Embassy Suites by Hilton Dulles North Loudoun — Attraction in Ashburn

How the mighty have fallen

I stay at this Embassy Suites about once a year. I normally am pleased with the hotel, although this last time was a marked departure from the past -- so much that I am having to post a review here on Google to warn fellow travelers.

The good: The bartendress was pleasant and made great drinks, and the breakfast was fine, although I guess people have stolen all of the silverware because all the utensils were plastic.

Problems:

The African American gentleman (man #1) that checked me in was nice, but he didn’t tell me what time happy hour nor breakfast was. I forgot to ask, and since they are held at weird hours (5:30 to 7:00 PM for HH and 6:30 to 9:30 AM for breakfast), I had to get the information from somewhere else. That info was not available from the front desk because no one answers the phone. I called twice; 1st to report a room problem (below), 2nd to ask what time breakfast was. I had to go downstairs to actually talk to someone.

The carpet next to the bed was soaking wet, which I noticed whe I took my shoes off. I called down to the front desk; no one answered. After about 20 rings, and knowing there was no way I could stay in that room, I went down the 6 floors. It was worked by a younger man (man #2) this time; I reported to him the issue. He said that I would need to get my luggage out because they would zero out my key in order to issue another key, i.e., they couldn’t give me the key to another room so that I could transfer my belongings from one room to the other. I was stunned and said as such since I’ve had to change rooms in other Hilton hotels, and never have I had to vacate a room in order to move to another room. He gave me some BS story that made no sense and conflicted with everything that I’ve experienced before. I went back upstairs and repacked everything. I then pulled out my three large bags to schlep down to the front desk where I was given a key to the room next door. I then schlepped everything back to the 6th floor.

Considering that the ES is doing double front desk duty (they cover the Homewood Suites next door since there is nobody working that desk), you would think that management would staff their front desk sufficiently. And if it is staffed sufficiently, you would think that management would train their staff better so that guests are not having to go up and down the elevator numerous times for any sort of customer service. And elevator cab 1 is a joke because after the doors close, the elevator doesn’t move for about 3 seconds, like it’s wondering if it really wants to go up or something.

Another thing I have issue with is that they charge $12 for parking. I expect to see this when I am staying at a downtown hotel where real estate is prime, but this ES is in the middle of nowhere. No, this is a way to gouge their guests. Unfortunately, you can’t park close by somewhere else to avoid paying the charge (I tried, driving around the area, and there are too many signs in other parking lots noting that you will be towed). After I saw that I couldn’t park elsewhere, I told man #2 that I would need parking, and man #1 said, “Oh, NOW you need parking?” I told them to charge it to my room, which they couldn’t wait to do, probably giddily so.

I went to the 6th floor ice machine, and it wasn’t working. The common-sense thing to do would be to put a sign on it, but that appears to be lacking at this hotel. I had to go to the floor below for ice.

Conclusion: Considering that I stay at this ES regularly, this is the first time that I am considering staying at a different hotel for my trip in April. This ES is better than a Motel 6, yes, but it is certainly not of the caliber one expects from an ES. As a Hilton Honors member (I was Diamond for a couple of years but lost it recently), I was hoping that I would get a survey so that I could communicate these issues to ES management via that mechanism (and not in such a public forum), but no such luck. But at least I am able to warn other...

