W Washington DC [Master Thread]
 

Not a stay report but I did read this on the Bliss Spa in the hotel. Some nice pics!

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogart...und/12970.html

An Early Look at J&G Steakhouse
 

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogart...tes/12967.html


http://www.washingtonian.com/blogart...tes/12981.html

W hotel gets ready to open its swank doors
 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24342.html

http://www.suburbanvideo.com/whotel/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washin...el/75440182684

Here's an article w/some pictures:

http://www.welovedc.com/2009/07/14/s...with-pictures/

I'll be on the roof for a few (very pricey- $15-$17) drinks tomorrow night. Enjoy!

I stayed there last weekend and the staff was fantastic. I had two rooms as I was travelling with my parents, sister, and her family. They upgraded both rooms and gave us exterior rooms which were nice. The POV bar was accessible with our room keys though on the weekends you have to go down to the lobby and take a dedicated elevator as the space is often fully booked and they need to limit the number of people up there. My nieces and nephew loved all of the crazy furniture and had fun up there in the early afternoon when it was not too crowded. Everybody was very helpful and excited to be working there.

The beds were great and the temperature controls were too considering the heat and humidity. The rooms are not huge but they are nicely decorated and the location is fantastic. Al Maliki was staying at the Willard next door and so there were secret service people everywhere and the road by the entrance to the W was blocked off. It was not too much of an inconvenience.

Parking is $45/night for valet service.

I left my keys in the room and got a call soon after I left and managed to have them fedexed back to me to arrive at my work before I got back. The staff really tried hard to make my stay a great one.

This is most appreciated, thanks for the excellent report! ^

/mod

Now that we have an actual stay report (thank you, sfozrhfco!), I've split the post out along with the links to press reports, and made this the master thread. I've relabeled the other thread as "pre-opening discussion" and locked it. It's my hope that this makes it easy to find actual hotel experiences. I'm still eager to hear more reports, as the property sounds very interesting. I, myself, have a reservation in September.

/mod

OK, here we go, Aug 1-3, family of 4 (2 small children), free weekend nights award stay.

Called ahead and got preupgraded to spectacular room with 2 queens.

Arrived by cab on 15th street entrance. Nobody there to help with bags, so had to carry two heavy bags all the way to reception. Turned out 4 bell boys were waiting doing nothing at F street entrance. So better use this one, as it seems the main one.

There is a CVS as well as a Liquor store two blocks away. Metro Center stop is also two blocks.

No further upgrade for the room (partly because of our 2 queens request, and probably partly I am no longer willing to kiss front desk feet and beg for one). Nice girl told us we were given a 'really spacious' room. Well, to cut things short, if that was spacious, I would not want to see the other rooms. It was pretty much filled with the 2 beds, and there was no tub in the bathroom. Nice furnishings (all creamy/white colour), but disastrous view to a tiny inner courtyard. No privacy and no light coming in. Nice 'Plat upgrade'. Plat amenity is choice of points/t-shirt/movie.

1 set of bath amenities (incl face wash), noise coming in all night from hallway and elevators (was a Sat night). Fiji water for 9$.

When we wanted to have lunch at POV, we were going up but told there was 'standing at the bar only' for hotel guests. Not quite in line with the 'reserved tables'. So we tried to make a reservation for the next day. The girl at the elevator downstairs (who is handling the POV reservations and the crowds coming in) told us to 'either make a reservation on the internet, or call this number'. Impressive service if you stand in front of a hotel restaurant. My wife went up and was able to make the reservation for the next day upstairs. Food was very nice, and the view is beautiful. Prices are reasonable (beer 6$, snacks/burgers 10-16$).

Some other observations:

- Spa looks more like a shop, and is for treatments only (as usual for W, no jacuzzi/sauna, etc.). Sweat/fitness is decent.

- The hotel was very busy on a Sat (much less so on Sun), and we did not feel hotel guests were given priority. In a way, we felt this place still needs to decide whether they want to be a hotel or a popular hang-out/club/bar.

