Harrington Hotel

STAY… IF YOU DARE!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHHA.
No seriously, I dare you.
We needed a hotel close to D.C. because we were doing a tour of the white house and needed to be there at 730 a.m. We chose the Harrington Hotel, because like most people that have stayed here, it is the most cost-​effective hotel in its very prime location. The moral of this cautionary tale is: you get what you pay for.
Granted, what we paid was not a motel price, but what we got would definitely rival the shabbiest of motels. (our stay was $ 140/​night + parking and taxes came out to $ 180.)
PROS about the Hotel Harrington (I do, after all, consider myself an optimist, so let’s find that silver lining):
–it is two blocks from the white house.
–the wait staff was very nice.
*crickets* …aaaaand, that’s all I got.
No, wait! Come on, girl! Your optimism can definitely find more pros than THAT! Ok, how about this?!
–Are you a murderer and are looking for the perfect backdrop to complete your next crime? STAY HERE!
–Are you a low budget film producer/​director looking to film a horror movie, but don’t have the funds for a set? STAY HERE!
–Are you one of those weirdo ghost hunters obsessed with haunted hotels? STAY HERE!
–Do you like to live on the edge, not knowing whether you will wake up in the morning, or get murdered in your cheap bedsheets? STAY HERE!
All joking aside, I would not recommend this hotel, ever. If my deposit was refundable, I would’ve bit the bullet and shelled out the additional money for one of the more ritzy, less murdery hotels. But it was destiny for me to stay at this hotel, if only to warn the rest of the community.
The Harrigton Hotel hides behind the claim that they are the oldest hotel in D.C., and as such, they have a lot of the original hotel still in tact. There is a difference between a living landmark and exploiting that landmark as a excuse to never put money towards upkeep or modernization. That being said, bring on the CONS!
–Carpet — old, dirty, musty smell immediately upon entering lobby.
–Room, dark, dank, small. Bed was a good size. Comforter looked like something you would find at a very dingy motel. Looks like a bedbug haven (I checked the mattress and thankfully, there were none).
–HOT AS HELL. Heat was central; no individual thermostat in room. We ended up opening a window, but were still so hot that we slept under no covers and had a hard time sleeping due to the heat. (mind you — it was in the 30s last night, but I swear the hotel was a toasty 78.)
-«A/​C» was an old rod that allegedly if you pulled down on, it «opened» the vents, and if pushed up, it «closed» the vents. I call B.S. Nothing happened either way.
–Bathroom looks straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s «Psycho.» Bath with discolored/​possibly moldy caulking.
–Paint peeling everywhere.
–No electrical outlet in bathroom.
–Limited outlets in room.
–Thin walls. Luckily, I think it was a very slow/​empty night. Hey I guess Murderers need days off, too.
I should’ve listened to the reviews. I don’t know why I thought my experience was different. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. Do not make my stay be for naught! I believe destiny led me to stay if ONLY to serve as a public service announcement and to keep YOU from staying here. You’ve been warned.

Unless you desperately need to save money you can find a better hotel. People are nice but the hotel is OLD and I mean old. Last remodel was probably in the 1940s. Came for a trip with my daughters school and she still complains about the place to this day.
It does accommodate large groups so it is good for school trips and it markets itself as such.

I stayed at Hotel Harrington for a week twice this past summer while attending business meetings. I love the old buildings. WiFi worked perfectly. I also loved the very late night restaurant and bar downstairs. Perfect when coming home late from meetings. The convenience of the place cannot be underlined enough. Only two blocks from the centrally located Metro Center station. Walgreens only a block away. Walking distance to so many attractions. I’ll take the moment to also thank the housekeeping staff. Just a perfect stay for me both times I was there this summer. Thanks guys. I’ll see you again.

If they had negative stars I would choose that option! It is never acceptable to have BODILY FLUIDS ON THE BEDDING, MATTRESS & BOX SPRING!!! We checked out as soon as we could.
There were also tiny drops of blood on the other bed that also confirms a bed bug problem.
We got our reservation through
that proved to be useless in getting a refund. The best they offered was a $ 50 credit.
We are now checked in at the Capital Hilton and so very thankful to have a clean room and comfy bed to sleep on.
Run away from the Harrington Hotel. I wish I had seen the reviews before we checked in!

