Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC Downtown — Hotel in Washington

Update I have since discovered that it is against Hilton policy to provide guests with sanitizer and that the hotel should have moved us and cleaned the room themselves. The GM and Assistant GM have failed me and other guests. I have written twice to the GM directly and am being ignored. I have submitted an official complaint through Guest Relations almost a week ago and await a response. The review panel did not want to see photos or emails as evidence.

Disappointing stay We were staying at a gorgeous boutique hotel a 5 min drive from here, but relocated to the Garden Inn after being sucked into a Hilton Diamond Member offer - essentially to try sell us a dodgy timeshare by high pressure sales people who became mad when we weren’t interested. Regretful move as this location is boring and nowhere near as lively or nice as other options. Gave an extra star fir location as it is safe, has a Walgreens across the road and approx 20 min walk to monuments etc The Hilton are consistently poor at front desk due to their staff lacking any personality and completely lacking warmth or the want to be friendly and welcoming to guests. Normally we don’t need to engage with staff but during this stay we had a sick child, who picked up a nasty stomach bug and had gastro, creating a mess in our bathroom. When we asked for help, it was a flop and added more stress to the situation unnecessarily. When we asked the front desk woman for disinfectant to clean up, she gave us approx 10 wipes in a Lysol tub…..and that was it. We were happy to clean up ourselves but just wanted supplies. We needed more but the same woman refused us as there were “no more wipes” in the entire hotel and she gave no alternative. We asked again and were berated for asking. We suggested a sanitizer bottle and one was delivered along with 1 microfibre cloth that I was expected to reuse….. This hotel have zero competence to deal with gastro. Zero. As the front desk woman didn’t care about the risk of a gastrointestinal outbreak at the hotel nor how I was going to fix our room I took over. I asked the cleaner directly for gloves, double bags for the contaminated waste, cloths/paper towel and replacement soap. A new person delivered an arm full of towels which I thought was an error as he failed to tell me that the full size towels he handed me were hotel rags. I had to ask for gloves again and wipes/papertowels/cloths. He never returned. No one ever called. I was clearly dumped by hotel again when I needed help. No one checked in to see if we needed anything further or how the waste would be removed. I had to take it myself to the housekeeping zone and remove a bin liner out of the general hotel bin by an ice machine so I could safely dispose the waste. I hunted this down myself. After cleaning up, I wanted to report the lack of care and incompetence shown during what could have been a health risk to other guests and my family had I not been so diligent. I went over and above to thoroughly disinfect our room with what I was given and to ensure waste was safely discarded and we avoided common areas until we were 1000% sanitary. The same front desk woman tried to make it difficult for me to speak to the manager. When I eventually was speaking to the manager (who was apparently busy on a call initially) she could not follow what I was telling her. It was the most frustrating situation that should have been resolved at first point of contact. I had to put it all in an email (to mgr and GM) to avoid repeated conversations and further frustration as the staff were not listening.

Again, this hotel showed zero care for us during an emergency and the other guests and for that reason I do not recommend staying here. I was given Hilton points to the value of half a day accommodation for cleaning up for the hotel and not being supported when I had an emergency. I was offered a room change after cleaning up. GM ignored my emails. Hopeless all round but not unusual for Hilton Hotels.

No breakfast which is no loss at the Hilton. Laundry - $4 per machine for quick...

Would not recommend if staying more than a few days. Depends on what you are in DC for. Sight seeing for a few days, would be ok. Anything longer than 3 days, pick a different hotel.

I was there for 3 weeks and definitely would not recommend for anything longer than a few days. Breakfast is not included, despite what the website said. The rooms are quite loud and 14th Street is a highly traveled street at all hours. Room was 6th floor facing 14th street. I thought i was in Las Vegas as there was always vehicle and people noise, either emergency vehicles, cabs honking, loud motorcycles or cars with custom exhaust no matter the time of day, yelling or amplified music. It seems to get drivers of loud cars excited to travel between large buildings and hear the echos from the modified exhaust. There is a park close by and had amplified sound well past 10PM. There is a Metro stop right across the street, so that adds to all the traffic and people yelling. I am not a light sleeper, even earplugs didn't help. The AC unit in the room cools quickly, but it is also loud, so turn it off at night. The walls to adjoining rooms are thin. Neighbors would smoke in the room and then come in at 2am and talk like they were still in the club, could hear the conversations without problem.

