Situated right next to George Washington University. Three blocks away from metro. And if you like to walk. it's only 30 mins from the mall and the monument.
We stayed here when the building had just been renovated. The rooms were clean and basic, with a shared bathroom (for the room we stayed in). Did the job pretty well.
Basic accommodation, but tidy and clean. I stayed in a private room with a shower, which worked fine. The room had a TV, towels and soap but no safe for anything valuable. There was a free buffet breakfast, which was toast, coffee, bananas and donuts, so not fancy but you can eat as much as you like.
I think the guests might have been a mix of long stay and those on holiday so people come and go at all hours and there was a quite a lot of street and traffic noise in my room so that's something to consider if you're a very light sleeper. Bed was comfortable and clean.
It is in a good location for the Lincoln M - in fact it is impossible not to be able to find your way to the historic sites as you can see which direction to head in almost as soon as you step out from the Allen Lee. There seemed to be a decent selection of tour pamplets etc... and staff were helpful.
It is an older building inside and lacks the 'hotel' feel so don't stay here if you prefer newer, more upmarket surroundings - it is a Hostel enviroment not a Hotel environment despite the name. The room's door was a bit rickerty and might concern some people. I paid the same for a 'budget' room here as for a much more luxury room in Chicago but for price it seems average (to me) for Washington D.C and on par with the type of / price accommodation I used in New York. I booked through Hostelworld.com as it appeared to offer different rooms on offer than the Allen Lee Website.
I'd seen some very negative reviews and some equally positive ones so I would advise taking everything into account before booking. I really don't think it would be for everyone. However I stayed here on my own and I felt safe. The staff were polite and helpful and I'd stay here again.
Computer with internet access available for free 7am-11pm. If there are people waiting to use it they request you're only on it for 10 mins so it's not hard to get on to send emails etc...
on August 25, 2002
on May 22, 2007
on April 12, 2008