It’s very old, but not updated. I only spent one night there and couldn’t wait to get out. The positive’s they had Wi​.Fi. nothing else. I was afraid to touch anything, I threw the bedspread on the floor and just used the sheets, which were paper thin. The bathroom was very old and very outdated. Honestly, I had nicer accommodations when I was in the service. The hallways had a bad scent, next time I’m in D.C., I’m staying in a well known hotel with at least 4 stars. I was so happy to get out. Spend the extra money.

I agree with Tyler A. on almost all points and I’m giving it 3 stars solely for location and price. We paid $ 190/​night for 7 days. That’s cheap in DC for 4^th of July week. We decided to splurge on dining, souvenirs, and taxis instead of a better hotel and I think we made the right choice. This place really is a dump but read on…
This was very interesting, I was traveling with a friend and had requested two beds. When we got to the room, at first I saw only one bed and thought, oh no! Then, we realized we had two adjoining rooms for the price of one. It was great for us. We had two bathrooms!
It’s best to approach this place with a sense of humor, especially when trying to shower. The water temp constantly changes without warning so I got pretty good at dodging the suddenly scalding water. Unlike another reviewer, I did have an electrical outlet in my bathroom, about 6 feet up the wall.
This was our second trip to DC for sightseeing so we knew how far apart all the museums and monuments are. The maps are deceiving. One can see the Museum of Natural History is right next to the Museum of American History but it’s a long way, maybe a couple of hundred yards and you’ve already been on your feet for 6 hours and its 90 degrees…
Having a very close-​in hotel is a huge advantage. Your feet will thank you.

I recently stayed at the Hotel Harrington for one night on a trip for work. There were many negatives, but few positives.
I’ll get the positives out of the way first.
The desk clerks were very nice and the location was fantastic.
And now for the negatives…
Upon arrival to the hotel, I needed to charge my phone. Unfortunately, i could only find a single inconveniently placed unused plug in the hotel room. Upon plugging my phone and charger into the socket, my phone immediately began acting strangely and refused to charge. I then attempted to charge my work phone. Neither would charge. I don’t know if the socket sorted something in the charger and phone, but in the end, both the charger and phone had to be replaced.
I went to use the bathroom in my room and there was multiple hairs on the toilet seat. I would have photographed, but my phone was out of commission.
A minor issue was the fact that the clock in the room was set 20 minutes behind. This fact nearly made me late for my work meeting, but thankfully the location was very convenient to where I needed to go and I was able to get there just in time.
All in all I don’t think I’d be staying in this location again.

Built in 1917 — I’ve stayed here several times. I like the older property, one block off Pennsylvania Ave. It reminds me of some of the older European hotels with smaller rooms, old bath fixtures, steam heat, modest, but comfortable rooms with flat screen TV, mini-​fridge, microwave. Very good prices for DC. Friendly staff. Convenient. WiFi needs an update. It worked, but was a bit slow during peak morning and evening usage. I’ll stay here again. Harry’s Bar and Grill, connected, is a very good classic, modestly-​priced restaurant.

Great location but old and rundown. The room was so small that the door to the closet could only be cracked open because the bed was in the way. The bathroom tile is cracked all over and trim is cracked or broken off in chunks. Take a shower at your own risk, the water runs warm and then shoots to scorching hot every time anyone, anywhere flushes a toilet. The breakfast restaurant (Harriet’s) food was decent (skip the buffet) but the service was awful every day of our 7 night stay. Harry’s had good food and service. We stayed on the old side of the hotel, request the new side. We paid $ 200 a night.

worst Hotel in history. Better off at a Motel 6. No Gym. Wifi is slower than a snail. Smells. Bad help.
WARNING!
DO NOT COME HERE!
This is the place you get bed bugs.
Even if the location is good just take a cab.
I promise you if you book here you will be 100% disappointed. No money has been put into this hotel since the day it was built (over 100 years ago, I swear!) and they brag about this???
Good Luck

