JW Marriott is one of the flagship brands in the Bonvoy family. I always look forward to staying at one of these properties, despite I live out of suitcase 35 weeks a year. On the surface level, this property is elegant and refined. It’s an older property, but the maintenance team does a good job at keeping it painted and repaired. I specifically like the elegant bars and out of the way nooks you can find here. It’s very comfortable accommodations.

The checkin process is easy and world class. We arrived after a week-long cruise and chose to stay for two nights as a way to recover from the trip. Since we arrived around 10:00 AM our room wasn’t quite ready but our front desk associate, Hannah, made us feel welcomed and valued. Tough to find a professional like her today. I mentioned to my wife as we were leaving the property later that week, “they should make Hannah the manager of this place.” She was charming and wonderful. She explained that she would contact us when the room was ready and the Bell team would manage our luggage for us. When it was time to check in, she quickly provided our keys and explained the luggage would be taken to our room shortly. Considering we had 6 heavy bags, that was more than appreciated. Thank you Hannah.

Our room was comfortable and had a panoramic view of the city. We spent considerable time in that room, so I appreciated the comfort and elegance it offered.

However, this is where things started to suffer. The towel rack above the toilet was nearly hanging by a thin piece of drywall. Certainly not the first time this was seen by someone. We requested a small fridge for my wife’s medication around 8pm the first night. Why doesn’t the JW already have a fridge in each room? Even La Quinta includes those. I was told they would send one up. 1 hour later I called again, and asked if I had misunderstood their response. She apologized and said she would personally make sure one was sent up immediately. After waiting another hour without a delivery, we went to bed.

Next morning, we went to breakfast inside the hotel. The buffet is very nice and has a lot of delicious options. Probably the nicest breakfast spread I’ve seen at a Marriott. However, beverages, including coffee, are delivered by a server. We never had a server greet us at the table. After finishing our meal, I stood up and searched for anyone who could help. No one was to be seen. I continued looking for another minute and found a woman cleaning a table. She didn’t speak English well but in my limited Spanish I asked for coffee. She said she would have someone bring it. Again, 5 minutes goes by, and no coffee. I start to search again and find a self-serve coffee station in the smaller room of the restaurant. Of course, it’s empty. I find another server and beg for coffee. Yes sir, we’re bringing it now. 5 minutes again and no coffee. My wife and I are both frustrated and I finally see the maître D who I explained the situation and request coffee from again. Two minutes later, we finally have coffee at our table. Extremely subpar experience for JW Marriott. The next day of breakfast was much better service.

One day, we sat out at the pool and had a round of mimosas in the morning. When I went to pay for it the bill came to $42 for two mimosas. This included an 18% service charge or tip. That’s a pretty significant gratuity on two mimosas. We’ve had mimosas around the country and this is by far the most expensive outside of an ultra pool in Vegas. They can charge whatever they want and I expect high prices at JW Marriott. Just putting it out there.

They have a nice gym at the property, including a nice sauna. You’ll have almost everything you need for a good workout.

Bonus tip: For dinner stop at the DC Pie Co, which is walking distance from the hotel. It is literally the best pizza I’ve ever eaten in my life.