AKA White House — Hotel in Washington

I only decided to write this review after I reached to the hotel with an email and received no response.* I am writing to express my frustrations regarding my recent stay at your hotel. I am a government employee who recommended this hotel to my colleagues. My stay was from February 23, 2023, to March 22, 2025.

From the moment I checked in, I encountered several issues:

Billing Issue: Initially, I was attempted to be charged the full amount of the entire stay plus a deposit. I was unaware of the limit on my company credit card, which was an oversight on my part. Because the transaction exceeded my credit limit, it was declined. I requested until the next morning to resolve the issue, and it was agreed that I would pay the settle the balance.

Room Lockout and Customer Service: After returning to the hotel from work with groceries, I found myself locked out of my room because the balance had not been fully settled, per the front desk. The staff's attitude was extremely rude and lacked understanding of the situation. I requested to speak with a manager but was told none was available. I was given the card of Mr. Cubbage, whom I contacted once I regained access to my room. Mr. Cubbage assured me that the situation would be resolved and that I could speak with him directly for any further issues during my stay.

Room Condition and Odor: Upon check-in, the room had a smell of food, which I initially did not consider a major issue. However, the odor persisted even after housekeeping sprayed the room. On February 25, 2023, Ms. Coleman asked me to come to the hotel at 1 pm to switch rooms due to the odor. I informed her I was working and would return during my lunch break, requesting to speak with both Ms. Coleman and Mr. Cubbage. When I arrived, I was only able to meet with Ms. Coleman and was told there were no available rooms for me to switch to, which was a waste of my time and effort.

Reservation Transfer Attempts: Following this, I contacted another AKA White House hotel to transfer my reservation. I was told the transfer could only happen if the current reservation was canceled, which I knew was not feasible. I later learned I had not been speaking with the general manager, as I requested; his name is Mr. Gillespie. After reaching out to Mr. Gillespie, he assured me he would resolve my issues and successfully found me a different room the same day, for which I am grateful.

Cleanliness Concerns: During a cleaning, I discovered stains on the mattress, raising serious concerns about hygiene standards. I discussed this with Ms. Hutchinson-Richards, who assured me the matter would be addressed.

While I appreciated Ms. Coleman leaving me a bottle of wine and a drink pass as a goodwill gesture, these efforts did little to offset the overall dissatisfaction caused by the unresolved issues. I chose your hotel over others because of amenities such as loyalty points and a complimentary breakfast, expecting a higher standard of service. Unfortunately, my experience left me feeling undervalued as a guest.

I sincerely hope you will consider this feedback seriously and take steps to improve the quality of service. I would appreciate any follow-up on how these issues might be addressed to enhance future guest...

Here is a summary:||1. There is absolutely no amenity but one bar soup. Even the towels won't be replaced unless you call and request.|2. Your room will not be cleaned and the bed will not be made ever throughout your stay, but they charge $35 per night, in addition to what you paid already, no matter whatever website you booked with.|3. The heater is angled and the bed is located right where the heat will blow directly to your face, make it extremely dried|4. The horrible smell of marijuana the whole night. It started from 11pm to 12am. Lasted until 2am-ish. I spoke to the reception the next day at 7am, and the receptionist (whose name starts with M) aggressively deposed me for no reason that "why did you not report it last night," and said "we need to investigate whether it's true or not." and their eventual response to the horrible, suffocating smell of marijuana the whole night was attached hereto as photos. Why would I be treated like that when I have a right to demand a room change?|5. No hot water in the shower after 5 minutes. You better hurry.|6. No room clean service, while you are charged $35 per night, no matter how much you paid to your booking service website. This is extra. And their parking is $70 per night, which is also extra - very expensive even as a DC rate.|7. the whole place is not managed at all. It is dirty. Just see the photos I attached hereto at the trash can area in the elevator lobby. The photos were not taken on the same day but the trash around it were not cleaned for at least 24 hours. Filthy.||Definitely not a family place. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The staff seems to acknowledge that the receptionist guy whose name starts with M has had troubles with guests in the past. If he is not happy with his job as a receptionist, he should look for another job soon.||The management will argue in response to my post that I granted the duck-tape repair. No I did not. If I had a choice, I would prefer to move to another room, as "M" suggested he would do after he spoke to his supervisor and after the "investigation." That did not happen. They never figured out what the problem of the marijuana smell in the non-smoking facility and their response is duck-tape. No one ever called to confirm if we are okay after the duck-tape repair. ||This early morning when we check out, around 5:45am, there was no one. There were guests other than us and we were all puzzled because they assured us 24/7 receptionist available. So I know even if I wanted to report the marijuana smell at 3am, of course there won't be anyone. All guests including us waited for about 30 mins and left. We called the hotel's general number all along, which rang the phone at the reception, but of course there was no one to answer. ||Also, this place has a serious issue in the lobby with a bad odor of propane gas. It not only endangers the health of the guests, but your employees too, to a serious degree. In addition to the smell of propane gas, there was a smell of cresol - hospital disinfectant - all around the lobby area this morning when we left. I am glad we could escape from this...

Here is a summary:

There is absolutely no amenity but one bar soup. Even the towels won't be replaced unless you call and request. Your room will not be cleaned and the bed will not be made ever throughout your stay, but they charge $35 per night, in addition to what you paid already, no matter whatever website you booked with. The heater is angled and the bed is located right where the heat will blow directly to your face, make it extremely dried The horrible smell of marijuana the whole night. It started from 11pm to 12am. Lasted until 2am-ish. I spoke to the reception the next day at 7am, and the receptionist (whose name starts with M) aggressively deposed me for no reason that "why did you not report it last night," and said "we need to investigate whether it's true or not." and their eventual response to the horrible, suffocating smell of marijuana the whole night was attached hereto as photos. Why would I be treated like that when I have a right to demand a room change? No hot water in the shower after 5 minutes. You better hurry. No room clean service, while you are charged $35 per night, no matter how much you paid to your booking service website. This is extra. And their parking is $70 per night, which is also extra - very expensive even as a DC rate. the whole place is not managed at all. It is dirty. Just see the photos I attached hereto at the trash can area in the elevator lobby. The photos were not taken on the same day but the trash around it were not cleaned for at least 24 hours. Filthy.

Definitely not a family place. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The staff seems to acknowledge that the receptionist guy whose name starts with M has had troubles with guests in the past. If he is not happy with his job as a receptionist, he should look for another job soon.

The management will argue in response to my post that I granted the duck-tape repair. No I did not. If I had a choice, I would prefer to move to another room, as "M" suggested he would do after he spoke to his supervisor and after the "investigation." That did not happen. They never figured out what the problem of the marijuana smell in the non-smoking facility and their response is duck-tape. No one ever called to confirm if we are okay after the duck-tape repair.

This early morning when we check out, around 5:45am, there was no one. There were guests other than us and we were all puzzled because they assured us 24/7 receptionist available. So I know even if I wanted to report the marijuana smell at 3am, of course there won't be anyone. All guests including us waited for about 30 mins and left. We called the hotel's general number all along, which rang the phone at the reception, but of course there was no one to answer.

Also, this place has a serious issue in the lobby with a bad odor of propane gas. It not only endangers the health of the guests, but your employees too, to a serious degree. In addition to the smell of propane gas, there was a smell of cresol - hospital disinfectant - all around the lobby area this morning when we left. I am glad we could escape from this...