Great hotel and location
by TripAdvisor Member mlh53
Just returned from a 5 night stay at the JW Marriott and loved it. Paid only $129 a night when originally booked; asked for an upgrade at arrival and they gladly gave me a room with a great view of the Wash. Monument and the city beyond. Rooms and baths were small but well appointed and nicely decorated. Location is great if you're here to see the Mall, the Smithsonian museums, the Monuments, and the White House is only 2 blocks away. Pleasant staff but conceirge rec's were not always on target. Overall a very good experience. I'd stay here again.
Remove the JW branding from this place
by A TripAdvisor Member
This place always depressed me. The location is awesome, near all the great sites. The lobby is nice, and in some ways spacious and welcoming, despite the cavernous open spaces looking down to the lower levels.
Rooms are small and unremarkable. The concierge lounge was poorly maintained and offered strange food options. Room service is average.
The sports bar, SRO, or something like that was poorly maintained.
The hotel is attached to a dying pavillion of shops. Not a mall and no anchor stores.
Go two blocks away and stay at the Marriott Metro Center.
Worse than your typical airport Marriotts
by TripAdvisor Member Calfan
I travel on business nearly every week and I can say that this hotel tops my list of least favorites. First, the price, $309/night. Not bad for the location, but the hotel was awful. First, let's start with reception. There must be hundreds of rooms in this cell-like hotel, and the line was about 20 people deep trying to check in on a Monday evening. They only have room for four or five agents to check people in, which is just not sufficient for the volume of customers coming into the hotel. Second, even though I paid such an extraordinary price for this hotel, they only had smoking rooms left to give me. Third, the room itself was about the size of my college dormitory, smelled like twenty years of stale cigarette smoke, all of which was weighing down the curtains which were far too heavy and old-fashioned for a room in 2004. I'm sure those curtains looked great in the late 1970s, but they've definitely lost their lustre. Fourth, the size of the room didn't stop Marriott from trying to squeeze in a large overstuffed chair, however, there was no room for it, so they put it in the only space it would fit, which was against the wall and along the side of the only closet. I had to move the chair or walk over it whenever I needed to get to the closet. This hotel was worse than some of the smaller Marriotts that I've stayed in, and surely does not deserve a "JW" or any other distinction.
Well Pleased...A Little Noisy
by TripAdvisor Member grumpymakesmehappy1
My family and I stayed at the JW for 6 nights in early June. We found the hotel to be very clean and in an excellent location. We had a bit of a misunderstanding with the front desk upon arrival but it was quickly cleared up with one phone! The receptionist should have called with an apology but never did. We found the concierge to be very helpful and always will to assist us. We were treated graciously from the bell service to the security. We were highly impressed with the security of the hotel. The only complaints we have about the JW was the hot tub was broken and the hotel was a bit noisy. But that can be expected from a hotel that caters to conventions. Word of advice...instead of paying the pricey buffet (around $60 for a family of four adults) breakfast downstairs go around the corner to REEVES BAKERY and RESTAURANT. The buffet is about $7 an adult and they have great sandwhiches. The food was wonderful and the service was great!!!!
A decent hotel in a good location
by A TripAdvisor Member
We picked the JW Marriot for the location (close to White House and within walking distance of major sites) and got a good deal through priceline. The hotel was decent for the price we paid, but there was nothing special or great about the room or service at the hotel. Positives: clean room, good location; good food and fast service at restaurant (1331). Negatives: room was on the small side; concierge service was not that great and way too busy - they had one concierge to answer questions on a busy weekend in June & we got bad directions to restaurant & to a nearby shoe store; and there is not a great customer service attitude at the hotel. Overall, I would not pay full price but if you are going to be sight-seeing and just need a decent, clean place to sleep nearby major attractions this hotel will fit the bill.
