Hotel AKA Alexandria — Hotel in Alexandria

I stayed for about a week here last month and I want to be brief but thorough. I frequent the AKA White House and I love that location so when I saw there was a location in Alexandria, I decided to try it out. Please be known that this location is much smaller than the AKA White House. I accidentally booked a room that was more like a general hotel room than the apartment style rooms that AKA White House is known for.

I immediately was switched to a bigger room when I noticed my mistake which leads me to talk about the customer service. The customer service at the front desk was EXCELLENT and honestly the only good thing about this location. They were attentive, accommodating, and apologetic when things went awry. While I do not recommend staying here, the employees at this location were more than amazing.

My issues with this hotel:

Maintenance: I had an issue with the shower in my first room and the "engineer" didn't show up until the morning. The "engineer" tried to fix the issue but I took a shower again that night and the issue remained so I ended up moving to another room. In this room, there was a dead bug on the floor so I had to wait again for the "engineer" to come and clean it up.

Location: While, yes, this hotel is located near Old Town Alexandria, it's a bit far from all of the restaurants and shops. There's a Harris Teeter, a coffee shop, and one restaurant in immediate walking distance but you'd have to walk a bit far for everything else. This isn't a huge deal generally but for the price, I would recommend staying closer to everything than this hotel.

Parking Valet: The cost to park was $44/night which is a lot. Also, this may be petty but I could not stand them opening my door every time I pulled up, as soon as I pulled up. I didn't have time to gather my things before they'd come and pull open my door and then just stand there.

Rooms: I feel like, while cute and modern, the rooms leave a lot to be desired. The lighting is abysmal and it's usually extremely dark in the room. They have overhead showers so if that's your thing then you'd love it but I cannot stand overhead showers. There are no microwaves and the...

Update After Checkout:

Though I stand by my various areas for improvement, I’m updating my review from 2-stars to 4 for a few reasons:

1. our stay improved after that first day, including having the internet working flawlessly the last two days of our stay.

2. our room, and the hotel overall, were actually very nice (though the lack of attention to the various details I highlight below still were surprising for a property of this quality).

3. the front desk manager Adam went out of his way to make up for the various issues we were having and ensured our stay improved after those first 36 hours. His responsiveness to our concerns made a big difference.

Original review: This supposed 4-star property isn’t yet ready for prime time. I’m staying here now and we’ve had a terrible experience, despite staying in one of the nicest rooms available (a one bedroom suite on the top floor).

Where to begin…perhaps with the internet that has maybe worked 2 hours out of our 36 here so far. Or how about the bait-and-switch “Autumn special” that included breakfast when we booked, but failed to mention that the restaurant isn’t yet open for breakfast so what’s included is coffee and a croissant at the coffee shop off the lobby. Add that to the terrible tv interface in the rooms that claims to allow casting from your favorite streaming service but doesn’t work, no towels or cups for water in the gym, no place to get ice or fill water bottles on the floor, only one towel hook in our enormous bathroom, meaning one of us has to leave our wet towel draped over a chair in the room, etc., and you get a hotel that looks nice, but fails at so many important details that makes a good hotel stay. Oh, and the hotel is far away from the sites and action in Alexandria. Won’t be staying here again and will be asking for a refund for our special “breakfast” package so we can use that money on a real...

I recently had the pleasure of staying at one of the most eclectic and beautiful properties I’ve experienced. I opted for a 2-day staycation on a Thursday and Friday, and it was an excellent choice. The property itself was stunning, with a unique blend of design and decor that made every moment spent there feel special.

The entire staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful, which made my stay even more enjoyable. I appreciated the location of the property as well; there were numerous restaurants and areas within walking distance that were both safe and vibrant. Additionally, the on-site bar and cafe were very convenient, offering a great place to relax without needing to venture far.

However, I did encounter one issue during my stay related to valet parking. While I appreciated the convenience and efficiency of the app they use for retrieving vehicles, I discovered a dent in the bottom of my car door upon returning home. Unfortunately, I did not notice the damage before leaving the property, which I regret, especially since I witnessed another guest expressing concerns to the valet staff about his truck the day before.

Given this experience, I would recommend avoiding valet parking if possible to prevent potential damage to your vehicle. There are plenty of parking options available around the property that guests might consider instead.

Despite this minor setback, I would absolutely stay at this property again. It was a delightful experience overall, and I look forward to returning...