- Morning coffee and water all day provided foc in lobby - old check-in desk.

- Since it was my wifes birthday, they brought up a tray of chocolate and (admittedly horrible) red sweet bubbly, together with a card - very nice touch.

- found the W CD cover in the room cut open and the CD missing. Since I did not want to be charged for it I handed it to the front desk. They apologized and promised to get me a comp one. Did not happen, but was not charged either.

Overall, we felt:

+: location, hip feeling, nice decor, staff friendly

-: room size, upgrade, overall amenities, business/noise

banzani ---



Thanks for the report -- since I have heard that it is difficult to get points on reward stays, I think I will opt for the T-shirt.

You are right, of course, but the best way to make sure that they post automatically is to have some incidental charges. If you don't, the hotel has to jump few a through hoops to get it done...and, as we've seen, they are sometimes unsuccessful in doing so.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Having not had an award stay yet, I relied on what others have found.

I knew I read this recently about the difficulty of getting amenity points on award stays -- and I did.

It was your having posted a link on this very issue! I read your thread and followed your embedded link and voila!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/12010612-post8.html

Trip Report
 

Just spent 2 nights at the W Washington DC. Booked two rooms, one with FWN and one with points - thoughts below:

Arrival -
We drove in from Virginia and since I knew it was the old Hotel Washington, I had no trouble finding the property. However, if you DIDN'T know that, it would be a challenge. On the 15th street (more common arrival) side all the signage still says "Hotel Washington". A couple of the friends we were traveling with (also driving) got a bit confused.

On arrival we had very good help from the valet and luggage attendants. Valet is $45/night for guests, BTW.

Upgrade -
I had been keeping a close eye on the available suites in the days leading up to our trip, and knew that Fantastic Suites were available. When we arrived, we had been pre-booked into two Spectacular Rooms next to each other. When I asked about the Fantastic Suite, the desk clerk was more than happy to look and move us into the Suite and keep the other (non-plat) guest in the upgraded Spectacular Room.

Suite -
The Fantastic Suite was in many ways Fantastic. It had a Fantastic view of the Washington Monument, a large, separate living room, queen size bed, soaking tub, large bathroom, all in all a very nice room.

There's a 32" flatscreen in the bedroom and a 42" in the living room, both with HD programming. There's also a separate work area in the living room with a large desk and a charger base with tips for nearly any kind of cell phone - great touch.

Couple of complaints:

The bathroom doesn't have a door in from the bedroom, and though it has a door that leads to the tub and shower (yes, both) there is no door to the toilet. Therefore, there is no real privacy for anyone using the bathroom unless there's no one in the bedroom. Not great design.

Also, our bed was just not as comfortable as the usual W Bed - can't put my finger on why, and it was clearly brand new, but just wasn't up to snuff.

The Hotel -
The hotel itself is really nice, a modern but respectful renovation of a classic property. It is clearly brand new, with new carpet smell still lingering in many areas.

The lobby is large, with the Living Room bar area taking up most of it, and the J&G Steakhouse (a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant) on the far end.

There are three small elevators that go up to the 9 floors of rooms, with one of them typically reserved in the afternoons and evenings to shuttle people up and down from the POV Lounges on the roof level (more below on those).

The Bars-
Ok, here's one of the love/hate parts of this hotel - the POV lounges (indoor and outdoor) on the roof level. These have become DC hotspots that book all their tables 2 weeks in advance and are booked solid on weekends. This means LONG lines and crowds in the lobby on weekends waiting to take the small elevators up and down. Hotel guests can avoid the lines and go up with their keys, but it's standing room only.

When you throw in the DJ that's in the Living Room area, there aren't many places to go in the hotel and have a (reasonably) quiet drink. The exception is the Wine Bar that's under the J&G Steakhouse, which is a neat space, but very small and usually crowded.

