Generator Washington DC — Hotel in Washington

Its not a fun part leaving bad reviews, I try to leave all emotion out of things and view it as a chance for properties to better themselves. Generator/ Freehand is touted as the new age of hospitality for the young professionals.

My experience was not a positive one. When I arrived after a long flight the night receptionist checking me barely spoke a single sentence to me telling me my room number, He clearly showed his frustrated when I asked questions such as where the elevator was, how to find my room and how to connect with the Wifi.

The Room itself had a comfortable bed but outside of that it was a clearly very dated property with old stained ridden carpet and stains on the walls... an attempt to polish it up and make it look young with some "funky" paintings and ornaments on the shelf did little to hide the dated nature of the room.

I wen to have my morning weekly breakfast before starting my weekly fast... I was quite shocked to see the cafe worker call someone a D**D for accidently spilling some drinks, she kept muttering words of frustration as she continued to move around, not paying attention to the 3/4 people waiting in line, I was actually intimidated/ scared to order anything. In the end I settled for a breakfast and a coffee.. I made an effort to return my dishes to help out when I had finished, when I returned them the cafe worker was now sitting on the wrong side of the counter in the patron area, and a clearly new guest came in and she sarcastically told him where the menus were located before going back to being on her phone.

The property whilst its target market is young working professionals , they have neglected to mention that much like the hostel brand HI are completely open to school groups. I was in the co working reception space in a meeting and then it was taken over by no less than 30 school kids, which was fine but they turned all the tables in dining spaces where they prepared all their lunches for the day, mid meeting I had to move to another location to finish the call. My room was in the middle of these multiple school groups so doors were slamming at all hours and loud noises. I also had multiple calls to my room from these kids in other rooms.. It was quite disappointing to see and pay for one experience then get the experience of a hostel.

This is where the real fun begins... Around 6 hours later... I was hit with crippling food poisoning... it left me in agony on the floor in my room for almost 24 hours, I had a work meeting and a flight the next day and I had a choice in my condition either stay and pay to support the very place that had given my food poisoning or try to make my flight to get home. Initially feeling on the verge of hospitalisation I chose to stay at the property before gaining the energy for my flight and then spending another 2 days bed bound. It is a huge thing to accuse a property of food poisoning , and if it had not been for my regular fasting I would not have been 100% sure.

I tried to raise my multiple concerns with the management team in forms of feedback and not wanting to leave a public review but ultimately given the lack of response have had to opt for a public facing review.

Its always a shame to see these cool properties and concepts have such strong starts then they let service and the property experience fall away as they either expand too quickly or just get lazy.

Positives are its location is in a very nice area and the bed was comfortable. Outside of this it was probably one of the worst experiences ive had in my travels and would advise people to be very cautious.

I hope this review serves as a level headed emotion free...

Very meh.

This is supposedly some sort of hipster, upscale hotel. It's acceptable, and that's about it.

The room size is fine, it's clean, it's kept up well, there were no bedbugs. So that should get you three stars. But I gave it two. Why?

Upon walking in the door and registering, they hit us with some sort of $250 facility fee charge for a week's stay. We had prepaid for this room on super.com. Super.com specifically stated that that would cover everything. Apparently, it didn't. Obviously, standing with our bags at the registration counter, we weren't exactly in a position to say no.

Because of all the many little things that weren't right. You might call these petty annoyances. But when you have enough of these, they stop being so petty.

There's a mini-fridge in the room, but no microwave. So, you're eating takeout or you're getting doggie bags at the restaurant - because, you know, you're in a hotel room and can't cook - and then you want to warm that something back up the next day? Too bad, so sad. Instead of spending $50 on a microwave for every room, the instead chose to have an iron and ironing board. Poor choice.

Think I'll sit down and have a bite to eat of some of that cold food. But what's this? Only one chair in the room? And no table? That means that one of you has to eat in bed, thus proving the aphorism, "I wouldn't throw her out of bed for eating crackers." Because there's gonna be plenty of crumbs in the bed.

