The Westin Embassy Row Hotel

, Washington, United States
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The Westin Embassy Row Hotel

, Washington
2100 Massachusetts Ave Nw - Washington - District of Columbia - 20008 - United States Hotel Website | 202-293-2100
338 Traveller

Reviews - The Westin Embassy Row Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of The Westin Embassy Row Hotel

What a find!

from BostonWino
What a great hotel this is. It's like a palace located amongst all the other palaces and mansions lining Embassy Row. I was in room 216, which was huge, with a king size bed, sitting area, big screen TV and large marble bathroom. The room was immaculate, and everything looked clean and new. The room came with a coffee maker and premium coffee and 50 inch flat screen HDTV. It's located in the historic neighborhood near Dupont Circle, and the nearby area is a dining mecca.

Lovely, convenient, in the action

from vashonisland
Watch the VP's entourage zip right by as he heads home at night! The lobby is bustling with all sorts. But it somehow is private feeling, plush and welcoming. There's a Starbucks on the corner, and fab. pizza and pretty good sushi a short walk away. Friendly service, incredible housekeeping. All wonderful, all helpful. Just a short couple blocks to the train, too.

Like a Good Private Club (with a Few Flaws)

from tearose
My wife and I stayed here for five nights last September in a newly renovated room on the sixth floor, looking out at the Lars Anderson house next door.

Our room was one of a number of very small rooms (hotel maps showing the room sizes are posted by some of the elevators). However, notwithstanding its small size, it was very nice. It was newly decorated in a very traditional but nonetheless attractive style, and I came to appreciate the room, notwithstanding its size.

The chief strengths of this hotel, it seems to me, are (1) its location on Embassy Row (grand old mansions, and a pleasant walk either to Georgetown, to the Metro, or to the numerous restaurants around Connecticut Avenue and P Street); and (1) the exceeding friendliness of the staff. From the doorman to the concierge to the staff in the lounge, all seemed genuinely friendly and personable.

By the way, I concur with most of the other recent posts, and especially with the lengthy one dated January 2, 2009.

Since I got our room at a good price, I was pleased with the price/value ratio. If I had the financial resources of some of the guests I rubbed elbows with in the bar, I would treat this property like a private club -- not perfect in every detail, but my club nevertheless. Lacking their wherewithall, I'll probably return here only when the price/value ratio again tilts in my favor,

Great location and friendly staff

from elliot8814
This hotel was a great find for a recent business trip. I love the Embassy Row location for two reasons: first, the street itself is fairly quiet - not a lot of street noise to wake you - and second, it's a block and a half from the Dupont Circle Metro Station for when you feel like exploring the city (and hearing all the noise). My room was large and comfortable, and the only issue I ran into was my in-room coffee service not being refilled most days. (A call down to the front desk always had that remedied, but it was still a bit annoying.) The hotel gym was one of the best I've ever seen with plenty of equipment and amenities. Most importantly, perhaps, I'd like to point out the staff, all of whom were exceptionally friendly and who constantly provided excellent recommendations for food, shopping, and entertainment at night. It is hard to get a rate here that is within our company's hotel limit, but when I can, I book here as soon as I know I'm going to be in town.

Left hungry

from Human44
This place is run more like a private club than a hotel. The Jockey Club (the only restaurant on the property) is closed between 10:30 am and 11:30 am. I was told the kitchen is cleaned each day and there is no food service available in that period. Couple this with a noon check-out, and this means you had better get downstairs by 10:30 am if you want any food before you depart.

This arrangement may work well for the hotel's hygene, but it leaves guests who arrive from the West Coast (late, delayed by winter weather) with the choice of being tired or hungry. I opted to leave hungry, but one should not be faced with this choice at a 5 star establishment.

Elegant - Carming -

from miamiskyboy
I stayed at the Fairfax for only one night. But it was enough for me to decide that this hotel is odd. This hotel is different from other in the Starwood System. I am a Gold SPG member and travel often. This hotel used to be a Westin. Now its part of the Luxury Collection brand. My impression is its neither. The hotel is in a class by itself. It lacks identity with any of the Starwood Brands. Its supposed to be part of the Luxury Collection. But sure does not act or feel like one of those other property's.