The big thing to take away from a stay here is its location and price. It’s situated within a quick walk from the White House, National Mall, and all of the Smithsonian museums, while not being all too out of the way from the Capitol as well. Not to mention you’re a quick walk from the Red, Blue (which can take you to and from the airport), and Orange lines for the Metro. The price is also pretty reasonable for this première location. Although if you wanna splurge an extra $ 20 – 40 a night, you can definitely find some slightly upgraded places in the area.
The big negatives are that it’s very dated. I know it’s something the hotel tries to construe this as a positive as it boasts its historic roots within the area, but renovations to accommodate guest can never hurt. The room was probably clean, but in being dated, felt a bit gross at times. I grew less concerned the longer we were there, but definitely had a shock and awe the first couple times stepping in the room. The bathrooms were the best part of the room, aside from the public looking toilet, it all felt clean and slightly newer.
The room had only a handful of outlets, many of which had the TV, lamps, mini fridge occupying them, and to make any use of the room you had to sacrifice one of the above to get an outlet. They were also very old and things had a hard time staying in them, and the slightest jostle would cause them to fall out. Also for ladies who travel with hair tools, there were no outlets in the bathroom.
There was also no overhead lighting as the room was solely lit by those two lamps taking up wall outlets.
We went with the route of keeping the do not disturb sign on our door for the length of our trip as I personally do not wish to have people amongst my personal belongings, regardless of the hotel. So I cannot speak to the housekeeping standards.
I do believe the front desk does provide safes of some sort to those who wished to use them upon request. Again unsure about those. They did however have a locked area where we were able to keep our bags on the final day after checking out at the 11 am checkout. Although being the slightly protective person I am, I made sure to throw some luggage locks on before hand to be safer than sorry.
There is a bar downstairs that actually served pretty decent and cheap food, Harry’s, which we ate at one night. They’re open until 2 am and actually do the food room service for the hotel.
This is definitely a spot that capitalizes on groups traveling in larger sizes and those on a budget. As the rooms are small and have limited reasons to be excited about them. I mean on most trips you don’t expect to spend much time in the room, but having a nice room when you do have to spend the time within is certainly a plus.
They did have free WiFi but don’t expect to get much done on it, as with most hotels serving free WiFi it’s budgeted and does not run too quickly. But at least it’s there.
All in all I wanted to give this place 2 stars, but considering if I returned to DC on the budget I went last time, I would certainly not rule out possibly staying here again. It’s no Ritz Carlton, but it’s location is great, and it gives you just enough to get by and enjoy a trip in DC. That’s about as average as a 3 as I’ve ever seen.

Positives :
Great location close to the mall and museums
Harry’s bar is attached to the hotel
There is a dinner downstairs and a small gift shop.
Negatives :
Hotel is very old, and rooms are small. I would rate this as a cheap motel, for a hotel cost (We paid around $ 190). Room is lit by 2 lamps, closet doesn’t shut, window was duck taped, no fridge or microwave, no shampoo and conditioner, only soap. At least there is a TV in the room, and an ice machine.
Overall I would say come here as a last resort, as we did (Other hotels were completely booked for the 4^th). We expected the quality to be much better for the price. You are paying for location only.

All I can say is that the place is old, rooms are small and outdated. It feels like the place used to be a Motel turned into a Hotel.
The only and I repeat the only good thing is that is very close to everything. (Walking distance).

So much has been said already it’s hard to add. If you are just looking for a place to crash and sleep a few hours and amenities, décor, service are not high priorities to you compared to location this might be the place for you.

Worst hotel experience ever! The lobby and attached restaurants smelled like urine. The staff was rude and service was poor. The whole place was old and dirty. THE WORST WAS GETTING BUG BITES WHILE SLEEPING!!! Disgusting! Gross! Horrible!

This place is and absolute ripoff/​scam. The only good aspect of this place is the location. Other than that, enjoy a small smelly room and a crappy wi-​fi signal. The chair for the desk in my room was broken on the front part of it so that I sagged forward almost breaking it even more. I spent about $ 179 per night for two nights and it was not worth it. Not even close. Their front desk staff were careless and rude not only to me but to others as well. They can’t answer a simple question. Save your cash. Avoid Hotel Harrington and the restaurants inside the building. The fact that they’re all run in the same fashion is a literal public health concern and both the hotel and it’s restaurants should be shut down immediately.

Basic, small rooms but clean and close to the museums. Wifi is sketchy, shower goes from scalding hot to cold randomly. Not much has been updated in several decades but it is a safe place to stay for a couple nights. Pop is $ 1 and the ice machine works.

