5 stays in Executive & Corner Suites at LM Arlington--mostly very good with some bad

100   Recommended
Room 1119 and... , Corner and Executive Suit...
May 15, 2017 by EXPERT

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Le Meridien Arlington
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Room 1119 and...

Corner and Executive Suit...

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Corner and Executive Suites

I almost always stay at the Le Meridien Arlington when I am in the Washington, DC, area for my business group stays. I really like the design sensibility of the Le Meriden brand, and I like this hotel's location a few minutes walk to the Rosslyn metro station and walking distance across the Key Bridge into Georgetown.

Because I stay here so often with my client groups, and because I am SPG Platinum 100, I almost always get upgraded. In the past, I've stayed in almost every room category here except for the Presidential Suite. While the Corner Suites are lovely and have wonderful views across the Potomac River, I require excellent air conditioning--and find that the Executive Suite  category works best for me. As a result, I almost always get that room/suite category when I stay here.

For March and April 2017, I had 5 separate stays here at the LM Arlington, with my first stay in Corner Suite 1119 and my final 4 stays in Executive Suite 1115. My stays were of 2 nights, 2 nights, 1 night, 1 night, and 2 nights.

Check In

Checking in here is almost always a breeze, whether it be for personal or business reasons, checking in in indivudually or as a group. I had no issues at all this spring, checking in promptly and efficiently and always with a welcoming face or faces who remember my name. 

The team had changed this year, I noticed, with a lot of new faces, actually. I liked the old team...but I must say that I really love this new team. They seem a bit younger overall, fresher, and far more energized and enthusiastic. There are still the stalwarts who I loved, and there now are some fresh faces who I'm also getting to love. 

Room

As mentioned above, I stayed once in the Corner Suite 1119 and the following 4 stays in my preferred Executive Suite 1115.

CORNER SUITE 1119

The corner suites are lovely and have wonderful views across the Potomac River. The bedroom air con also works very well in these suite, but I find that I almost never use the living room when I have this category. So I tend as a single traveler to prefer the Executive Suite (junior suite). But this suite clearly offers more for most travelers!

Walking into the entry foyer, you have the living room:

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View during the day:

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The living room is separated by the bedroom by a door and small hallway. Off that hallway you have a very spacious bathroom (larger than the executive suite bath):

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Across the hallway from the bathroom is the closet:

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Then at the end of the hallway is the bedroom:

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It's a lovely suite, very spacious bedroom and nice living room. For those who prefer the separation in a suite, this is the category to get. For 2 persons, this is also perhaps the nicer configuration, since you'd have the 2 separate rooms to enjoy, together or separately as you prefer.

EXECUTIVE SUITE 1115

Executive Suite 1115 (like all the rooms ending 15 on most of the floors, I believe) is essentially a junior suite...with a Life Cycle to complement the Westin healthy branding. I never use the darn LifeCycle though! The view is onto the boring front of the hotel tower--just buildings, really. Nothing exciting.

After the entry hall is the one spacious room:

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The infamous LifeCycle for the healthy among us:

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The bath is spacious and simple, along the entry hallway when you first enter:

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Typical Le Meridien products for those who care:

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Service

Service here can be extraordinary...but it also occasionally be confusing.

For the most part, the team here treated me like gold. I always get upgraded to a suite. The front desk check ins are always wonderful. The front desk makes copies for me whenever asked. The room service delivery is almost always prompt. The barman is always fabulous.

They ALWAYS make sure my room is cold. EVERY TIME. They deserve gold stars from me for that alone, since it's so important to me. If I have any problem, they always quickly try to fix it. 

But sometimes restaurant/bar service can be slow--especially midweek, when the fabulous barman is obviously overworked and the restaurant/bar area is understaffed. Over the Thu-Sa period, this never happens.

I've also had a few service miscues that are unforgiveable. Twice now I've had a staff member enter my room--while I was in it! Makes you wonder what happens when I'm not there. (I've never had anything missing, so I'm only being sarcastic...but it still is disconcerting!) There was always an excuse...but it shouldn't happen. EVER.

I've also had a few mistakes with check in for my groups...but that won't be an issue for most guests. 

My biggest issue with the hotel was that it closed the restaurant for dinner and even room service for one particular Sunday night stay--with no notice. I was pissed. The manager called me later that week, apologized, gave me a food credit, and promised it would never happen again. I was reassured. 

Overall, the service standard has improved markedly over the years. There is no doubt that the mangement team and ownership are trying. But there's still room for improvement!

 

Dining

Food/beverage HAD been the hotel's biggest weakness. Up until last year, I'd say this was possibly the weakest food/beverage I'd experienced with the entire Le Meridien brand. But this year, the food/beverage has noticeably improved!

Room service is slightly nicer. Bar/restaurant good is definitely better. I notced immediately. Which is why I was so annoyed the one night they closed the bar area restaurant without notice. 

You really eat in the bar or lounge; I haven't seen anyone actually use the restaurant space behind the bar in years!

Bar/lounge area:

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Location

I love the hotel's location for business purposes--a few minutes walk from the Rosslyn metro station for easy access to Washington Reagan National Airport, and an easy longer walk or quick drive across the nearby Key Bridge into Georgetown.

Overall

Overall, the Le Meridien Arlington isn't perfect...but it's stil a great option in DC. And I still prefer it over the others. Its location is great, its design and comfort are wonderful, and its service and food/beverage continue to improve. The team here really tries to please and it shows.

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