All this is relatively par for the course for a W, I know, but the crowds and lines in the lobby tip it a little more over the annoying edge for me.

Restaurants -
There's only one real restaurant in the hotel, J&G Steakhouse, which also books up pretty tightly in advance, though they definitely try and accommodate guests. We had brunch there, which was excellent.

Overall I'd rate the hotel highly - we had a great stay - but definitely be aware that it's a "scene" spot on weekend nights. :)

I've been up to the POV lounge a couple times now...and here's some "inside" tips. If you'd like to go there on a Friday/Saturday night, be prepared for LONG LONG lines - like 60 minute plus waits! However, if you're a Starwood Platiunum enter the hotel itself by the entrance on F Street and bring your Starwood Platinum card with you! Go up to the conceirge and ask him/her about going upstairs for a drink. I've had a lot of success with this, and have even negotiated better prices on drinks after flashing my Starwood Plat card. I have no idea if this is an official policy or if the staff is just being nice, but it works. I was able to get 20 shots of Jameson (yes, for a group...not just for me) for $100 after talking to the bartender and showing my card - a nice savings of $100!

The bar staff downstairs is truly awful though...awful service, slow drink-making, and an openly rude staff. Upstairs is a lot better.

Stay Last Weekend and Pictures
 

I stayed the past three nights at the W in Washington DC. Overall it was a great experience.

In service... the hotel far exceeded my expectations (especially compared to my stay at the San Francisco St. Regis a few weeks ago). I found everyone to be very nice. It is a bit awkward walking into the hotel and having to authenticate your status as a guest multiple times as your make your way to elevators... but once they get used to seeing you its painless.

The spectacular room is small but comfortable and the view is very nice. It seemed as though a suite was an option for an upgrade but I required two beds so I opted to stick with the original room assigned. The check in staff were very helpful.

I went to the bar both Friday and Saturday nights in the later part of the evening and it wasn't took crowded (after 10). I think they do a good job of keeping it from getting out of hand. There is also a ton of staff on the roof top and its always easy to get a drink. The beer selection sucks: choice of stella, miller light, corona, or heineken. Three stellas and a corona ran me $23 before tip. The view is amazing and as it gets later its easy to commandeer a table as people leave (reservations for tables on weekends are not an option- even for hotel guests).

I only had breakfast at the JG Steakhouse. The breakfast was excellent and fairly inexpensive ($15 for a full American breakfast). Dinner reservations for JG Steakhouse were also impossible on Friday and Saturday night... even as a hotel guest. I guess not impossible... I believe the concierge said they could find a spot after 9:30pm for us.

Negatives/Complaints:

- Valet parking is $45 and the parking attendants are lazy and take their sweet time
- They are stingy with refilling soap/hair products (even after requested) and providing enough towels
- Elevators periodically don't work- twice over the weekend I had to use the stairs to get to a different floor to get on an elevator.


Overall it's a great hotel and as I said before- the service by far out shined my most recent experience at the SF St. Regis.

Here are some low quality iPhone pictures I took throughout the stay:

Hotel Room:
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo2.jpg
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...er/photo-1.jpg
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo3.jpg
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo4.jpg

View from Room:
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo5.jpg

Hallway:
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo7.jpg

View from Roof Top Bar:
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo6.jpg

JG Steakhouse:
http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s...ker/photo8.jpg

Just stopped by for a quick cocktail at the POV lounge on the top floor of the W. Bar had a few dozen people, even though it was a Monday night.

Seems like the perception remains it's tough to get upstairs, but all one has to do is wait for the elevator on the right and an attendant will take you up.

Reservations are needed for a table, but there's plenty of space to stand, including high tops without bar stools.

The view is unbeatable. If you've never seen the White House and the monuments from above, it's well worth a visit be it for sunset or late night.

I just came back from this property and thoroughly enjoyed it. The staff could not have been better---from Whatever/whenever, check in, to housekeeping to restaurant staff ^ Excellent! But then again, W is generally ^ anyway.