When you arrive at the hotel it seems luxurious and cozy from the outside. The Bellmen and valet greeted us almost immediately on the royal red carpet. All that was missing was the white gloves. They where elegantly uniformed and the entrance, while small, was elegant and reminiscent of another era. The hotel sits in a rather posh part of town close to Dupont Circle and across the street from the Indian Embassy and others.

Check in was a quick, friendly, and efficient. The again elegantly dressed agents where very polite and made you feel welcome. The lobby however was small, cramped, and disappointing. It has great potential. You can tell they have tried to make it work. But it does not. The area for check in is small and uncomfortable. There are steps and no ramps for the luggage. Its a very old building. But the hotel lobby is more 1960 Howard Johnson then 2009 Luxury Collection. Elegant wood adorns the walls and paintings abound. But its not luxury. The restaurant and lounge areas are nice and cozy. But they look tired and worn.

Elevators to rooms where ok. They are old and vintage. But they could use a little more up keep. My room (702) was small but lovely. Be sure to get one of the rooms 700 - 720 with the nice views. The rooms in the back face a generators, machines, and a dirty roof. Not very luxurious at all. They have made no effort to make that area even re motley nice. Its awfully. This are could be canvassed and landscaped to make more pleasant. I was fortunate to have an amazing view of Mass Ave and the Embassy across the street. But my friends in (726) had that awful view. The rooms in the back with the bad view have full bathtubs and are larger. The rooms upfromt with the nice view only have showers.

Room was very elegant and clean. Super clean. The room smelled good and looked luxury. New flat screen Tv, elegant British toiletry's. Frette Towels. A lot of the basics of a luxury hotel. But it was still lacking. My room did not have robes. I had to call. According to them the housekeper simpl forgot. to place them there. But I think they just don't put them in the rooms unless you ask. In a true luxury hotel. The robes are always there. They did send them right away which was nice. The room has a nice closet and ample bath. I-Pod compatible deluxe stereo for music which was very nice. A beautiful old style alarm clock was a nice touch. Hotel has free shoe service 1 pair per room daily. The Internet charge is 10 per day. Bathroom amenity's where nice. But very basic. Glycerin soap by sink, bath soap in shower, bath gel, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. They do not provide mouthwash and other toiletry items youd expect at a luxury hotel.

If you are en Elite SPG member. This hotel does not have SPG Gold/Platinum dedicated check in lines. There is no SPG floor, no concierge lounge, no recognition except for the key card holder. No welcome amenity noting to make you feel special. They do not even provide a free bottle of water in the room or anything. But they did honor the 4PM check out for me and that's a huge benefit. But it still would of ben nice for the hotel to recognize a frequent guest in some way. But they did not see to really care if you are a preferred guest or not.

The 7th floor is unique in that it has a seating area just outside the elevators. Its a cozy seating area and we sat there a few times just to chat or wait for each other to get ready in the mornings or at night on way to dinner. Its a great meeting place and a wonderful concept. We enjoyed this area very much. The gym was small but well equipped and very clean. They had magazines, tv, and bathrooms. But there was no fruit, no bottled water, and no sauna, spa, whirlpool, swimming pool or any of the amenity's one has come to expect of a luxury hotel.

The Concierge was not always at his desk. So I had to call 3x before I got through. He was very informative and well versed on the area and where to go. But he was also somewhat obnoxious. Other hotel staff members lack the Grace and training of a St. Regis or a Ritz hotel. But you can tell they are trying.

The hotel is an a great location and a very safe neighborhood. Its 2 blocks from the Metro (Dupont Circle) station and within walking distance to many sights, a 24 Hr CVS, and restaurants.

Stay here for the neighborhood, the plush rooms, and easy in and out check out. But if you are looking for a true 4 star experience. I suggest going somewhere else. If you do stay here - take the train (Red) one station over to "Woodley Park" and eat at "Gotham City" its open 24 hours a day and its a landmark in DC.There breakfast is served all day and its divine!

