Crowne Plaza College Park - Washington DC by IHG — Hotel in Greenbelt

FULL Review w/Pros and Cons

Pros: -Good buffet breakfast (french toast/pancakes/waffles, potatoes, bacon, sausage, eggs, oatmeal, variety of cereals, muffins, breads, fresh fruit). Breakfast tends to be the same every day, except for pancakes, waffles, and French toast that they switch out. The hostess for breakfast are so nice!! A pleasure to talk to. If you would like breakfast, you have to pay for it there or you can get it included when you book your room. Server at Tugwell resturant for dinner on Sunday was nice! Kudos to her for holding things down so professionally. Great customer service! Rooms are nice and clean. Refrigerator in room. However, please be aware...the refrigerator does not stay cold and does not run cold continuously. There is a "quick chill" button you can press that cools your food for 2hrs. Other than that, it's not running. I've learned from a previous experience, to always make sure the quick chill button is activated (have to press after 2 hrs). There was a time I didn't know the fridge wasn't running cold continuously and the next day, the fridge and my leftover food in the fridge, was warm and I had to throw everything out. What a waste of money!! Didn't risk getting sick. Gym - Very nice gym. Variety of machines: treadmills, elliptical, bike, free weights, leg and arm machine, etc,

Cons: No ice machine on the floors. It seems there used to be ice machines on the floors (see pics of ice machines removed). There's not even an ice machine on the main lobby floor. There are small complimentary bags of ice in zip lock bags in the store (a little larger than a sandwich bag). However, ice isn't always available. I went to get ice one night in the deep freezer where the ice is kept and it was empty. Nothing. No ice. Front Desk wasn't any help. At all. So, no ice. All the zip lock bags they use to store the ice seems pretty wasteful and contributes to the increase of plastic waste thats having a negative affecting the environment, wildlife, etc. No microwave in room. There is a microwave in the main lobby store on 1st floor. Microwave needs to be cleaned. Do housekeeping ever clean it? Front Desk staff need training in customer service. Some of them were so rude, not helpful, unaccomodating...just seemed like they had attitudes and didnt do their best when trying to rectify a problem. Please provide staff with training on customer service. Elevators are horrible and seems potentially unsafe. Elevator to the left wasn't working twice during our stay. This one woman on the elevator stated she was stuck on it on 5 mins earlier in the day. Another woman had mentioned that she got in the elevator, the door would close, but it wouldn't move. It'll just stay there. She got off and we went on the elevator to the right. We notified the front desk staff and she didn't really address the concerns, as if "oh, this happens all the time" kind of response. Someone in the elevator with us told us while she and her daughter was in their room, another guest had entered their room. Hotel guest had assigned 2 people to the same room. This is 100% unacceptable. Body wash, shampoo, and conditioner is provided in the shower. However, there is no shelf in the shower to put products. We brought some of our own products and we had nowhere to put them. There's also no foot shelf. No foot shelf no soap shelf. As mentioned about, the fridge does not stay cold, it cuts off . Always make sure the quick chill button is turned on if you're in your room. Quick chill turns off after 2 hrs. Read above comment in "Pros" section for more info about fridge.

Would we stay here again? The hotel has a lot of potential. If they addressed the issues expressed above, I would give them another opportunity to earn my business. If the issues aren't addressed, I wouldnt stay...

The level of customer service for such a beautiful hotel was terrible to say the least. My family and I drove 3 hours to help my sister who recently had a baby and was overwhelmed. They paid for a room for us to stay in not far from their house. Upon arrival/registration process, I was told the room was not paid for and I would need to pay about $461 for the 2 nights. After getting the paperwork I noticed a different card from mines showing and questioned it. With an annoyed tone the rep said it was only to hold the room, which still needs to be paid for so sign here. I completed the check in process as I was already exhausted and just ready to get some sleep. My mom and children went up to the room while I looked for a parking spot. After getting upstairs, I noticed the door would not lock at the bottom, but decided to ignore it and use the top latch. I noticed my mom who is anemic,, sitting with her head wrapped up and shivering. I asked what was wrong with the heat she said it wasn't coming on but maybe she didn't know what she was doing. After trying it myself, I noticed the thermostat was not working at all, it was an old time wall thermostat with the switch on the bottom and temperature buttons to adjust. No lights were displayed to indicate it was working so I called down to service desk to get it fixed or moved to another room. By this time it's a out 11:30 and had worked since 6am. The woman answered the phone and after I explained what was going on replied, there are no utility workers on shift, the hotel is completely booked and the only option is to get some blankets to us. I said fine reluctantly and waited for the blankets. The security guard brought 2 blankets for us a few minutes later and said normally you just have to turn up the heat to warm it up. He checked it out and said wow you're right, nothing IS happening. Maybe then can put you downstairs. This time my mom called the front desk and was met with an unfriendly even more annoyed tone. After another explanation of the heat situation, my mom asked to speak with a manager; she was told, "There is no manager, we are fully booked and I'm busy right now." My mother said there is no way I'm paying all this money to stay at a hotel with no heat, if you can't help me then we'll take our money elsewhere. She then said you're welcome to leave which we did. After speaking to my sister, she was furious because the Crown Plaza had an affiliate hotel right across the street. The agent could have tried just a tad bit more to act like she cared about her guests. Customer Service is the face of a business and that experience could have been managed so differently. If I could give 0...

Overall, I had a pleasant visit and appreciated many aspects of the stay.

Room & Facilities Upon arrival, the room was clean, orderly, and comfortable. I didn’t see any complimentary drink or refreshment offered. The room was pleasant. A hairdryer was missing. I also didn’t see a bathrobe, which is usually provided. Additionally, there was no hygiene tool for cleaning the toilet bowl after use — something I believe would help maintain cleanliness and is generally expected in such settings.

The lighting system in the room was also somewhat inconvenient. There was no master switch to control all the lights, so turning them on and off required operating each one individually — a small ritual every time I entered or left the room.

Food & Beverage The restaurant served tasty food, though the variety was somewhat limited. That said, the service made up for it — the waitress who assisted me was outstanding. She was attentive, detail-oriented, and made sure everything was just right, including knowing exactly what to pour into my glass.

As for the coffee, the quality was somewhat disappointing. The capsules provided in the room weren’t enough, and the coffee available elsewhere in the hotel wasn’t quite up to standard. I would have appreciated a proper espresso machine or at least stronger coffee options.

The bar closed quite early — around 10 p.m., the staff were already starting to pack up — and it wasn’t possible to order from the restaurant afterward. The small market offered only a limited variety of food, which left few options late in the evening.

Staff & Service I arrived over the weekend, and the weekend staff stood out in the best possible way — noticeably more friendly, warm, and helpful than the weekday team. Their welcoming attitude genuinely enhanced the overall experience.

Elevators & Accessibility Unfortunately, there was a major issue with the elevators during my stay. They didn’t reach my floor (15), stopping only at the 12th. Even then, wait times were often over five minutes. As a result, I had to take the stairs from the 15th floor twice a day for two days.

We were offered the option to use the service elevator, but accessing it required going through the kitchen — a route that wasn’t comfortable or suitable for guests.

Thank you for taking the time to read my feedback. I share these comments in the spirit of helping improve the experience for future guests. I truly appreciated many aspects of my stay and look forward to seeing how the hotel continues to grow and improve.

Kind...