Since others have already done pretty well in reviewing the property, I'll just add that if you are taking the metro, you can either get off at McPherson Sq (blue and yellow) or Metro Center. It's pretty convenient.

Also, room service was excellent. The burger was THE best burger I'd had in a long time. ^

The only negative thing I have to say is that the walls are thin. The alarm clock/radio has pretty strong built in bass. If you have inconsiderate neighbors, it can be quite loud.

I was in a fantastic suite (pictures here: www.flickr.com/photos/dunkindonuts) and it was truly fantastic. I really enjoyed the bathroom ^ The living room was also very comfortable.

Nice pics! I don't ever want to see you complain again about not getting a suite upgrade because you seem to get more than most of us. :D http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...s-advance.html ;)

To be fair, that thread was about not getting upgrades in advance, and I didn't get upgraded in advance this time either! I had to ask at check in! ;)

And, I don't think I get more upgrades than most people. I always post pictures of a new property that I visit and like you said, I take nice pics (;)) so people tend to remember my posts. But honestly, I had plenty of stays (paid or award) where I did not receive any suite upgrades.

I guess I just remember all those nice suite pics because I tend to get stuck in the room next to the ice machine/elevator. :D

Property does look really nice. I had tried to redeem a FWN there a month or so ago and wasn't able to get a room. Will have to check it out in the future.

Correction: Blue or Orange lines.

If you’re going to Washington DC and want to party 24 7 then the new W is the place to be. Ideally located downtown, less than 2 minutes from the white house and 4 easy blocks from Metro center it is ideal. The lobby is beautiful and the Suite was fantastic, over 900 sq feet with a modern contemporary feel.

Now the downsides – Be warned most rooms are 200 sq feet so unless you are upgraded to or purchase a suite it will make London’s rooms look spacious. The rooftop bar has fantastic views and is called Altitude. It really needs to be renamed Attitude. Despite having less than 25% occupancy of tables, all the remaining ones had reserved stickers on, yet in the 45 minutes we were up there not one became occupied! It’s a good job we just ignored the reserved sign! It was not good we were reprimanded for doing so. Maybe if you like $18 glasses of wine (we did - hic!) served by spotty teenage looking folks who somehow think they are elite as they are waitresses here, then this is the place to be. The hotel needs to decide if it is a club or hotel. It won’t survive long term being both.

The other issue the hotel has is the soundproofing. :mad:To say the walls are paper thin is quite an insult to paper. You can hear everything from next door. You won’t sleep or you will be woken up early unless both your neighbors have the identical schedule.

Hotels in DC need repeat business and I doubt anyone stays here twice if they value sleep– Trust me stay at the Westin and your trip will be better.

Just stopped by Bliss for a Rapid Rub- great little spot. They let me work out in Sweat prior to my massage (I wasn't a guest, I live here), which was one of the nicest gyms I've worked out in- hotel or otherwise.

About Sweat:
- 7 to 8 very new, well functioning treadmills with the all touch screen controls. Great selection of stations to watch
- Extensive free weight selection
- An excellent multi-exercise station
- Leg press/curl (which I find to be more rare these days, but greatly appreciate)
- Hanging punching bag
- Plenty of yoga mats/other mats/jump boxes etc
- Fridge well stocked with Fiji water
- Complimentary headphones/newspapers
- Really cool lightbulbs

I took a few pictures but will get some better quality ones when I go back.

About Bliss:
- On the smaller side: from the areas I was in, only 2 or 3 treatment rooms.
- Very cool design: The wall separating the retail area from the back of house has a cool colorful design and a door in it that was kind of tricky to find the first few times I went through it.
- Staff was top notch and super friendly
- Men's lounge/locker room: Fairly standard for a Bliss, but nice and new. There are two steam showers- the one on the left is larger with a padded seat, the one on the right is smaller with a marble ledge. I tried both because I couldn't get the water warm enough- not sure if this was just a temporary problem, but I didn't bother to ask.
- My only nitpick, and this is universal to all Bliss spas: I wish they would put better quality disposable razors in the locker rooms. I usually bring my own, but the one time I forgot was not a pleasant experience

The spa menu pricing is a little towards the upper range of the middle for DC, but in my opinion worth it. I had a great experience.

