Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters, member of WorldHotels Distinctive — Hotel in Washington

This hotel sports probably the worst customer service of any hotel that I have ever stayed in. It's like a real life Fawlty Towers. Two of the African American staff members are racist and some of the others are rude. Truly a couple of the staff members had been decent. But the ones that were bad were so bad as to effectively destroy the experience. Arriving on Monday evening for a Workshop I was told that I would have to pay $60 a night for valet service. The sign outside the door clearly stated that conference attendees needn't pay for valet parking. In my naivete I thought that the workshop must be offsite, lest why would this hefty woman be insisting that I had to pay and insulting my intelligence in explaining it. This was during a rainstorm that no cover in front of the hotel protected from in the walk to it. I wish that they could train staff to at least act like decent human beings and fire ones unable or unwilling to act this way. Fortunately a more petite woman said that it would be no problem to add the vale service to the bill but the first went out of her way to try to talk her out of it and did scare here enough to make here require me to provide what likely amounted to the entire email thread with the workshop coordinator to prove that the organization sponsoring the event would pay for it. This was, again, in spite of the sign assuring that event attendees need not pay the valet. Towards the end of our stay—the evening (around 7pm) before check-out we requested a check-out from the African-American gentleman at the desk his tone was rude and his demeanor condescending. He insisted that we had to wait until the next morning to make this request. He didn’t bother to offer a time and said 7 a.m. when pressed. At around the time one of us made the request for a late check out (having to have set the alarm to get up early to do so). At this time the concierge insisted that we had to have done it before 11 pm the night before and that the late check-outs were already booked up! Though he begrudgingly gave us an hour which he implied would have been longer had we done it the night before (which we had attempted to do but been lied to about not being able to), it was hardly what we had to go through to get it. At one point the undersupplied food ran out before I got a chance to eat and though it was not my choice of lunch material, they were good enough to specially make more. Other staff members were helpful and kind as well. Unforuntaly, again, the bad was so bad as to render no choice but to give this hotel the worst possible overall rating. And this didn’t even mention the insane elevators and confusion among the staff as to where events were taking place. At one point in trying to locate the event, the front desk staff simply made up a location out of thin air without bothering to check, which turned out, of course, to be the wrong one. The first morning, in a wheelchair, I went up and down the elevator five times as I got continually misdirected by the staff. Also, if you don’t have a key card in the elevator you get locked in it and can, in some, find no easy way out. The doors won’t open if you don’t have a key card inside. I had to go to the cellar and interrupt somebody’s work there in operations in order in order to get him to use his key card so that I could get out—the elevator would only let me go to cellar to get out! Different elevators go to only some floors for no apparent reason. The place is like some kind of a bad dream. At least I can honestly say that I have found what is likely one of the worst hotels in the...

This is an ideal hotel for a brief business trip, or for booking a convention/seminar.

I was in town for a job interview, and found the Beacon to be clean and comfortable. The people who worked there were extremely helpful.

I was nervous because after I booked I read some negative reviews. However when I arrived, I was happy to see it was perfectly fine and had a pleasant stay. I've never written a review before, but felt compelled to after reading the reviews and comparing my experience, and wanted to give some additional insight for people concerned about the complaints. So if you are in a similar situation, I'll explain honestly why I think there are some negative reviews:

1. It is listed as a "4-star" hotel, which is misleading. It's not a bad quality hotel, but if you were expecting 4-star, you might be upset and leave a bad review. I think its quality status is earned from its event-hosting facilities, which I got a peak at and found to be pretty solid quality.

2. Complaints of it being "outdated." The key cards are the type that stop working if you touch them with your cell phone, so make sure to store them in separate pockets. And the key card mechanisms on the door sometimes don't work right away (you need to kind of jerk them around a bit to activate). However, as previously stated, I didn't find this to be that big of a deal because the workers were super helpful. It also made me feel confident that no one would be able to break into my room. As far as reviews stating that the furniture, etc. is outdated, I don't really understand the complaint but I guess if you were expecting 4-star maybe that is a valid complaint. To me, being up to date means being able to accommodate technology use, which it did. It had a good number of electrical outlets, the bedside table lamps in my room were the kind with both a regular electrical outlet socket and a usb port. Had reliable Wi-Fi. Decent quality TV. Bathroom had good water pressure. Coffee machine and water bottles were in the room.

