Holiday Inn Washington-Georgetown

As soon as we stepped into the lobby, it smelled like weed and cigarettes. The rooms were fine, but at night the fire alarm went off at 1 am. When I went to fire escape, every door leading out to the other floors were locked except for the one to the lobby, not only is this unsafe but ILLEGAL. It was just a false alarm. Then at 4:30 am, it went off again, another false alarm. The hotel was an absolutely horrible experience

Please do not stay at this hotel. If you do make a reservation, be advised that it is 100% non-​refundable under any circumstances: I was not aware of this. My cancellation was cheerfully accepted 7 weeks prior to my proposed stay, with no warning that it was non-​refundable. It was beyond devastating to find a charge of over $ 1100 on my credit card — I begged the manager and parent company IHG by phone, email and in writing over weeks and months but they somehow feel justified in keeping every cent of my «deposit.» I’m writing so that you won’t make the same mistake, and am also hoping you will not patronize such a heartless organization! Thanks for reading and considering this — I wish you blessings and happy travels.

Pros:
The rooms are decent and clean, beds are good. No holes in the walls or anything.
The AC/​Heating units work great and the fan can be set to constant all night long and is rattle free.
Grocery store one block away, and several local eateries (see cons below).
Cons:
Wi Fi is the absolute slowest I’ve ever experienced in a hotel. I’m currently writing this review from a Howard Johnson dump of a hotel that has faster wifi. I couldn’t get my email pages to load and getting facebook to load was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀.
This places charges $ 30 f-​ing dollars to park in their lot, PLUS a $ 5.40 tax. F that. That’s on top of the $ 200 I was already paying per night.
They don’t even serve bagels or muffins. No breakfast at all.
Those local eateries? Most of them are only open on very limited hours. I seriously drove around for nearly an hour looking for a place to eat. A place. UH place. A single place. Seems most of these places open for 2 hours for lunch, then close back up for the rest of the afternoon, then open again from like 5 – 10. The ONLY two places I could find that were open were McDonald’s and Subway, so I settled on a sub for breakfast at 10:00 AM, and that was way up Wisconsin Ave. in Georgetown. What the hell is wrong with this city? Well, at least the crappy vending machine in the hotel has trail mix and Butterfinger. For $ 1.50.
Verdict:
If this were a $ 99 a night hotel, I’d probably give it 4 stars. But it certainly is not worth $ 235 a fricking night. I’m sure there are much better places for less money nearby. I will most likely not recommend this place.

Never again! Horrendous management.
Dated room. Not convenient to Georgetown business district.
I travel to Georgetown and book about 12 nights per month. I have stayed in a number of area hotels. Hands down, this was the WORST!
Fool me once, shame on you… I won’t make the same mistake twice.

First impression: I arrive at 1:30pm and am told there are no rooms available for early check-​in. Check-​out is at 12pm, so I assume it only really takes housekeeping an hour or so to clean rooms for the couple of people who, like me, are waiting in the lobby for a room. It’s now 2:30pm and there’s still no sign of a room. Have never had this happen to me, and I travel a lot.
Update: The room is perfectly nice. A bit run down, but spacious, so I’ve added a star. (The staff at the lobby said they’d tell me when a room would become available. They even took down my phone number. In any case, they didn’t say anything at all, even though I was sitting in their line of vision. When I finally walked up to them, they said they had been very busy, so hadn’t had time yet to notify me that I could check in. That may be true, because I don’t know what they were doing on their computers, but the only thing I saw them do was greet & joke around with other staff.)

Thoroughly enjoyed our just concluded 4 day stay at this affordable hotel. We had a very comfortable king size bed with good amenities included. The hotel staff even provided finger food every evening in the lobby i.e.(wings, egg rolls) along with fruity beverages all on the house. Great location in relation to M St. In Georgetown (hotel shuttle or Über could get you there in 5 minutes or so). Downtown DC is about a 10 min ride if that. The only downside was our room didn’t have a mini fridge but. It sure if that accommodation could be met with a request when reserving your room. Otherwise staff was great, room was clean, pool outside was solid. Highly recommend for the money!

