Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf — Hotel in Washington

This will be a detailed review of the hotel as well as other helpful bits of information to help make your stay an enjoyable one.||Overall hotel gets 5 *! Once you step into the sleek, modern lobby you can't help but think this hotel is much more than what meets the eye. Spacious lobby area and cook overhead light/artwork.||The folks at the front desk are all super stars! We had the pleasure to working with Audrey, Wesley, Rayann and other folks, who I am sorry I didn't get a chance to remember. We had an issue with the shower drain, I called the front desk to alert and two hotel engineers were at our door within minutes. So thank you each and everyone of you! Your knowledge of the area, the metro system, helped make our stay memorable and much less stressful.||In the hotel lobby, you will see the Starbucks to the left, and the restaurant/bar is to the left. In between the Starbucks and the front desk, is the sundry store where you can get loads of snacks and anything that you might have left at home.||Next the front desk sat two large water dispensers with fruit infused water. A quick refresh after a long day of touring. Sadly, on some days, both were drained before we got a chance to try some.||I'm a Hilton Diamond members, so breakfast was included for each of us (party of 3) the entire stay.||The breakfast in the restaurant offers more than others. I have a gluten sensitivity so I have to be careful. At breakfast I didn't have any issues.||Included in the buffet: hot oatmeal and with all the toppings (the candied pineapple was a nice touch!) cold cereal, yogurt bar with fresh fruit, then on to the hot items which include: pancakes, potatoes, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs and cold meat selection. A large assortment of breads with toaster. Yes, they did have pre-wrapped gluten free bread but I opted not to try. I prefer my bread toasted and the shared toaster is a source of cross contamination. In the middle of the buffet an assortment of pastries which I was not able to select. Overall, lots of food for everyone. The restaurant was busy most mornings and their is plenty of seating; tables for 2, 4 and larger parties. Wait staff always around to clear off used plates and to keep the coffee cup full.||Continuing down the lobby to the elevator. Yes, you need a room key to access the elevator. You can also use the digital key on your HH app, too.||We were on floor 15 and we never had an issue with the wait time for the elevator not matter the time of the day.||We had a double king deluxe room and yes, the two king beds were a welcome treat! The room was clean, smelled clean and had lots of pillows. The bathroom had only a shower which was fine. The large counter with a single sink was fine. Lots of storage shelf space, too. Hair dryer also provided.||Our room didn't have a view which we were sort of bummed out about buy hey, it was fine.||THE METRO||Yes, the Hilton sits on top of the L'Enfant Plaza Mall. The mall has many restaurants and shops. You can access the mall by a staircase in the lobby area or by elevator.||It's easy to follow the signs to the metro through the mall area. Keep in mind, the doors to the mall lock after a certain time, meaning you can't access the mall from the metro. If you are faced with a locked door to the mall, there is a door TO YOUR RIGHT that will lead you to an outside exit and you go up the two flights of stairs, follow the walk way around and you are at the front door of the hotel.||During the time the mall is open, you can come and go out of the mall doors with no issue.||I found this on a google search but always verify before you depart the hotel: L'Enfant Plaza mall is open from 10:30 AM to 7:30 PM on Sundays and Mondays, and from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM on Tuesdays through Fridays. On Saturdays, it's open from 10:30 AM to 7:30 PM||Follow the metro corridor to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station. ||A tip: you are not required to purchase a metro card and it is a cashless system. If you have a credit card that has "tap" you can tap your card to gain access. When you get to your destination before you exit, you will tap the same credit card so you will be charged the correct amount.||To get the Ronald Reagan DCA airport, take the YELLOW train. Again, we had a late night flight arrival and an early morning flight departure and the metro was not operating at either time. We took a LYFT both ways. About $25 one way with tip included.||We quickly learned the metro system and it is the easiest way to get around the city. Be mindful of the mall operating hours on your return trip back to the hotel if you plan to tour late into the day.||Ok, I have to tell you about the LIME scooters! At first, I thought: these things are an absolute nuisance until I tried it the first time. Love the LIME scooter! So fun! Again, to use the LIME scooter you have to download the LIME app, go through the enabling process, etc.. and you can locate available scooters on the interactive map. You can select your scooter and it will show you how much range you have on the battery. After a quick lesson, we were scooting all over. A tip: the LIME scooters will SHUT DOWN if you get too close to the National Mall. You will not be able to use your scooter around the attractions. ||However, you can use the LIME scooter to get to the Wharf area; which I will discuss now.||The Wharf is a short, 5 to 10 minute walk from the hotel. If you opt to the pedestrian walk way to the right, you will have to do stairs to get down and back up. If you opt to the pedestrian walk way to the left, you will have a gradual descent; no stairs but it is quite steep coming back up. It is the happening place around the hotel. Lots of shops, restaurant selections plus FREE live music entertainment. It's on the Potomac River and has wonderful views. We dined at Mi Vida (excellent Mexican) Officiana (over priced pasta) and Kirwan's Irish Pub; a family favorite.||The National Mall is a short walk from the hotel. Once you pass the Spy Museum (sadly, we didn't get a chance to visit) a pedestrian walk way will bring you to the botanical gardens of the "Smithsonian Castle." You can walk through the gardens and will be on the mall. You will be about half way from the Washington Monument and the Capital. A beautiful area.||If you plan to visit any of the Smithsonian museums, all require screening which you will be required to pass your belongings through x-ray and you will be required to go through a metal detecter. Yes, just like at the airport. And, if you are planning to visit your senator or congressman, you will also have to go through the same screening so build in a few extra minutes for that appointment. The line can be long but does move fast. ||It was a wonderful stay and would stay again if I...