Nice hotel, good location, but families beware

from Hobie4
The Fairfax is a completely redone hotel which just reopened. It was formerly a Westin. The hotel is about a block from Dupont Circle -- an excellent, central location in DC. The Metro was about 2 blocks away; many fine restaurants and Georgetown are within walking distance. We are a family of 4 -- two adults and two teens. Our room was very large, with two queen beds. The room had to be at least 30 feet long -- plenty of room to stretch out. A smallish, but luxurious bathroom completed the picture. A couple of oddities: what we thought was a closet was double doors covering a large duct system in the room (should have been a locked door, and why in the room??). There was a second duct panel right next to the bed, which was a board set about 3 inches away from the surface of the wall covering a metal heat duct (not a louvered vent, but a door-like panel). Very odd remodeling (but it made no difference to the quality of the stay). For families, a warning: the only restaurant on premises is The Jockey Club, which required a jacket and tie for men (we have 3 "men" in our family). We didn't bring any, so no dinner there our first night (we'd arrived late, were hungry, tired, and had no desire to go out -- oh well, we had to go out). We ended up at The Front Page, right around the corner. Excellent food! Pasta, burgers, steaks, all good food. We asked the hotel concierge about Segway tours for the next day -- he had no idea what we were talking about, and had little interest in helping us find out. Quite unhelpful for a nice hotel (we've never had this issue with any hotel concierge anywhere). The hotel charges $10 a day for internet, so print your plans ahead at home. There were very few free WiFi spots around the immediate area. By the way, Segway tours only operate in season -- even though it was in the 60s when we were there in late December. Overall, it was a nice stay at a luxury hotel. Dupont Circle has lots to offer.

t go there

from Frequentflyer00
I attach a copy of a letter I sent to the 'customers service' manager 12 days ago - by email and by post. I never received a reply. The letter speaks for itself. I paid $364 dollars for 9/10 December night (one night) in which I underwent the experiences I describe below. Judge for yourself.

Mr. ****
Director of Guest Services
Fairfax at Embassy Row

Complaint re noise, disruption, poor service at the Fairfax at Embassy Row

11 December 2008
Dear Mr. ****

I stayed stayed with my husband at the Fairfax for 2 nights 5-7 December 2008 and the night of Tuesday 9 December.

First I want to say that the individual staff we met were, without exception, courteous and helpful. Despite this we had several problems at the hotel to the extent that I regret staying there, especially on 9 December. I am very unlikely to stay there again or to recommend it to anyone.


9 December/ 10 December

We came in from New York at about 10pm that night. We immediately went out to Dupont Circle to eat and were back in the room around midnight. We had to be up at 05.45 to get to Dulles to fly to the UK. In other words we were paying $365 to have a good night’s sleep before we travelled. The issue was that the boiler was unbelievably noisy and the noise could not be stopped. The noise went on and on even after we had turned off the heating (Washington was then in a cold snap so the temperature was below freezing outside). After about an hour trying to sleep we phone your house manager who could only suggest that we moved room as there was nothing he could do about the boiler noise. So at 01.30 we had to get dressed, get repacked and move to another room after one had been found. We had then (by 02.00) less than 3 and a half hours left to get some sleep. Given the serious disruption, of course we both ended up with no sleep at all. I have the following specific questions.

1. Why did you rent the room out knowing how noisy it was?

2. Your staff had on record the previous problems we had had at your hotel on 5-7 December. Why did you then put us in a room where the problems were even worse?

3. I do not think that you can be said to offer anywhere near what would be expected from even a basic bed and breakfast i.e. an uninterrupted night’s sleep. I do not think we should be charged for this night. Could you please assure me that you are not going to charge – or if you have already done so, that you refund my credit card.




