbana
Fire Fly
Grill Fish
Boqueria
Ping Pong Dim Sum [I love the name :p;):eek::eek::eek:]
Thai Chef
Blue Duck
The Gryphon

Plus there are more walk in restaurants and chains.

The pool is NON EXISTENT. Its the size of a postage stamp.
http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps84722b0a.jpg
http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/a...DSC08939_2.jpg

Westin Georgetown
 

Thanks. I checked the websites of those restuarants and they all look good. Not sure there will be much sun on the pool deck given those photos. Looks like a decent location however so i will keep my booking there and enjoy the DC experience over the holiday weekend.

You wont get any sun. The pool area/deck is small and off the gym. When you're at a hotel and you see families with children and they dont want to use the pool. You know it's not a good pool.

If a pool is a necessity and you want to stay with SPG, in the district itself, this is the only SPG property with a pool.

The Hilton properties have nicer pools if you need a non SPG option.

Does anyone have any insight into the studio suites here? The picture doesn't do it much justice, it just looks like a typical room. I have 6 people looking for a single quiet place to enjoy a few hours of down time each day, but I can't tell if this will suffice for that.

First of all, the name Georgetown in this hotel is quite misleading – it’s actually located in West End, and about 5 blocks from the edge of Georgetown itself. It’s amusing how other businesses within a block of the Westin have signs that say “West End”. I used SNAs to upgrade to a one bedroom suite. It consists of a really large bathroom, a larger than average bedroom, and a small living room. Considering the layout of the suite, that’s probably the best the Westin could do. The room was clean and in good shape.

The Platinum breakfast amenity is a $20 credit in the restaurant or room service (taken off the bill when you check out). I was told there were no free offerings because the restaurant isn’t owned by the hotel. Whichever option you choose for breakfast, the menu is a bit sparse.

The gym is open 24/7, and is a large with lots of equipment. WiFi is fast, and taxis are readily available at the hotel entrance. As long as you’re aware of where this hotel is actually located, you’ll enjoy your stay.

Where you travelling alone? When we stayed here last year, they actually stated that the $20 credit was per room. Obviously, that was not enough for two people. When I brought up the issue with front desk, they promised to give us $20 X 2 "but only as a one time exception" (even though I tried to explain that they have to offer at least those items mentioned on the platinum breakfast card). The breakfast restaurant is actually quite nice, but the confusion regarding the breakfast credit put a damper on the whole breakfast experience for us. Hopefully, they have sorted this out now.

I was traveling by myself, so I didn't run into any problems with the breakfast credit. I can see how guests could easily confuse the policy with $20/person, but I guess $20/room makes sense.

Maybe I was unclear, but my point was the opposite: $20/room is not enough to get a platinum continental breakfast for two at the restaurant. Thus I hope they have changed their policy.

The hame of the hotel was changed a few years ago, from the "Westin Grande" and I and many others commented on the new moniker as well. See previous posts in this very thread.

I too think it's horrible to say this property is in Georgetown when it is clearly in West End.

This would not be the first hotel to blur borders in order to associate with a well know area.

The continental is priced on the menu at $20 (coffee, juice, oatmeal/cereal, and a muffin), but with tax and tip ends up being $25+

It's possibly one of the worst breakfast deals I've experienced as a Plat.