Tracer_SEA

Any other recent stay reports? Are there other DC or DCA-area SPG properties that are better? Thanks!

monitor

The Westin Arlington Gateway is far superior and Le Meridien is as well. I, for one, am certainly not in love with that Crystal City Westin.

LovetoTravel83

Stayed here for one night. Got a suite using an SNA on the top floor I believe. The hotel seemed newly renovated and no tiredness is showing in the room. Unusual for an airport location.

I only had trouble with the luggage assistance, there was no one available during check-in. However, on check-out there was someone there but he was very reluctant to help. After the stay, I received an email from the front office manager and I let him know about it. Overall, very decent short stay.

CMK10

Stay Report - 1/17 - 1/18

Location: The hotel is located in Crystal City along with a dozen other airport hotels. It's between the Radisson, the two nearby Marriotts and the Hampton Inn. It's also nicely almost on top of the Crystal City Metro Station. There are plenty of places to eat at and drink at nearby.

Hotel: The hotel as discussed used to be a Sheraton but has undergone a pretty decent renovation. The bar in the lobby is pretty nice and has a great selection of liquors. The shuttle also runs quite frequently to DCA and I didn't have to wait a long time to get picked up. Nor were there long waits for the elevators.





Check In: Checking in here is a little annoying. There's a tiny desk with room for just two agents and when I got there, only one was working. It took a few minutes of waiting in line for me to get to the front. At least it was a pleasant experience and I was offered points or a drink and a late checkout .

Room: This was my first Westin in 14 years so I didn't know what to expect. I was actually quite impressed with the room. The bed of course was great but there was a nice couch, giant TV, okay sized desk and a really nice shower. The bathroom was a little on the small side but this was the only negative thing I could say about the room.





My rate was $103 and I'd be happy to come back. It's a far better hotel than the nearby Hilton.

Miami305

How does the property treat Golds?

CMK10

You can see my review as a Gold right above you. I wasn't upgraded but I had a room on a high floor and received 250 points as a welcome amenity (other choice was a drink). I'd imagine that's about standard.

Miami305

Appreciated the review.

That is a rather underwhelming Gold experience.

Sabai

That, and a 4 pm checkout, is pretty much the SPG Gold experience.

lcpteck

Stayed here in April and June and it's a good deal if you can get a low rate or staying on points. Convenient metro access just right across the street with free shuttle bus to/fro DCA. Rooms are alright, though I always have to ask for bottles of water and toothbrush/toothpaste.

The US$24 breakfast vouchers are definitely good enough for their continental breakfast sets.

legionnaire

I have a one night stay in June. I need to get here from Georgetown University. I have a flight out of DCA the next day at 5 and will make use of the late checkout to get some work done till 4 pm.

I am looking at redeeming points for the stay (10k). Is this a better choice over the Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria property? Any pros-cons? I am inclined to the Sheraton Suites given the neighborhood.

silentbob1974

What are your priorities during the stay itself? Crystal City is literally next to DCA and much closer to Georgetown than Alexandria. My sense is that the Westin rooms will be much nicer (i.e., less worn) than those at the Sheraton, but there really aren't any suites at the Westin. You're right though that Old Town is way more interesting than CC.

StatusChallenged

Some of the lower floor rooms smell. You have to get a high-floor room, at least IME.

NDDomer86

The Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria has ABYSMAL air-conditioning in the rooms (my stay last summer was miserable), so if this matters to you, I definitely would NOT choose it for a June stay...

monitor

In most of these hotels, bad air-conditioning is usually room-specific.

Just call down and tell them it is not working properly and if it is a good hotel, they will send a tech up with a new unit that he can swap in there in 15-20 minutes. I ran into that last week at the Tysons Corner Westin and they offered me the option of moving or sitting thru the swap. Since I had already unpacked for a three night stay, I told them to sent their guy up with the replacement.

That being said, there is no way that I would opt for Old Town when I was leaving the next day. At this Westin there is easy walking access to a shopping center and many restaurants on Crystal Drive, some of which are fairly good. It does not have the smae charm but it is damn convenient to the airport.

NDDomer86

Not to drive this conversation too far off topic, but they did move my room to the complete opposite end of the hotel (where the sun was not beating directly into the room) and it was only marginally better.

This hotel (SS) does not have individual units but rather uses central forced air and you can only control the fan...

I generally steer clear of hotels with central forced air during weather extremes for this very reason...