Do registered guests have good success getting a table on the roof? What is the process in order to book a table? Are meals served, or just drinks?

Guests have no priority in getting tables upstairs and they are regularly booked up (for weekends) 2 weeks in advance. Guests do not have to have reservations or wait in line to go to the standing room area upstairs that has stand-up bar tops. You book a table by calling the hotel in advance.

They have a pretty awesome "bar tapas" menu created by Jean-Georges who did the steakhouse downstairs, but not a full menu.

Another FTer let me know that the restaurant (POV at W) is on OpenTable. In my experience, OpenTable is only given a portion of the tables at a restaurant. Regardless, it's a very easy starting point.

To get pre-upgraded, should I call SPG or should I call the hotel directly?

Pre upgraded? Your profile shows you having gold status. That entitles you to a better room if available in the same category you have booked. I'm unaware of golds having much success in the pre upgrade arena, unless perhaps it's a significant wedding anniversary or birthday and the person has reached out to the hotel GM.

If you are staying during the next two weekends, before the expiration of free weekend nights, I anticipate a similar scenario to that reported here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...ot-suites.html

Opentable is a good place to start, though availability, even on opentable, is very limited (and only a partial 'inventory' is released).

Hotel guest do have the priority for getting up to the roof, and I've found that sometimes once there it is possible to ask for table. Platinum members also have this benefit (even if not a hotel guest).

I've found that this is a great place for happy hour/early drinks and light food. If you're looking for something on the slightly more substantial side, the chicken sandwich is great. As for drinks, classics like a Moscow Mule, Dark and Stormy, or Mojito are excellent. If you don't mind a pink drink, try the strawberry lemonade.

Anyone try J&G Steakhouse yet for dinner? We have a 2 night FWN reservation starting 9/19 and Opentable is still showing availability for Sunday night.

We just completed our two night FWN stay at the W and I wanted to post a couple of comments on our stay. When we checked in on Saturday night, we only got a 1 room categoty Platinum upgrade from a Wonderful to a Spectacular room. The SPG website said they had Fabulous rooms available but the hotel insisted they only had a Spectacular room to give us. (FYI the room ranking is Wonderful, Spectacular and then Fabulous before they go to the suites.)

We took the room and overall it was nice but VERY small. I would say that it is probably the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed in. Decor was nice but I decided to call downstairs and question if they could upgrade us for the second night of our stay. Upgrade was not confirmed for the second night but they told us to pack our bags and they would move us the next day if a suite became available. As others have mentioned, the soundproofing is horrible. I was woke up early on Sunday morning by our neighbors child carrying on. (People with kids.....just because you are used to the whinning screeching sound of your child early in the morning it would be nice of you to keep them quite for those of us that aren't!! :mad: I can't ignore them like you evidently do!) Oh well...up early even we wanted to sleep in.

On Sunday we left the hotel and when we returned we had been upgraded to a Fantastic Suite which was very nice and spacious. I have no negative comments about the suite but I have to question the choice of some of the materials used in the suite. The light blue velvet couch is very nice looking but it was already showing stains and the hotel has only been open a couple of months. What's it going to look like in a year or so? Another thing is the carpet is nice and plush but I too think it will not wear well.

Sunday evening we went up to the roof for a drink before dinner. The views are indeed spectacular and it wasn't crazy busy up there. (On Saturday night the line to get up there was indeed very long.) $27 for a gin and tonic and the smallest martini but that is expected and the drinks were quite good. We had dinner at J&G Steakhouse and the food and service were very good. No complaints at all! Considering the drink prices on the roof, I was suprised to see that the prices for a bottle of wine in the restaurant started at $29.