3. Complaints about smell. I think it is located near a restaurant or perhaps the kitchen in the hotel is ventilated poorly, but the hallways do sometimes smell like food. The smell didn't reach my room that much, though I vaguely smelled it once or twice. I have a very sensitive sense of smell, but it was not potent enough to bother me personally. I was also not worried at all that the smell would get on my clothes, both because it was not potent and because I could leave my clothes in the closet, effectively sealing them away. Reading the complaints in some of the other reviews got me nervous, but honestly it is not something to worry about. Though I could see if you were there for a long vacation why you might be annoyed.

Overall, I think this is a great hotel if you're in town for a night or two. It was perfect for my purposes. If that is what you are looking for too, don't let the negative reviews scare you off. If you are on your one vacation for the year and looking for a spa-like experience, I would look elsewhere. I also went downstairs at one point while there was a convention of some sort going on, and it looked nice. I think that is also one feature where this place shines. Nice event facilities, made me want to stick around. So if you are an event planner, I would definitely look into...

I regret choosing to spend several nights at this misleading motel-like establishment. I ended up paying double the room price in fees alone. The room itself was a disaster—filled with outdated, scratched-up furniture, a filthy carpet reeking of years-old cigarette smoke, and an undersized, unsupportive mattress. Despite paying for a queen-size bed (56 inches by 78 inches), I was given a full-size mattress instead. The lighting was dim, clearly an attempt to cut down on electricity costs, making the room even less welcoming.

I specifically requested to be placed away from other tenants but was still grouped near large, noisy parties for the convenience of the cleaning staff. This disregard for customer preferences reflects their lack of professionalism. Time is a valuable commodity, and my experience here felt like a complete waste.

As an avid traveler with over 20 years of experience booking hotels at least three times a month, I can confidently say this is one of the most unsafe establishments I’ve ever encountered, especially for women. During my stay, I requested security to address the noise from my neighbors, but no one ever showed up. The chaos continued until 7 a.m., with couples having loud sex, doors slamming, and groups of unruly guests roaming the motel—all amplified by the paper-thin walls. This is not a family-friendly environment; children and families should not be exposed to such inappropriate and disruptive behavior.

The room’s condition was abysmal. The window screen was broken, allowing bugs and possibly rodents to enter. The Wi-Fi and TV channels constantly cut out due to poor signal, and there was no private access to basic amenities like a microwave or refrigerator—even though guests are charged $35 per day in amenity fees. Parking is an outrageous $80 per night. The photos online are blatantly outdated and do not reflect the reality of this establishment. Adding insult to injury, the motel displays a sign urging guests not to request full room cleaning, asking only for the bed to be made—something I do myself every morning. When I inquired about what the $35 daily amenity fee covers, I was told it includes water and gym access. However, Washington, D.C., has been under multiple boil water advisories since before the pandemic, making it absurd to charge extra for something that isn’t even safe to use.

The heating system was another nightmare, shifting from sauna-like heat to meat-locker cold at random intervals. Staff members lacked any sense of urgency or professionalism, making an already poor experience unbearable.

This establishment is located just six minutes from the White House, in the capital of the Western world, yet its quality is worse than accommodations I’ve experienced in war-torn third-world countries. Customer retention is vital in the hospitality industry, and this place fails miserably.

To anyone considering staying here: avoid it at all costs. The experience is overpriced, unsafe, and entirely unworthy of your time or money. I will never recommend this place to family, friends, or business associates. Unfortunately, I expect the motel will respond with a hollow apology, but nothing can change the tragedy of...