The good– Location is everything! The hotel is situated near the Mall and Smithsonian museums, it is close enough to walk to most memorials and is a quick, 2 block walk to the metro station. The area offers some shopping including a drug store, Macy’s and an H&M to name a few.
There are several places to eat including 2 restaurants connected to the hotel. Harry’s restaurant stays open late and has in and outdoor seating. You can get breakfast at Harriett’s but don’t expect much from the waitstaff. They are slow and not overly friendly. There’s a small but reasonable gift shop in the hotel lobby where you an buy snacks, drinks and some DC souvenirs.
As for parking, the hotel offers $ 17/​night parking but don’t expect to get a truck or tall SUV in the garage. If you look around there is a garage that charges $ 12/​hour or $ 20/​day.
Now for the bad. The hotel building is over 100 years old and you can tell. The lobby is VERY small and always bustling– a.k.a. «crowded»! Two small elevators assist guests to floors 1 – 6 and another 2 to the rest of the building.
Rooms– They are old and rather small. Our room was lit by 2 small lamps and the window– no overhead light. The bed was comfortable and the room was furnished with an older cheap dresser, small desk and side table. The bathroom was quite small. The water in the shower kept changing temps and you would have to move out of the stream because it would get really hot! Overall the room was clean. We stayed at the hotel with several rooms of students who mentioned that their rooms were not cleaned each day but I’m unsure how accurate that info is.
The room had wiring that ran across the floor boards and wall and the Wi-​Fi was very slow. We would definitely not stay at the hotel again.
For anyone who frequents the Wisconsin Dells area, I would rate this hotel one step BELOW a Dells dive hotel room.

The Hotel Harrington is unlike any hotel I have stayed in. For starters, the building is very old and has not been renovated, so it is as if you are staying in a hotel probably around 100 years ago. There were absolutely no amenities; no shampoo, conditioner, extra toilet paper, microwave, coffee maker, iron, ironing board, just to name a few. The TV was old and the remote didn’t work. The hotel rooms were loud and had a disgusting smell in all three rooms (we had to keep switching rooms due to the unbearable smell), with all of them smelling badly. There was no heat (it didn’t work) and the AC unit was not digital and was controlled by a metal rod that opens a vent on the ceiling (very early 1900’s style) and because the building was old, it wasn’t insulated well, so it was freezing. Most of the outlets did not work, and some were not even strong enough to charge my iPhone to full percentage overnight. The door for the bathroom in two out of the three hotel rooms wouldn’t close no matter how hard I pressed or fiddled with the door handle. Inside the bathroom, the shower temperature control did not work. One minute, it would be ice cold, and then one minute later, it would be scolding hot and constantly, I had to step out of the shower in order for my safety; to avoid being burnt by the temperature of water. Overall, the hotel room was dirty; the rug was dirty and so was the floor and the sink. Outside the room was also very loud. You could hear the buzz of the lights turned on in the room, the loud traffic of the city outside, and the water moving through the pipes in the walls. Lastly, and most importantly, the wifi did not work, and in all three rooms, there was no wifi on my phone, but on my laptop it picked it up, but could not connect. In all, the wifi did not work so I was forced to use data the entire stay, which ended up causing me to go over the months data limit; something I have never done before.
In all, I stayed two nights at this location, and considering that I paid around $ 220 a night, I am very unhappy. This hotel claimed to be a 4 star hotel, but my opinion, it was a 1 star or less. I have never seen a hotel as unsatisfactory and absurd as this and I do not recommend staying here. Pay a little more money to stay at a Hilton or something else so that you can actually have a decent stay while vacationing in Washington, D.C.
Here is a list of Pros and Cons of the Hotel Harrington.
Pros:
— Very friendly and accommodating staff
— Great location; it was walking distance to the National Mall
— The parking was considerably low compared to adjacent hotels ($ 17 a night was fair)
Cons:
— No wifi. Where there was wifi, the password was wrong or the wifi was extremely slow or didn’t work
— No shampoo
— No conditioner
— No toilet paper
— No outlets in convenient spots and many did not work
— No information was given regarding the destinations; no information in the room
— No pen and pad of paper
— No ironing board
— No iron
— No coffee maker
— No microwave
— Old, rotting smell in all rooms
— Doors for the bathrooms didn’t close all the way
— Old, outdated TV
— AC unit is controlled by a metal rod; it is not digital
— Windows can be clearly seen through; there is little to no privacy when curtains are open
— Overpriced, especially for condition of hotel
— Vending machines were not on every floor
— Carpet and floor was dirty
— Loud rooms from outside traffic
— Loud lights in rooms that buzz
— Loud noise coming from water moving through pipes in room
— Remote did not work, had to take the batteries out and put them back in
— Outlets were not powerful enough to charge phone
— Vending machines were broken and didn’t except dollar bills
— Heat did not work
— Old building, not insulated well, so it was really cold
— The shower had no temperature control
— The shower’s temperature was ice cold, or scolding hot; on and off

Worst hotel ever, shitty ghetto rooms with no amenities and over priced. No soap or shampoo in the bathroom.