Ficamos 2 noites neste hotel. Acomodação honesta, limpo, com café da manhã com buffet incluido na diária, mas bem básico. Localizado em um bairro muito charmoso com muitas lojas e ótimos restaurantes próximos podendo até ir caminhando se o clima estiver bom. Estacionamento pago– 30 dólares por dia. Não tem metro próximo mas estávamos de carro. Para quem vai sem carro, tem opção de ônibus bem próximo, basta se informar na recepção. Equipe do hotel muito simpática e prestativa. Recomendo.

Staff stole an expensive Stearns & Foster Pillow ($ 170) we left behind at checkout. We came back for it 30 minutes later and it was gone along with a white interior pillowcase. What we got In it’s stead was a cheap Holiday Inn pillow inside the second green pillow case we had put the pillow in to differentiate it. Holiday Inn refused to do anything except make us interview the maid over the phone who denied it. What kind of corporate policy is that? Have the victim interview the perpetrator? Corporate said well «we can’t accuse a maid of stealing it!» After that, The Hotel refused to contact us directly, Corporate refused to contact the Hotel and upshot was we were fabricating the store. Their stance was we left it behind, it was fair game so go away. Beware of this Hotel, this Hotel chain and know that any words implying «Customer service and support» do not apply and should any belonging go missing, the Customer is a liar.

We had a pleasant time at this Holiday Inn while attending a conference in Washington, DC. The staff was helpful and courteous! Excellent customer service!

I would have given them another star if the price difference between what I paid and what some other people reviewing it paid was not so huge! ($ 99 them vs $ 200 me for a basic king size bed room) Best feature: Circulator (local bus system that goes around tourist places in town including Union Station for $ 1) stop right outside. Breakfast was O.K. but service people were really, really good. Second best feature: right on main Georgetown street, far enough from the busy part but within walking distance (uphill though), third best feature a supermarket on the next block. One thing: I know it is not the hotel’s fault but people next door kept banging their doors at all hours at night waking me up when my whole room shook. I guess walls are too thin and doors too heavy?

This hotel is decent. It was $ 99 a night and a car parking pass is $ 30. I’m from San Francisco so this is more affordable.
PROS: Comfortable bed, close to shopping area of Georgetown, and decently clean.
CONS: We had a busted wall in our room, there’s no complimentary water, the walls are super thin, you can hear the tv in the next room, we got a nonsmoking room and as soon as we walked in our room it smelled like cigarettes
Overall if you’re only staying in DC for a night or two and you want to spend around $ 100 it’s not bad.

We stayed here for the Marine Corps Marathon last weekend. I woke up at 4 AM to find a BED BUG walking across my shirt which sat folded over the clock radio. This explained the blood spots on my pillow and what I thought were mosquito bites on my arm and leg.
The manager really could’ve cared less. She had my husband sit in the lobby for 30 minutes before having him full out an incident report. Upon searching the Bed Bug Registry, this has been an issue for this hotel since 2009.
Stay away unless you want to bring these biting creepy crawlies home with you. They’ll find their way into your luggage and clothing and you’ll end up with an infestation in your house.

Good location. Well priced. Easy check in and out. 1 mile to Georgetown University. Breakfast not included. $ 34 for overnight parking was a bit much.

We had a decent experience at this hotel. The pricing of rooms was fair and the rooms were clean, spacey and large. The hotel saw to it that we would be picked up in the DC airport which was actually a great plus having the hotel coordinate that.
As mentioned before breakfast was not included in the deal (if you wanted breakfast you would have to buy it at the location), this did not bother us since we wake up late :) plus the breakfast itself did not look too appealing.
The staff and people were always generous in their service and kind. They were nice to be around and gave us an overall good feeling.
The hotel does have it’s set backs — breakfast not included, a bit of a noisy area, But price-​wise it has good value and that was what we needed.

