Hawthorn Suites LTD Alexandria Hotel

, Alexandria, United States
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Hawthorn Suites LTD Alexandria Hotel

420 N Van Dorn St - Alexandria - Virginia - 22304 - United States Hotel Website | 703-370-1000
222 Traveller

Reviews - Hawthorn Suites LTD Alexandria Hotel

3/10
Good service, fair facilities
Submitted by: Donna in 31/05/06
  • Age Group: 41 - 50
  • From: United States
  • Traveller type: Budget Traveller
The staff was friendly and helpful, and the shuttle to the Metro was very convenient. The breakfast could use work, and the rooms were fair, bathroom was really too small. Good for a nite or two.
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Historical Traveller Reviews of Hawthorn Suites LTD Alexandria Hotel

Location is a pain in the neck--subway too far away and strict hours for van

from suzyq425
Our experience with service was awful. First of all, most employees didn't speak English, didn't want to learn and acted like they didn't understand even when they did speak English. It took hours before requested linens were brought to the room--ultimately we had to go get them. The staff clearly could care less how the experience of the guest went. The subway was 2 miles or so from the hotel and a van took us there but the hours were so strict that we had to be very careful about getting back in time to get back to the hotel. They had free dinner each night but it was nothing spectacular. Frozen lasagna and the like. The breakfast in the a.m. wasn't too bad. Waffles were good. They would go shopping for you at no extra charge but apparently sent someone who didn't speak English because what was brought back was not what was requested. The place was clean and spacious. Don't stay here. Pay more to stay somewhere else.

Had many laughs over this dirty hotel

from macsue1
First off let me say that you should not even consider staying at this hotel. Right from the moment we checked in which took over an hour ( we had 5 rooms) and the women at the desk couldn't even smile or talk with us. The hotel has an odor which smells like cats. We had 4 rooms on the 6th floor and 1 room on the 5th floor. 3 out of the 5 rooms were dirty. As we were bringing our luggage into one of the rooms, we noticed that there were actually filthy towels hanging up!!
We had reservations for 3 days and were glad that we were gone all day and did'nt come back till after dinner. They actually have candy dishes in the room with a few pieces of candy and the candy dishes were smeared with food or dirt, we couldn't tell. Please do yourself a favor and choose another place. Even if you have to pay a few dollars more it would be worth it. I have never written a review before, but I couldn't let this trip go without mentioning our problems.
We had 11 people with us and made the best of a bad situtation, but please avoid this hotel at all costs!

Some ups and downs

from A TripAdvisor Member
We arrived on a Tuesday (5/23) and left on a Saturday (5/26). We checked in around 2:30 PM and wanted to take the Metro into DC. The hotel shuttle did not begin running again until 5:00 PM and the desk told us where we could pick up a bus to reach the Van Dorn St. Metro station, which we did.

When we arrived back at the Metro station in the early evening, we were happy to see the shuttle waiting. We were even happier to see that the hotel served a simple, all you can eat, dinner until 7:30 PM. This included all the beer on tap, or wine, you wanted. The meals were simple, (salad, meatloaf, potatos, vegetable) but better than I expected. The breakfast was also simple, though not quite as good as I would have expected.

The next day (Wednesday) we arrived back at the metro station around 6:15 PM (in order to ensure there was food still available for dinner) but had to wait 25 minutes for the shuttle. In fact, we had to wait 25 minutes on Thursday and again on Friday. Although the schedule is every 15 minutes, the evening shuttles were more like every 30 - 40 minutes.

We also noticed that our used towels from the previous day were still hanging in the bathroom where we left them to dry. Ironically the cleaning staff knocked on our door at 7:15 AM that morning to clean the room. We were not out yet, and had asked them to come back later. Our room did not have a "Do Not Disturb Sign" to hang on the door.

After dinner I went to the desk and they provided me with clean towels. They told me that I had a "Do Not Disturb" sign in the room, but it was not there. I called the desk from my room and requested them to put one on my door during the night, which they did.

When we left I asked the staff member at the desk for the best way to get to Rt. 395 South. She had no idea. I showed her the Yahoo directions. Based on that she gave me partial directions which took me much further out of my way than was necessary.

I think a number of the hotels in the Van Dorn/Alexandria area offer similar services. Based on the shuttle frequency, I suggest that one compare Hawthorne Suites to Washington Suites. We would see 2-3 Washington Suites shuttles come and go while we waited for our one Hawthorne shuttle.

There were positive and negative aspects about our stay. Generally, for the price I thought the stay could have been a little better. The most positive surprise was the dinner Tuesday through Thursday...although the late shuttle pickups brought us back twice when some of the food was nearly gone.

