Have you stayed there recently? How was it? Pros/cons?
We will be there 3 days in August, mostly doing Smithsonian museums.
Is it a 4 star in your opinion?
Thanks!

wrote this on your other thread:

It is newly renovated, in a great location and has a nice bar on the first level. I've never been in it or read any reviews. I think it reopened a year ago.


Does the star rating refer to the amenities offered?

Deb, did you get it on Hotwire? How much did you pay, if you don't mind me asking? (We're going, but in July, and hotels are pretty astronomical)

I just got it, hotwire, for $109!

Wow, it's double that in July!

SF, did you look at the Washington Court Hotel? They have a 35% off nights sale for the summer on their website. I just booked there for August for $105 per night.

yeah, well I think the heat and humidity is double in August!

Deb, I realize that, but thats what cold beer and air conditioned museums are for.

tc, I'm going to check into that -- when I looked on quikbooks yesterday, it was nearly $500 a night for "my nights", but we're flexible as to when we go.

I started on quikbooks and then changed to their website. Booked a Deluxe king with 2 beds.

It's a solid 4- or 3+. Very modern, sleek renovation. Fun and lively bar. Can be a little noisy but it's an urban hotel on a circle intersected by heavy traffic (people and vehicles).

That's a very good price even in August when rates drop.

One comment I might add is that if the Smithsonian Mall area is your primary destination that you will be changing trains at Metro Center to get to the Smithsonian stop. That's not a big deal but will add a little time to your trip, esp. during rush hour.

Avoid Metro during evening rush hour if you can, especially Gallery Place and Metro Center stations. It should be easy enough to linger downtown for an hour or so after the 5 pm closing of most museums.

Debit...how did you get such a great price? Did you bid on hotwire? Will be in DC in Sept, just curious.

I just found it on hotwire; I have been looking for a couple of weeks, off and on. Just went over to look today, and there it was!

Are you going to go to a Nationals game while there? Its a very nice stadium and worth a visit.

LOL, if my husband has anything to say about it, we sure will.

BTW, he loved your "cold beer and air conditioned museums "

Wow...I'll have to keep an eye on Hotwire! The bidding part of it scares me though, but if you found it as the list price that's awesome!

You don't bid on hotwire, it is different than Priceline. The price is visible, however, the name of the hotel is hidden until you purchase. They do have some deals where you can see the hotel, but the prices aren't as low.

Betterbidding.com is a great site, you can often figure out [by location, amenties, star rating etc] which hotel is being offered.

Oh, ok, I see. Thanks Debit, I thought they were the same (Priceline and Hotwire).

What you'll find is that often the same hotels are "available" on both Hotwire and Priceline. However, the "areas" as they each define them differ somewhat, and Priceline is truly anonymous (no way to tell what hotel you'll get, except you might know a list of the hotels that are "typical" in a particular area), whereas on Hotwire you can often match up the amenities to figure out what hotel is "likely". Because Hotwire is very slightly less anonymous than Priceline, the prices tend to be very slightly higher on Hotwire.