Kimpton Banneker Hotel — Attraction in Washington

Overall: 5/5. Excellent. This new property is off to a good start. It's a smaller property, with an intimate living room and supplemental seating area beyond the elevators. Although only floors 1-4 are in use, and only the lobby restaurant is open, there is little doubt that this hotel will be a hit. We are looking forward to our next visit, once the additional floors and rooftop lounge bar are open! Rewards Club Recognition- 5/5. Excellent. Upon check-in, we were verbally thanked for our loyalty. Our room was upgraded, and we were offered either 600 welcome amenity points or $10 Raid-the-Bar/Food & Beverage credit. A welcome amenity of fresh fruit, two large, bottled waters, & three small cans of soda) was present in the room. The social password was good for a small, branded flask. We felt like valued guests at this property. Staff- 5/5. Excellent. When we arrived in the early evening, there was no valet station or personnel, which was odd for a property that offers valet parking only; so, we parked in the valet area until we had loaded our belongings onto a luggage cart that we found in the lobby area. Then, we moved the car into a nearby street parking space. After a short wait for the reception staff, we were checked into the property by Dionne, from Miami, who was very welcoming. Throughout our stay, she was engaging and such a great example of someone who makes each guest feel special. Without skipping a beat, she would routinely greet us and other guests who passed through the lobby, all the while paying due attention to the guest before her. Matthew, the physics graduate who was at the reception during the morning coffee service, was polite, friendly, & knowledgeable about the hotel namesake, Benjamin Banneker. When we needed more of a coffee fix, he was able to recommend a nearby coffee shop, in addition to having a Nespresso machine sent to our room. Accommodations- 5/5. Excellent. We were assigned a ‘Studio Suite’ room on the 2nd floor (210), and we were happy. It was exactly as pictured and advertised on the hotel and chain websites. We recommend this room type. The bed was firm, as were the pillows, and the furnishings were new and unblemished. Decorative items were enough to show the modern, clean style of the hotel, but not so much as to be cumbersome. The bathroom sink had plenty of counterspace, and the walk-in shower was spacious. The windows that open do run the length of the room, which provides plenty of natural light, but our room overlooked the street, which meant noise from the street below can make its way in. Upper-level floors may have less street noise, once they are in use. The climate control worked well, even against the 90+ degree (F) temperatures outside. No luggage stands were in the room; adding one might prevent guests from having to either leave their bags and roller boards on the floor or put them on the new furnishings. Breakfast/Meal Options- 4/5. Very good. The signature Kimpton wine/social hour is from 5p until 6p daily in the lobby restaurant, and complementary morning coffee service is offered at the front desk from 6a until 9a during the week. Espresso machines are available for use in the room by request. The usual minibar items are available at the front desk since the minibars themselves remain empty during the pandemic. The Lady Bird rooftop bar is not yet open. Le Sel, the lobby restaurant, is closed during breakfast and lunch, but it is open for dinner each evening (except Sunday). The food was stellar; we had such a good experience that we chose to return the second night for some additional appetizers and a dessert. It's a fantastic restaurant; I'll come back just for the food! Jonny, our server, deserves kudos for the great experience he provided, as does Cicelio the bartender. Each are a tribute to the leadership of James, from the Food & Beverage department, who was engaging, pleasant, and appreciative of...