I don’t know where to begin on how awful this hotel was. To start, we reserved 2 hotel rooms, they only told us we booked one. We showed them our confirmation of the two rooms we booked, and they still insisted it was just one. We reserved a suit, and we got a small bedroom with a couch that slept one, and 2 people needed to sleep on it because of our room discrepancy.(they refused to give us the 2 rooms we paid for because they were booked).In the first room, it was obvious housekeeping hadn’t cleaned. The trash can was full, and a used kcup sat on the bathroom counter. They switched us to a semi– cleaner room. The bed sheets in the pull out couch were ripped, and the pull out couch wasn’t stable. The décor was nice in the lobby, and could fool anyone to how the state of the hallway and rooms are kept. The hallway reminded me of a jail cell. Also, parking is not free for guests, it’s $ 35/​per car, and not enough parking spots to accomodate all it’s guests. Fire alarms were visible, and unappealing to look at. I will never come back.

Didn’t actually stay here — but god, I had THE WORST EXPERIENCE trying to cancel a reservation.
I booked this hotel trough Hotwire and in trying to get a refund/​voucher/​change the dates — had the WORST experience trying to talk with the Holiday Inn’s Customer Service.
Not only did I get a different response regarding whether or not I could reschedule/​cancel depending on who I spoke to (and I called a total of 5 times — talk about a waste of time and energy), but I was constantly arguing with some of THE most unprofessional staff.
On my last call to the hotel (while on a conference call with Hotwire), the rep we spoke to would constantly start making side-​conversations every time I began to speak. She would then, with attitude, get back on the line, chew loudly, and ask with attitude, «So do you get it? Do you understand?»
I intend to call back today to complain to a supervisor but I’m sure I’ll just be met with more unpleasantness and lack of professionalism.
I went to school at GW for 4 years and have had my fair share of hotel experiences when booking for family and friends.
Never, ever, EVER have I had such a miserable experience.

Apparently my experience was a lot better than the other reviewers.
It did not begin on a good note. We called ahead a week before to speak to someone about the rooms. The person we spoke was unprofessional and uncaring. It was a good thing this hotel was the only one in the area, or we would have gone somewhere else.
On arrival to D.C., we coordinated with the hotel on being picked up from the Woodley Park Metro stop. We got there and was greeted by The hotel associate Faison. She was there every night we were there and she was amazing. Professional, friendly, and informative. Props also to the luggage attendant and bus driver for being nice and hilarious, respectively.
The first night was a little rough because our room faced Wisconsin Ave. Lucky for me I was moving to DC, but we did switch rooms for the next two nights and we got a room away from the street. No traffic noise and a comfy place to stay and sleep. Heater worked just fine, and the water got plenty not in the bath and shower.
Breakfast is not included, which is unusual taken other Holiday Inn’s offer complimentary continental breakfast. That said, every night at the front desk they offered something, Skewed chicken on one night and cookies on another. Every hotel guest gets into an independent gym about a 3 – 5 minute walk from the hotel. That is also a big plus and upgrade to very small hotel gyms. Also, free wifi is provided.
Overall, it was a very good experience here. This Holiday inn is independently owned, which is something I got the feeling of during the stay here. Great staff and comfortable rooms means a positive review for them!

Don’t stay at this hotel if you want to be treated like a human being.
The staff of this hotel showed repeatedly that customer service is not even the slightest concern of theirs. They were degrading, dehumanizing and disrespectful, and they showed absolutely no concern for the experience of their guests. In my numerous interactions, they did not even make an attempt to be helpful in any way, and even when I suggested the necessary solutions they were slow to help, if they helped at all.
Furthermore, when I tried to discuss my issues with management, rather than being apologetic and making any attempt to right the wrong, I was further insulted and disrespected. It is clear that the issues with this hotel are coming from the top down. I have filed a formal complaint and I hope that by sharing my experience, no one else will have to go through what I did.