Tried to do laundry and they have 1 washer and 2 dryers... for the entire hotel. That tells you this is not recommended for an extended stay. My mistake, I should have done better research. The machines are quarters only, not available for wireless tap and pay. Sign says to go to front desk for quarters and staff said they were out and to try back tomorrow. One staff member recommended I go to CVS and ask for change, I told him he should go get change and I would wait, he literally laughed out loud.

Went to take a shower one morning before work and no water. Called the front desk and asked why there was no water and said they notified the guest the previous night. I never received such notification, but evidently there was a planned plumbing repair. 1st of 2 during my stay. The 2nd water shutoff was adequately relayed and posted to guests and I was able to plan accordingly.

The ada/wheelchair doors rarely worked. I was often carrying work equipment and my hands were full, so its nice to press the button and doors would open. Seemed less than 50/50 they would work and the other doors were purposefully closed early in the morning. Maybe an overnight security decision.

The transients in the area are pretty aggressive and often inside establishments asking for money or food. Was told businesses don't bother to call the police because police don't or cant do anything. I never encountered any transients while inside at the hotel, just to and from.

Michelle, who I believe was part of management team was friendly and considerate, but she too seemed frustrated when asked about the stay when I checked out and hinted that there isn't much they can do and doing the best they can with what they got.

Pros: Clean rooms and bathroom, complimentary coffee in the lobby in the morning, small dorm room style refrigerator and personal Keurig, modern flat screen TV, and personal safe in the room for valuables. If in average shape, hotel is walking distance to the White House, Washington monument, and mall. Shower water pressure was really good.

Cons: Room was loud, 14th street is a loud street, AC unit loud, so bring some better ear plugs than what CVS sells (that was the reason for 1star). If doing own laundry, bring your own quarters, and be prepared to wait as there is only 1 washing machine. Pertaining to location, transients in the area are aggressive, constant emergency vehicle sirens at all hours throughout the day no matter the time of day, and lastly DC traffic is pretty bad, especially during peak times, be careful walking in crosswalks as they don't seem to obey traffic laws or paying attention to...

The only positive thing about this hotel is its location, which is convenient for walking around Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, that’s where the good impressions end. The staff in general are not very welcoming, often looking tired and as if they are forced to do their job. But the main issue was with the breakfast service. We had prepaid for breakfast and received vouchers at check-in. The hotel’s website describes it as a standard buffet, similar to what you find at other chain hotels: eggs, bacon, some fruit, coffee, juice, pastries. However, it turned out that guests are not allowed to pour their own drinks — coffee and juice are handled only by the servers. At the same time, a check is immediately placed on your table showing the full breakfast price (which you already paid) with an additional mandatory 18–20% gratuity added. When I realized this system was designed to force tipping, I decided to pour my own coffee. But the server literally rushed over, insisting that I was not allowed to do this, and actively prevented me from serving myself. After I refused to sign the check, the staff started telling me that I “don’t understand American culture” and that tipping at breakfast is a tradition. We filed a complaint with hotel management. They apologized and promised to fix the situation. The “solution” was shocking: the next morning, the buffet was completely closed, and breakfast was switched to table service only. As a result, guests had to wait more than an hour just to receive simple food like eggs, bacon, and pastries that could have been taken in 5 minutes from a buffet. While we were waiting, we saw other guests arrive for breakfast, looking confused and frustrated when they realized they could no longer serve themselves. Those who hadn’t prepaid and saw how long people were waiting often just turned around and left to have breakfast elsewhere. The disappointment on their faces said it all. This was done only so that the restaurant staff could continue forcing tips. I have traveled extensively and stayed at many chain hotels — Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn — and I have never seen such pushy and disrespectful service. In the end, my children and I managed to have breakfast only 1.5 hours after arriving. The supervisor apologized again and said they would “consider compensation,” but nothing was actually done. We paid $200 per night. Not extremely expensive, but not cheap either. However, the experience was so negative that I cannot even give this hotel a “2.” My rating is a 1, and it’s unfortunate that I...