I cannot recommend this property under any circumstances. I have been a Hilton Diamond HHonors member for over 20 years and have from time to time encountered minor issues with Hilton properties; but, generally, those were minor and were addressed by the managers. Sadly, this was not the case with manager for the Embassy Suites North Loudoun. ||First, I had a late night arrival at 1 am with delayed flights due to weather. I had attempted to do a digital check in via Hilton’s app; but, it ran into unspecified problems so I called the front desk at about 9:30pm their time and finally got to someone after waiting 15 minutes with the phone ringing. I let them know that I would have a late arrival. As a Diamond member, I obviously have a reservation guarantee.||No surprise - in retrospect, when I arrived at 1:30am, they had cancelled my room and charged a “no show” fee. The kind front desk clerk did give me a room; but, it was not the type I reserved. She did not correct the “no show” fee nor did she re-establish my reservation. Basically, she altered the rate from my guaranteed rate to something much higher. As a government traveler, I am restricted to the Government Rate, so this became a month’s long fiasco with dozens of hours on the phone with Hilton to get it fixed. The hotel never answered their phones and despite assurances the manager would call me back to correct the error, he never did. In the end, I had to dispute the overcharges through my credit card.||Second, as an asthmatic, I needed t have a feather free room. When I checked in, I asked the front desk to swap out the pillows. It took one and a half hours for that to be done - at it was only done by me physically walking the feather pillows down to the front desk and returning to the room with one single foam pillow. The front desk clerk promised to have the room addressed later that day. On my way out of the hotel at 7am for my day of work, I reminded the front desk about the need and they were not aware of the issue - but assured me that it would be done. Nonetheless, when I came back from working at 6pm nothing had been done. I stopped at the front desk on my way out for a dinner meeting and reminded them that I needed the room defeathered. When I returned at 9pm, still nothing had been done. So, I stripped the room of all feather products, walked downstairs and dumped it all at the front desk. ||About an hour later the manager (name started with an “A”, maybe Andy?) stopped by to deliver one pillow. I told him about the persistent failure that day. He apologized and assured me that the room would be addressed the next day. ||Well the next day, I reminded the front desk again as I made my way out to work. When I returned, nothing had been done. I reminded the front desk again and asked to speak to the manager again. He “wasn’t available.”||In the end NOTHING WAS EVER DONE before I checked out. In addition, when I saw and let the front desk know that they had mistakenly changed my room rate, they apologized and said only the manager can fix that error. She assured me that he would do so and he would call me to confirm the correction. The following week, I tried calling him at the hotel numerous times; but, they rarely answer their phone and the few times I did get a person, the manager was either “not there” or “in a meeting.” ||I then called Hilton’s Diamond Desk and they kindly worked on trying to correct the errors. They also tried calling the hotel and - even for them - it took tens of minutes to get to a person. Furthermore, when they did get to a person - the manager was “not there” or “in a meeting.” They told me that the manager would fix the error and would call me back. Neither happened.||I finally disputed the overage charges and filed a complaint with the GSA, the Department of Consumer Affairs,...

My email to Hilton: I am writing to express my profound disappointment and utter outrage with the abysmal service and unacceptable conditions I have experienced during my stay at your Homewood Suites Dulles North/Loudoun location on August 2, 2025. What was meant to be a relaxing stay has been nothing short of a disturbing and deeply offensive ordeal, leaving my family and me feeling neglected and disrespected. I am paying a premium rate of $400 per night for a service that has failed at every possible turn.

The issues began long before we even arrived. Despite completing an online check-in the night prior, I was unable to get a single person on the phone after three attempts to inquire about an early check-in. This foreshadowed the complete lack of customer service we were about to endure.

Upon our arrival two hours before the standard check-in time, the front desk was unattended, with the staff member instead in a back office. While I understand that our room was not ready, an hour later we were informed that our assigned room, 221, was suddenly out of order due to maintenance. This felt like a deliberate and unprofessional delay.

We were then given room 281, where we were greeted not with comfort, but with a glaring hole in the wall. This is a basic, unacceptable failure of maintenance and quality control. To make matters worse, all attempts to report this issue have been met with an unanswered front desk phone.

The situation has now reached a point of complete absurdity and neglect. As of 11:30 pm on the night of our stay, my two-bedroom, three-bed suite has been provided with a total of two washcloths. My wife, who is two months pregnant with twins, requested additional washcloths at 9:00 pm. It is now two and a half hours later, after several follow-ups, and we still have not received them. My children have been given the two washcloths we received, leaving my pregnant wife and me unable to properly bathe.

This is not only an inconvenience but a significant source of stress for my wife, who should be able to rely on a hotel to provide basic amenities and care. The front desk remains unresponsive as I write this letter. It is incomprehensible that a hotel with the Hilton name, charging a premium rate, can fail so completely at providing the most fundamental comforts...