Gee, after eating that cold food, I'm thirsty. But, you guessed it, there are no cups in the room. Gotta bring your own. How about putting some ice in those cups you brought? Well, there are some ice makers - not on every floor, mind you. But there's no ice bucket. Good luck catching that torrent of ice into a little cup - or the mouth of your water bottle.

After all that eating and drinking, it's time to go to the bathroom. Well, there's a vent, but no fan in the bathroom. Now it's kinda stinky in there. Better let that air out for 20 minutes -right back into the bedroom - before going in. Oh wait, so there's no fan? That means that you get a bonus - mold. What a nice surprise for those that are allergic - a nice sneezing fit every time you use the bathroom. Lovely.

Okay, I've eaten my cold food, I've drank my tepid water, and I've taken care of business. Now it's time to sit down and get to work. Hmmm, there's no desk chair. Just a padded stool. That's pretty low to the floor.

But here's the worst of it. There's no light in the room. Oh, there are light fixtures, lamps - four, count'em, four of them. Two night stand lamps, an overhead lamp, and a free-standing lamp. But even when you put all of these on, and turn on the closet lamp and the bathroom lamp, it's very dim in there.

So dim, that when I called up to complain about the lighting, they already knew about this, and were quick to bring up another couple of free-standing lamps to the room - that they just happened to have in reserve in case anyone complains. Even with the extra light, from those lamps, it was the room was still barely lit. I had to swap out a lightbulb from the hallway into one of the nightstand lamps to get it acceptable.

This is no way to run a hotel. ...

I'm sorry to say that I'm an unhappy customer.

Priceline gave me the "Price Summary" in my email when I reserved the accommodations, which I was to pay at the facility. However, the facility overcharged me regarding the "Property Fee" upon arrival. I questioned the clerk and showed him my Priceline quote. Of course, he could not address the issue.

I contacted the manager, Alan, only to receive an email the following day with a link that provided only generic information.

I requested an explanation why I was quoted one price and charged a higher price. My receipt was not provided at checkout, so I asked for it via email only to be told by their Accounting department, they didn't have my receipt and I'd have to get one from Priceline. I explained that I only reserved the room and received the "price summary" from priceline and payment was made at the facility. I paid at Generator DC OPOC.

After my departure I continued requesting (via email) my receipt with the itemized "Property Fee." Generator Hostel refused to put it on the bill. I explained to the manager, Alan, via email that the "property tax" was included in the price summary from priceline and it was added on again, at even a higher price, upon registration. He refused to address the issue. What the heck?

I kept asking for an ample explanation regarding paying the property fee twice. They refused to address it. Can you imagine the volume of this business practice and money unethically taken from a plethora of the public.

It's my educated and strong opinion that their programmed software is set up that way and they hide behind the electronics! If I'm wrong, then why doesn't their manager, Alan, explain the discrepancy or refund me the overcharged amount? I believe Generator DC Hostel takes money from people in a total spirit of deceitfulness and then hides behind the electronics.

I'm old school and I pay what the price tag says and not a higher price at the cash register! I'm a man of principal.

Upon disputing the amount, my financial institution told me they would just refund me the money because it would cost more to go through the process then retrieving it from Generator DC OPCO.

Therefore, I intend to write a polite letter to their local Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC regarding the business practices of Generator DC OPCO. I'll include the emails from Priceline and Generator DC OPCO in order to substantiate their unethical business practices.

I did not confront their integrity in person or electronically... until this review. And that's because they've blocked my emails. I was polite, professional, and cordial in my emails inquiring information about the extra "Property Fee" payment. And, they blocked my emails at Generator DC OPCO. That speaks volumes regarding their service to the public. Does it not? I hope my letter to the local Chamber of Commerce will call Generator DC OPCO to some sort of accountability. And, I hope this email will forewarn some folks about their unethical practices.

P.S. It would be improper if I didn't mention that the hands-on staff were very polite and helpful, within their boundaries. The rooms were very comfortable and clean. And, the environmental ambiance of the facility...