Washington Hilton - is it that bad?
 

Ok, on the advice of fellow Foddies, I checked out reviews for this hotel on tripadvisor.com and now I'm concerned, because there were several below average comments about this property. Anyone on here have comments about this hotel?

We got a great rate of $109/night including breakfast for two (thought I doubt we'll consume breakfast every day there). Now, I'm wondering if this rate is too good to be true.....

Thanks!

p.s. we're going to DC for a week in September to visit all the typical tourist traps, so we don't expect to be in our room too much. We just want a good home base to make our travels from, a quiet place to sleep and a clean room would be great.

Almost every large hotel throughout the world has one or two negatives on Tripadvisor.com. The fact is that you really CAN'T please some people. Provided the reviews aren't consistently bad (like the Radisson in New Orleans!), I would look at the overall "big picture" and assume that most of the 99% who don't post anything about their trips probably thought it was least okay.

You should consider bidding at Priceline, where 3* and 4* hotels in DC regularly go for $50 - $75. I've stayed at 2 of the 3 3* hotels in the Convention Center/Capitol Hill area (Renaissance and Marriott Metro Center) for $60 and been very pleased.

Which Hilton -- Washington Hilton and Towers on Connecticut? or Washington Hilton Embassy Row on Massachusetts?

Sorry I didn't clarify which Washington Hilton... I'm referring to the one on Connecticut (where Reagan was shot in front of). It's in/near Dupont Circle.

I appreciate the tip on Priceline, but I'm not very good with those kinds of websites where you bid and auction stuff. Not my style, I guess.

Hello! I attended a convention at this hotel last month and was very satisfied. You got a great rate. Our convention rate was $185 + tax (211) and did not include breakfast. The place is large but well located with many restaurants in area. It is 4 long, uphill blocks from Metro. That was no problem for me, but it may be for you. It is also one of the Grayline stops. I took the red trolley that is the on/off tour. It comes by the hotel about every half hour and costs $28. A great way to see everything and get a feel for the city before you start touring individual sites. One complete circuit is about 2 1/2 hours. BTW, my biggest complaint about the hotel was slow service at the cafe by the pool - not much of a complaint...Have fun.

From my experience, I'd say yes, unfortunately, it IS that bad!! Room was on a par with low-end Motel 6--basic and drab. OK public areas (tough nothing special)but DINGY rooms. This was April 2003. Unless things have changed (i.e. total remodeling and redecorating) I'd recommend finding another inexpensive place. Right across the street from the Hilton is the Hotel Churchill, a great place with great rates, charm, and recent renovation. We left the HIlton in disgust after one night, crossed the street to The Churchill, and went from hotel hell to hotel heaven. A friend attending a convention at the Hilton did the same and was equally pleased.

I live in D.C. so I have not stayed in this hotel but I have known many convention goers who have stayed there. I'd say it is your basic convention hotel--no better, no worse. If you are just going to drop your bags and spend your days and nights away from the hotel, I think you got a good deal and will have a perfectly adequate place to stay. (Again, remembering that I have not actually stayed there myself.) If you are considering a change, then the Radisson Barcelo may have nearly comparable rates from one of the online sites, is 1 1/2 blocks from the DuPont Metro stop, and has a very good Spanish restaurant in it. It is the hotel I generally recommend to friends who want to stay in the Dupont Circle area.

As to tripadvisor, I generally check hotels out on it as well. All hotels will have some bad comments so I wouldn't be worried if you are finding a few bad comments; more than that and you might want to rethink.

If you are put in a "drab" or "dingy" room when you arrive (and for the price including breakfast I suspect you are doing pretty well) then march right back to the front desk and ask for another room.

The reason you are getting that rate is because they aren't selling out...so that means almost undoubtedly there will be other rooms available.

"Drab" and "dingy" are subjective at best....

Thank you very much for your tips! I checked out both the Radisson Barcelo and the Churchill Hotel. The Radisson had a Super Saver rate of $99/night - very nice! And, the Churchill was only $127/night for AAA. These are good options for my husbanad and me to review in case we decide to leave the Hilton.

I also wanted to say thank you for the information on the trolley tour. That's exactly what we're looking forward to doing on our first day there, so we can take in the overall city and get a feel for the layout. We have a whole week to enjoy DC and I'm looking forward to it!

Topman, I don't quite follow your logic about a hotel not being sold out because a guest got a bad room. If anything, I would think the opposite, i.e., the hotel must be filled up; otherwise why would it give out these rooms?

HowardR - if I'm reading his reply correctly, I think he meant that IF we encounter a room that is not to our liking when we arrive, we would probably be able to get another room, since we're paying such a great rate. I believe he's surmising that if the hotel is offering such a great rate during that time period, it's because it probably doesn't have a convention booked during our time period, therefore we would probably have a bigger choice of rooms, IF we happen to be assigned a "bad".

Sorry, did I make any sense? :)

Don't assume the hotel isn't full because you get a good rate. I worked for several years at a large hotel that would offer AAA/Hotwire/Priceline rates even AFTER we were showing 100% occupancy. We always assumed no-shows, etc.