Stayed here for three nights (business trip). Staff was great, room was clean, bed was soft and comfortable, free wifi internet (although, the morning I was going to check out, they had an outage).
On the phone I was told, they have free shuttle service to metro station; and they do offer that service. However, I realized only when I got there that their service doesn’t start until 7:30am. I had to be at work by 8am so there wasn’t enough time to get to work.
Tip: If you have an 8am flight out of DCA, you can take bus service to metro station and head to the airport. Bus stop is across the street if you are heading to downtown DC; and just a few steps away if you are coming back.
They don’t offer free drinking water bottles in the room. They do have a vending machine by the elevator. A bottle of water was like $ 2. Very expensive
Tip: There is Safeway supermarket down the hill (about 2 minutes walk). You can get a bottle for 79 cents.
They have several TV channels. Channel 52 shows TV Japan.

Stayed here for 2 nights to attend a wedding in Georgetown.
Our first attempt to walk up to our room was frustrating, as we dragged our luggage upstairs only to find our room’s door wide open, trash piled high in the bin, and sheets a mess.
Once THAT was sorted out, we arrived at our room with 2 beds and a pullout couch — exactly what we’d ordered! It took 4 requests to get extra towels & blankets (there were only enough for 4 people… but we ordered a room specifically with the pullout and said there’d be 5 in our booking! I ordered an extra blanket fearing what would be our next problem…)
I have the same complaint about the air conditioner… It couldn’t seem to cool down the room, or be adjusted easily. There was a thermostat on the wall, rather than the unit, and it couldn’t seem to pull off cooling the entire space. The problem was, that by the air conditioner — was the couch. The far end of the room was almost too warm. Sleeping on the couch was FREEZING.
Having the extra blanket helped, but it was very light and I ended up building a wall of couch cushions to block some of the air from moving over the couch. THAT helped. But seriously? Couch fort? Shouldn’t be necessary.
A simple oscillating fan could have solved the whole mess.
The mini fridge wasn’t plugged in when we arrived, but meh, I know to check for that in most hotels right away. We didn’t get a chance to eat in the bar/​restaurant.
Parking was very expensive, but we could come and go with the car as we pleased while we were there.
Overall, we didn’t have a lot of options for this trip. We wanted to be close to the wedding, but needed a room for 5 — and they delivered.
No crazy noises or disturbances in the middle of the night — lovely!
Also a PLUS — the Hotel is very close to a Safeway (which sells wine & beer!) so we were able to kick back in our room and relax! AND there is a stop for the Circulator Bus right around the corner! For $ 1.00 you can ride down into the capitol area, and it runs every 10 minutes… so anyone complaining about the Metro didn’t ask the concierge for advice on how to get downtown!

Andrew D has it right on. The location and free shuttle can’t be beat. The hotel is clean, the staff are pleasant, and I don’t need anything else in a hotel.
Yes, as one reviewer posted, you are at the far end of the city, but it’s easy to get around if you plan it.
The shuttle doesn’t run 24/​7, and it can take a while for them to pick you up if you don’t call in advance, but the DC Circulator has a stop right across the street, is $ 1/​ride, runs every 15 minutes, and takes you to most every metro stop. It’s a little too far to walk to M street, where the excitement is, but there are plenty of transportation options.
The lobby includes a little convenience shop that carries most everything you might pick up at a drugstore or 7 – 11. And the prices were so great! I think we paid $ 6 for a ton of snacks and drinks.
The restaurant is expensive, but worth it if you are too tired to venture out. The breakfast buffet was way overpriced, but a la carte and regular plates are average price. We ordered in room service for dinner one night after a long day out. It was awesome. The ribeye steak and salad and fish and chips were so great. Pricey, but worth it for a delicious and relaxing dinner in.
There is a parking lot attached to the hotel and costs $ 35/​day, if I remember correctly. It’s the price you pay for driving your own car. You’re going to pay for parking anywhere you go in DC, and often more.