What really stood out to us about the W was the staff. They were some of the most friendly staff I have encountered at a hotel in recent years. Overall the staff and location are IMHO the best part of the hotel. The room sizes and the soundproofing between the rooms should have been addressed during the reno because it is now too late. Some will really be bothered by this. Also if the posts in this thread are any indication, Platinums will have to ask to be upgraded

Happy to find this thread. Mrs Flyastrojets and I will be celebrating our anniversary with an evening at this hotel and a trip to Bliss for her on 10/24.

Anyone have very recent experiences to share? I'll certainly report on our stay.

Interesting Article, Recent Experience
 

I found this article linked in another thread:

http://washington.bizjournals.com/wa...5/daily99.html

I wonder if the CEO realizes that this isn't the best place to get a good nights rest and some work done. Very loud music is pumped through the elevators, lobby, and stairwells. In addition... the valet parking is unusually slow.

Recently it took 45 minutes from the time I called for my car until the time my car was pulled out in front. Thirty minutes of that time I spent outside waiting. I even offered to walk across the street and retrieve the car myself. The parking is outsourced- this is not the first time I've waited an unusual amount of time. Perhaps the parking garage is some sort of labyrinth.

I don't mind the music... but the valet parking issue alone has caused me to switch my stays in future weeks so I'm at properties that cater better to business travelers... like The Fairfax. Its great for weekends though when I have no responsibilities and feel like staying in DC.

Great location, Tiny rooms
 

To say that the rooms are tiny is an understatement. On a recent weekend stay, was upgraded from a Wonderful room to a Fabulous Room (Suites all sold out according to Front Desk). If this is what the Fab room is like, I would hate to think what the Wonderful room looks like. The room had a small-ish TV (32 inches?) and a nice King bed but not much room to move around otherwise. The sink is outside the bathroom and the counter space is quite limited (we also requested a coffeemaker - the coffee that was provided was superb!).

The lobby is quite nice, and is a great place to have a couple of drinks. Went up to POV on a Sunday night - no lines to get in, and lots of tables available. The view/lounge wasnt quite as good as we had expected - bit of a letdown. The location itself is terrific and great for taking in the main sights downtown.

Hotel staff had left 2 bottles of wine and a handwritten card in our room given that it was our anniversary. Nice touch. ^

Overall impression was positive although might check out the St Regis next time.

I just spent a night here and am mixed.

First, the good. I was very impressed with the physical property and the location. And someone much older that I invited over for drinks had fond memories of time on the roof of this place many moons ago, so it has some history. The rooms are nice, but the workmanship on some items is closer to "Aloft" than "St Regis" if you know what I mean (tile work, caulking, etc). I got a great upgrade to a 2 room suite facing the Washington Monument, that was great. The staff also were very good at accomodating last minute requests, they found us a reserved table upstairs for drinks (the lounge on the first floor was WAY too loud) and then somewhat helped us out for dinner.

And that's where the negatives come in. The lobby bar is like a club, I used to love W lobbies, but recent stays in Atlanta and now this really have me feeling old! So we had to move upstairs, I mean we couldnt even hear each other yelling in the lobby. When we were given a table upstairs (great view table by the way) I asked the hostess if she could call down and get us a table for 3 at J&G at pretty much any time that night. She came back about mid-drink and told us we were all set for 7:30. Imagine our surprise when we got down to J&G and they said they had no reservation and could not accomodate us! The part that pissed me off is that the very young hostess at J&G didnt even have the sense to call upstairs and determine that someone had screwed up. So we are left standing there as if we were trying to crash the place. I told her that one day she'd have the skill to negotiate something like this better and that in the meantime I'd appreciate a table in the wine bar or else things were going to get ugly. I still am floored at this and if we hadnt made plans with a third person to meet there I would have gone somewhere else. We got a table in the winebar and truth be told, I liked the environment there more anyway (and you can get the J&G menu down there too).