Hated it

from vchap
This was by far my absolute worst experience in a hotel or motel (and I am including a stay in a Motel 6 when I was in college)! It was also one of the most expensive stays given that I paid peak prices b/c I traveled for work during the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival. The hotel has potential-- as others have said, the room was spacious and my King suite had a full kitchen which was a plus. I traveled with my aunt and my 5 month old. I overlooked the fact that they put us in a smoking room (though I had requested nonsmoking) b/c the room smelled fine and was clean. Of course, later that night in the hall I felt like I should "stop, drop, and roll" it was so smoky. I also ignored the fact that the door to the closet fell off its hinges when I opened it. What I can't get over is that there was no heat in the hotel (despite it being only 50 degrees at night). They supplied us with two heaters, one of which apparently had a short and promptly knocked out the power in my room (including the phone) requiring me to walk downstairs to report it. The maintenance person unplugged the heater, but didn't tell us not to use it and never reset the one in the living room where my aunt slept on the pull out sofa. When my aunt called for extra blankets they never came. She heated the room with the gas oven for almost 12 hours before I realized it! Mind you that I paid top dollar for this ridiculous experience. My baby and I spent a cold night in the room and the next morning I plugged in the heater to knock off the chill before I got in the shower and you guessed it, the lights went out again. I showered and dressed for my meetings in the dark and talked to the front desk. Again they reset the power in the room and advised me not to plug in the heater. The only compensation they offered was to bring my aunt a couple of ginger ales later in the day. On top of all of this, I left my cell phone on the charger in the kitchen. I called from the airport for someone to retrieve it. Well, whoever returned my phone kept the charger. It took five days to send it to me (when I offered to pay for overnighting it)and my charger is nowhere to be found (but my phone is fully charged so clearly the two items were together when I left the room). I am disappointed with this hotel and would recommend any place over this one. I could go on, but I won't. Service was lacking and the hotel is being operated far, far below its potential. I regret ever having taken my family to this place.

We were pleasantly surprised

from A TripAdvisor Member
This is an older apartment building turned into hotel and the size was incredible. It was the size of a normal 1 bedroom apartment, fully furnished. There were 2 double beds in the Living room, a queen size pull out sofa sleeper in the living room, a kitchen with frig, microwave and stove, with cooking utinsels, dishes and the works. We only stayed one night, but we wished we could have stayed longer. It was HUGE (865 square feet). The bathroom was fine and the beds were comfortable.

Breakfast was eggs, hash something, waffles (which were actually tasteless, I've never run across that before!) you make yourself, cereal, apples, juices, pop all day long, etc. We saw several small ants by the toaster and told the staff and they were calling maintenance as we walked away, so I'm assuming they were taking care of it.

The staff was friendly and helpful. There are two fast elevators. The bathroom was okay (worn), and the apartments themselves are not new, but were relatively clean (I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars). They had a nice swivel mirror in the bathroom with magnifier on 1 side (only women truly can appreciate this). parking was nearby. We were told the Metro was 1 1/2 miles away, and that they had a shuttle to take you there.

We booked only 1 night here, and then were booked for 4 nights at the Americana. After checking into the Americana, we called these guys back as we would have rather had the extra bed room, but they were not only solidly booked up, they told us they had over booked (yes, they had oversold what was truly available). I asked them what they would be doing and they said they'd have to help people, if they all came, find other accommodations! Good luck. it was cherry festival week in D.C. and believe me, nothing shy of $450 was left.....

Bottom line, we'd stay there again, but it wasn't super new or super clean, but the size really made up for it. We took a blow up mattress and everybody had their own bed, so it was great.....

Better Than Expected

from Drew48160
This was my first time staying in a Hawthorn Suites hotel, and I was favorably impressed. The hotel isn't the newest or flashiest hotel I've ever stayed in, but it was better than I expected. The rooms were large and clean, the free breakfasts and "dinners" (Monday - Thursday) were fine. The shuttle to/from the nearby Metro station was a nice feature.

The hotel itself doesn't have many amenities. The pool wasn't open yet (we were there in early April), so I didn't get to try it out, but it looked decent. The dining rooms were nice enough, and the lobby was small but acceptable. That was about it for the common areas.

We did have one problem during our stay: the weather changed suddenly, and it took the hotel maintenance staff a full day to switch from air-conditioning to heat, so we had a chilly night one night.

