Has anyone stayed in the Hotel Madera near Dupont Circle? I only found one review of it and the person gave it an average rating. I'm trying to decide if I should stay there or in the Melrose Hotel (which I know is good, but pretty standard) over New Year's Eve. The Hotel Madera is in a better location than Melrose though and it look like a very quaint boutique hotel in its pictures (on its web-site). However, I know that sometimes those pictures can be deceiving.

How do you define "quaint." If quaint is doilies and antiques, the you will should go to the Melrose. Madera is "hip and cool" and a great location.

No, I'm not defining quaint as doilies and antiques...maybe that was a poor word choice b/c I'm defining quaint as "boutique-like" or chic. This is what I'm looking for, but I want to be sure that the rooms are a good size too. I stayed in a supposedly "chic" hotel once in NYC and I had to step over the bed to get to the other side of the room. The only thing hip about the hotel was the web site.

Have you been inside of the Madera? If yes, how are the rooms?

If you want big rooms you should generally avoid boutique hotels. They make money partially because of well-decorated and furnished SMALL rooms.

I think it's a fun hotel. The rooms are not gigantic, but nor are they NYC small. You should be fine.

We stayed at the Madera last year and had a great time. The location is great the staff was friendly they even had wine waiting when when we came in after a long day of running around. Rooms vary abit but all were nice. Walked by a modern Asian restaurant close by and when I asked about it they said it was good and they would also deliver to the hotel. It was better than good and a great ending to a long day. The front desk called when it arrived and sent the guy right up. They had included everything in fabulous serving dishes. We had a great time and I would definately stay there again.

Thank you all so very much. That information was really helpful. The Madera sounds perfect! That was exactly what I was hoping to hear!
Now tell me about NYE in DC? (I posted another thread about that).

On the first floor of the Hotel Madera is a great restaurant too: Firefly. Highly rated, popular place. I've been and loved it. Not your standard "hotel restaurant."

AWESOME! Thanks Glover. Now how about New Year's Eve in DC?

Just another plug for the Hotel Madera here. We just returned last week from a 5-night stay at this hotel. The shower/tub and toilet are in a small room, but the vanity and dressing area next to it had plenty of space. The rest of the room was very spacious and we did not feel cramped at all. The hotel has a very nice, modern decor. The rooms were always very clean, and the hotel staff very helpful and friendly. The Starbucks coffee in the room was a nice touch, as well as the complimentary wine reception happy hour each day. There is also a complimentary yoga basket by request, but I did not actually request one. There is a CD player with great sound, but bring a couple of your own CDs, as the hotel did not have a CD library, contrary to what is advertised on their website. Another nice thing is the complimentary use of the computer at the business center. It was very convenient and allowed me to check my email during my visit. The hotel is also in a great location - a trendy, residential area - and was only 2 blocks away from the Metro entrance. Lots of eating choices nearby. We plan to stay there again next time we visit.