I tried many several times during my stay to use the Acura "wheels" for a shuttle, but no dice. First time, "oh it's 9:45am and we dont make the acura available until 11am." Second request was also shot down, "it only can be used for trips within the district" and my trip was a few blocks beyond. Oh well, I can't complain, except that none of that is on the card they gave me at checkin telling me how cool this free service would be. If I stay there again I will come back again at lunch just to take a spin around the block in that thing!

Overall, I really liked the roof top lounge and the location of the property, but the brand seems to be pushing down into the lower 20s more, and also into a more "club" scene. I guess I'm getting old, I find myself gravitating to St Regis and Park Hyatt more and more!

I stayed one night this past week and had a WOW suite. It was amazing. 1.5 baths. Dining area, living room with crescent shaped couch and large flat screen. Good desk area. Then a fairly normal bedroom. Awesome master bath with shower/bath combo side-by-side.

All in all, it was a very impressive upgrade. Awesome room with view of Washington Monument.

I return tomorrow night. Seems like my experience was an aberration. We'll see how it goes.

Rest of stay was fine, though I was in and out pretty quickly. Staff was friendly. I didn't get to POV but maybe tomorrow night. We'll see.

Oh, location seems great for sightseeing, and is Metro accessible.

Marvelous Suite tonight. Not over-the-top like the Wow Suite, but still very nice, large, and comfortable.

Good room service from J&G Steakhouse.

Color me satisfied. I'd stay here before St. Regis DC given the choice. St. Regis was disappointing.

Stay Report at the W Washington DC
-----------------------------------

Came into the city this past weekend for a night stay at the W Washington DC. Arrived in a taxi from Reagan Airport and it was a mess on the roads. Blockades here and there. ON A SATURDAY!!! (I guess it isn't the W's fault that the "nuclear" summit is in town and the hotel is booked to capacity and right next to The Willard, which is all secured and everything (with x-ray machines and metal detectors and all:eek:).

Check-In

Greeted by front desk personnel. Recognized Platinum Status after pulling up my reservation. Asked about upgrades but since the hotel was full, the only upgrade was to a Fabulous View Street (up from a Wonderful.) Didn't quite push for a suite because I didn't think they were BSing about having no suites that night. Was not asked about Platinum amenities but ultimately the 500 amenity points were posted to my account the day after checkout.

Accommodations

Got to my Fabulous Room on the 5th Floor with a perfect view of the Treasury Building across the way. Would have liked a higher floor to see over to the White House and the city. The room seemed small for a fabulous so I can't imagine the Wonderful room. The room had plasma tv, two W-signature beds, white bed frames with intimate lighting, a super comfy single couch and other standard hotel amenities. The bathroom was surprisingly big considering the size of the actual room. The shower was peek-a-boo style so privacy is an issue when traveling with friends.

Restaurant/Bar

Did not try at J&R steakhouse on the first floor. Did go up to POV for the views and drinks. The view on the rooftop lounge was excellent. Sweeping views of the White House on the right, all the way down to the Monument on the left. At night, the lines are long on the lobby floor to get into the special elevator, but as a guest, you can skip the line and get access immediately. Drinks were above average, $12-$15 mixed drinks, $6-7 bottles of beer, and others. The appetizers/tapas were good at $12-$22 a plate. Didn't have reservations so our group stood around the bar area and sat down on a "reserved" table until we were kicked out.

Recreation

Used the fitness center on the ground floor with a decent amount of machines and some weights. No swimming pool at this property. There is a Bliss Spa also on the ground floor.

Whatever/Whenever

Good response on all calls including dinner reservations, shoe shine, extra Bliss bathroom amenities and such. The Acura service was awesome and on-time.

Summary

A great hotel located around a lot of tourist attractions. Lots of restaurants around the area. Metro Center metro stop 3-4 blocks away. Good service throughout. Will stay here again if I'm in the area.