Booked through Priceline at a very decent rate. Loved the hotel at first glance. First evening (Friday) checking in, I went to grab dinner to return to the hotel and not have my keycard work. They told me it was an electrical problem and called the electrician. All in all, it took 30-45 mins until the electrician was done changing the batteries, which he stated was the issue, while I stood in the hallway or sat in the room with my dinner getting cold (I felt uncomfortable eating dinner with the electrician standing in my room). The following evening I had plans and did not return back to the hotel until just after midnight, after having spent the day in 100+ degree heat. Once again, my keycard wouldn’t work, but this time they said they had no electrician on site and that I would just need to stay in another room without any of my belongings (nothing to change into after my shower, or brush my hair/teeth). I told them this was unacceptable and they needed to have a backup plan to get into a room. They told me they didn’t have a backup plan and to sit in the new room with A/C. After an hour their solution was to bring me a toothbrush and toothpaste. I told them again this was not a solution and personally began to call 24 hour locksmiths. Which is what they should have been doing at 12:15am, rather than me doing it at 2:30am. I finally, at around 3am, asked the desk person why I hadn’t spoken to the manager and they stated it was because he was “unreachable.” Once again, I informed them how unacceptable this was. At 3:30am they put me on the phone with the manager who was nothing but rude. He basically said they were offering me a room, so why wouldn’t I just accept it; it wasn’t like I needed to stay on the street. I told him I was hot and sweaty and wanted to shower and what was I supposed to wear, to which he told me the hotel bathrobe. I said that was very unfair and I wanted access to my own belongings, to which he said that wasn’t going to happen until the morning. I stated I would phone the police to ask my rights, as I placed my belongings in a room I had paid for, which now was locked and I had no access to my stuff. So, I hung up and asked for an officer to come to the hotel. As I was waiting, a cab pulled up and a man got out and entered the lobby. He walked over to me and said, “You’re very beautiful. You’re too beautiful to be this upset. And I think the person you’re upset with is me.” This was the manager I had just spoken to on the phone. He then proceeded to tell me how I should be grateful that he even got out of bed to come see me. I thought that was his job...customer service?!?!?!?! The officer came and he lied to her about all he had been doing for me, but she told me she wouldn’t bang down a door for my pajamas. So, in the end, I slept in a hotel bathrobe without brushing my teeth or hair at 4am. I was awoken at 7am to retrieve my belongings from the first room, now that the electrician was back on site. I lost the entire day site-seeing on Sunday because I slept all day because I was so exhausted. And the icing on the cake...the jerk manager is refusing to allow Priceline to refund me for the entire stay. He says I only got locked out for the two nights, so the third I can pay for. Even at a discounted rate, this hotel is NOT WORTH IT! The customer service has been some of the most horrible I’ve ever encountered. Even calling head office did nothing. The fact that this manager feels empowered to treat people the way he did me, is what is the...

In short, this stay was a disappointment. The Kimpton Banneker wants to be a luxury hotel (and charges like one) but unfortunately conducts itself like a budget hotel.

We only stayed one night but encountered issue after issue:

First, we arrived quite hungry and found that, despite having a restaurant and room service, they have no food options during lunchtime. Strange but fine.

The biggest thing for us: The rooftop. Because my friend was on crutches, we decided to splurge on a deluxe room at a hotel with a beautiful rooftop so we could enjoy the view. Unfortunately, it was not advertised that they shut down the rooftop for guest use last year and it is only available to be booked for private events. This felt quite misleading and, knowing what we know now, we would not have booked the hotel.

My friend forgot her phone charger. We noticed a "forgot something?" card in the room which included chargers and stated that they would run out and get something if they didn't have it. When we inquired about the charger, we were told they were out at the front desk and that we would have to go to purchase one at CVS down the street. Felt again misleading to say they would get it on the card and then refuse to when asked.

We paid ahead for the deluxe package which included a pre-paid breakfast. The service was probably the worst I have experienced at a hotel restaurant. It took over 30 minutes to get just coffee, to the point where I just got up and grabbed coffee in a plastic cup from the lobby. The waiter noticed this and didn't acknowledge or apologize. Beyond this, they were out of the crab toast -- the one thing we were looking forward to -- as well as the shoestring fries. I'd understand on a weekday morning but it felt like a miss for a Saturday brunch. Moreover, it took nearly an hour for our food to arrive, so much that we had to check in with the staff twice to see when it was coming. When I asked our main waiter, he shrugged and said he wasn't sure. All -- and I mean every single table that wasn't being dined at, I'd say 4-6 tables -- around us were covered in dirty dishes for the entire duration of our meal. There seems like there is very little urgency to stay tidy / clear tables.

We decided to get some snacks/drinks to put in the fridge and to call it a fridge was a joke. It kept nothing cold -- basically a cupboard. When the snacks were delivered, there was no one to bring them up to us; instead we had to come down to the lobby to retrieve. We ended up having to throw everything out at the end of our stay.

Staff was nice but the front desk answering the phone was odd. Usually the front desk will say "hello, how can I help you" or "front desk" as a greeting, but more than once we were greeted with "hi" and then silence. It made me think we dialed the wrong number.

The room was nice -- comfy beds, nice shower -- but the TV was very dark (to the point where we had to shut the blinds to see anything), which was also strange. Other pros: Good walkable location, free wine happy hour, ability to request late checkout.

Overall, I would not recommend the Kimpton Banneker. I would expect this from a budget hotel but not from an establishment that's trying to bill itself (and charge) as luxury. I'm typically not one to complain but, man, it was just issue after issue in less than a 24 hour period. It wants to be 4 star but acts 2 star....