5-7 December/ 10 December

1. On both days we were there, we came back from a day out in the evening to find no turndown service. The room was not therefore replenished with towels and the bed not tidied up (or the room).
2. The first day I called your guest services and they told me there should be a turn down service, they apologized that it didn’t take place and it said it would take place the next day. It didn’t
3. There was an empty hanger left in the bathroom on the back of the door but no robes provided on either day.
4. On the first night we had to call the night manager as when we got into bed we found that the bed had been made with sheets far too small for the bed (they didn’t cover the mattress); a mattress cover too small; and the duvet had been put on the bed without a duvet cover. This meant that the sheets were riding up and coming off the bed and the mattress cover was bunching up in the middle of the bed under the too small bottom sheet. The night manager had to find sheets, a mattress cover, a duvet cover and make up the bed – around midnight. We had to get dressed (after both of us had had long flights) and wait while it was all sorted out- thus causing the first of the major disruptions we had at your hotel.
5. The second night the message light was flashing on both phones in the room and yet the phone message system repeatedly informed me there were no messages. I phoned down to the desk and they told me they couldn’t stop the lights flashing, even though there were no messages, short of sending up security. As we were both in bed and couldn’t face getting dressed and having yet another disruption, we pulled the telephone plug out of the socket to stop the flashing lights in the room. The next day I was told by Tony (the day manager) who was very helpful that in fact there had been a message. I presume this was from a work colleague but as I never received it, I will never know.
5. Throughout the whole of the stay in this room, the boiler was very noisy but intermittently so. We just put up with it.

You will now that the manager (Tony) gave us some compensation for the problems faced on 5-7 December which was appreciated. I probably wouldn’t even be writing this letter if it hadn’t been for the absolutely dreadful experience we had had on 9 December which indicates to me that there are real management issues here and that our experience the first time was not merely a ‘one off’. It seems to me that, despite your renovations, the structural problems (the extraordinarily noisy boiler system) and the housekeeping service (almost nonexistent) means that you should not be operating as a hotel at the moment.

I would appreciate your feedback on the above. As at present I cannot see any reason not to post the whole of the above on trip advisor, expedia, laterooms, lastminute.com, hotels.com, to warn potential visitors that they should not expect the basics at your hotel i.e. an uninterrupted night’s sleep and room and bed made up properly.


[No reply two weeks later not even an acknowldgement but $364 taken from my credit card for one night] - hence the posting

Best Value for your D.C. Dollar!

from brig70
After staying in many D.C. hotels, this will be the only one I'll choose for my next trip. The hotel is about a 15 minute cab ride from Union Station. I believe it used to be a Westin. Change over from different properties usually scare me, as there is "leftover" from the previous hotel's style. This was not the case here. Wonderfully decorated and clean. It feels like you are in a D.C. hotel with the richness and decor of this hotel. Clean and elegant without being "stuffy."

The front desk check in was quick and easy. A bit quaint but welcoming lobby area. Well appointed staff with everyone being professional and courteous. Two elevator banks a hallway apart from each other. The hallway between the two elevators had nice b/w photos of various Embassies in the area and made you feel as if you were in a posh museum.

I booked a king size bed and the room was very, very impressive. Not too small, but for an overnight trip it was perfect. I felt the room to be very clean and well lit. Comfortable bed with awesome pillows. Very nice plasma T.V. and wireless internet access for a nominal charge. The bathroom was very nice and had an electronic scale, nice shower and again, very clean. You felt as if you were the only one that ever stayed in the room.

I went down to the bar for a quick drink. Nicely decorated and made you feel as if you were in a board room with a nice fireplace. Very cozy place especially for the winter.

I wish I had a longer stay as I really enjoyed this hotel. I can't find anything negative to say about my stay nor this property. I will definitely come back to this and look forward to calling this my "home" whenever I am in D.C.

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from mambero
Very nice hotel, well located, very friendly staff. We only stayed one night, but loved the hotel.

Top Local Tips for Washington

be careful with your metro card keep your metro card away from your cell phone and credit cards! I knew about the credit cards, but I put my card next to my cell phone and it was demagnitized. Don't bother going to Metro Center for a refund; ask the agent for an envelope to mail ticket back... they will mail you a refund.

Meskarem for GREAT Ethiopian food It's the best I have ever had in any city. Located in Adam's Morgan, it is an easy walk or quick taxi ride. There are a lot of other Ethiopian places, but this one is the best. Look for the yellow and red sign.

Buy a Metro day pass!! A day pass is $6.50 and you can zip your way around D.C., avoiding mile long walks and the weather.

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Other names for The Westin Embassy Row Hotel

  • westin washington dc
  • washington dc westin
  • the fairfax
  • Address: 2100 Massachusetts Ave Nw - Washington - District of Columbia - 20008 - United States
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