Great Value, Great Stay

from NeonJungle
I had to rate my stay as "Excellent." As some have said, this is an apartment building that was converted into the Hawthorn Suites, and I knew that in advance after reading reviews here. So the dated look of the building and the "older" decor didn't bother me -- it's a typical 70s type apartment structure. I liked the decor better than that of the Georgetown Suites in DC/Georgetown.

That said, the rooms were huge! Rather than a kitchenette as in some suites, this room had a full kitchen, albeit a little small. In the bathroom, there was a vanity, and a padded stool to boot -- soemthing I've not found in other Suite hotels.

As others have said, the hotel offers a complimentary full breakfast in the mornings, and a light dinner in the evenings. On the refrigerator in my room was a schedule of the month's dinner offerings. The table was set with placemats, cloth napkins, etc.; and there was plenty of coffee, sugar, etc. in the kitchen. Additionally, as others have said, there was microwave popcorn and a jar of candy in the room.

The rate was fabulous, the location very convenient, and the plusses of the nightly light dinner and morning breakfast, along with there being no parking fee, make this hotel a great place to stay.

What made the stay even better was the helpfulness and attention of the staff -- from the representative who checked me in, to Mike, the Sales Manager on duty during my stay, and the representative who checked me out and went out of her way to help with directions, check me in on-line (the computer in the lobby was being tweaked by the technical guy), and print my boarding passes.

I have to give Mike some kudos; several times, I noticed him talking with many other guests, asking about their day, following up with them on things they'd mentioned to him -- he went the extra mile to remember the guests and make them feel welcome/at home.

I'd definitely stay here again.

Very convenient and a good value hotel

from 130881
We stayed at this hotel last week and it was excellent. Very good free breakfast buffet and from Monday to Thursday in the week there was an evening buffet with free drinks including alcholic drinks. Very convenient for Landmark Mall which has two very nice resturants only a 5 minute walk. We stayed in a two bedroom suite which was very good. The staff were very helpful and the hotel minibus to the metro was very convenient. Parking was difficult at the metro in the week but there was plenty of space and free parking at the weekend. Free internet use in the reception which seemed to be well used by everyone. A lot of reviewers have said about the traffic noise but it wasn't that bad and we had a room overlooking the beltway and there is a bus stop right outside the hotel.

Perfect for families

from beachcomber87
This past summer we stayed at the Hawthorne Suites hotel and were very pleased with our accomodations. The spaciousness and layout of the room provided plenty of space for parents and children. A separate bedroom with sleeper sofa, dining area and full kitchen were very nice to have available. The cleanliness of the room was excellent. Televisions were in both sleeping areas. The view from the room was pleasant as it overlooked a stream nearby the hotel. The wonderful hot breakfast was especially convenient in order to prepare for the long days walking in D.C. The late afternoon-early evening meal was sufficient but limited in choice. The shuttle to the Van Dorn Metro was very nice but we would have liked more frequent runs during the day. The staff was attentive and helpful, especially when our son lost his cell phone, they were very efficient. It was returned the next morning by the shuttle driver who had found it after we had returned on the last shuttle the night before and the cell was left at the front desk for us to pickup. We have nothing but the best to say regarding this hotel for families who are budget-minded.

Hawthorne Suites - Outstanding

from A TripAdvisor Member
A friend and myself recently visited D.C. for the weekend with our daughters and stayed at the Hawthorne Suites Hotel. We had a free hot breakfast provided each morning, a free shuttle to and from the Van Dorn Street Metro stop and a very spacious room. The hotel was just a couple of mintues from the Landmark Mall and easily accessible from Interstate 395 or 495. The staff was very helpful and pleasant in all the we asked and I will definately be recommending this hotel to others.

Top Local Tips for Alexandria

SPring in DC ..Beautiful I suggest staying in Alexandria during the spring. You don't have to deal with all the crowds and high prices in DC for the cherry blossoms, yet you have easy access to go in and out of the city. Alexandria is only 8 miles away and they have subway trains that go into the city for about two bucks.

Why can't all cities provide transportation like this Leave your vehicle somewhere and take the mass transit system of DC. DC is a congested driving town and the best way to get around is Metro and bus. Website will also give you directions on how to get places and which buses and station stops to take.

Alexandria VA Alexandria is a great place to stay if you want to avoid paying high prices in DC. Also there is fun boutique shopping in Old TOwn.

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Other names for Hawthorn Suites LTD Alexandria Hotel

  • hawthorn suites dc area
  • hawthorn suites alexandria
  • alexandria hawthorn suites
  • Address: 420 N Van Dorn St - Alexandria - Virginia - 22304 - United States
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