This is a perfectly adequate hotel. The price was a little steep for 6 days/5 nights (over $3000 for a room for two), cracks/blemishes in the finishes, and for maid service that never changed the bedding or cleaned the floors. We know this because there was a part of the covers that was threadbare in a very obvious and specific way, which never changed no matter how many times we had the room serviced (3-4 times, I think), and the floors always felt dusty. It made me wonder if they ever changed the towels or if they just rolled up the ones we had already used.

It was unfortunate that we could hear people in the hallway and other rooms, too, throughout our stay. There really isn't any privacy (there's like an inch+ between the floor and the door), and, because people are people, it was sometimes annoying to have to listen to full-on conversations in what was supposed to be our own space in the evenings after walking around all day (that we were paying quite a lot of money to occupy). There's also a poorly placed window in the bathroom that looks out to the bedroom, with poorly functioning blinds. I get that it's supposed to give off a ritzy vibe, but it felt more seedy than anything else (maybe that's just D.C.?). Water pressure was terrible in the shower; there was a hand-held European-style shower head and a rainfall shower head (the latter is terrible for the environment, as an aside), which I think they added in there as an ornament to make the place feel more luxurious than it was (again, no water pressure). Bed was thin and uncomfortable. Not exactly a luxurious place to rest overall, and definitely not worthy of four stars.

Quite honestly, this was a two-star hotel masquerading as a four-star one (I was extremely surprised by the fact that this is considered to be a four-star hotel as well). Great location for seeing the sights and for getting to/from the airport, but everything, including the breakfast, was outrageously expensive, which on its own wouldn't be such a bad thing in a major U.S. city close to tourist attractions, but together with the sub-par cleaning and sub-par finishes (space between the floor and the door, cracks in caulk, skewed toilet seat, etc.), lack of privacy, somewhat unfriendly front desk (the man who checked us in was nice, but other than him, it seemed as though people were annoyed to be there--which added to the two-star vibe of the place)... There are probably better-value hotels than this one. If you're looking to spend all your time out and about and have some money to spend and care about location more than anything else, then go for it. If you're spending loads of money anyway, aim higher (go for the full five stars somewhere). If you think you're in the mood to splurge a little bit and are thinking of staying in this hotel (which is what we did), pick someplace else. This isn't a "splurge-worthy" hotel. Adding in Google Chromecast and offering a wider selection of television channels isn't going to make this place feel better. If Hilton maybe invested more money in its people--desk staff and cleaning staff--and the furnishing/finishes choices (mattresses, shower heads, sinks, etc.), then this place could be nice. Maybe.

I also did not appreciate that someone from Hilton reached out to us at the close of our stay and asked that we relay all feedback to him personally, instead of posting anything directly on review boards like this one (pictured). That rubbed me the wrong way and felt like an underhanded way to influence my review, and is what pushed my review of the service down one star further than what I would've chosen had they not reached out (that, and the woman I had spoken to over the phone about hopefully scheduling early check-in prior to our stay was extremely disrespectful and wouldn't let me talk through my question fully: she just kept cutting me off repeatedly). Lastly, for Hilton: I will not be writing to any email addresses for further comment. I will be standing by my review, which I've spent enough time on as is, and...

Apparently, if you don't book directly through Hilton (use Expedia, Travelocity, CheapTickets, etc.), you cannot get Hilton Honors points. Which other chain is so quick to deny you membership points for staying with them? Full stop. It's bad enough the points expire. This is an issue at the corporate level, and Hilton Execs, if this makes its way up the ladder to you: this is why you lose business to "lesser" chains with reasonable loyalty programs. Interesting word that, loyalty, so one-sided when Hilton doesn't care about the members, if you haven't constantly stayed at Hilton locations. I've been a Hilton Honors member since 2012, but that doesn't mean squat to Hilton because I haven't traveled during the entirety of the COVID pandemic.

The elevator we were directed toward only has a range of conference floor(s), and 11, 12, 14, 15—likely the other elevator goes to other floors. To get to your floor, you need to keep your room key pressed against the scanner, while trying to reach with your hand to select your floor. I should be able to wave my room card then select my floor, rather than the odd ballet of holding the card in place while pressing a button. Also, the trial and error of figuring out the wordy side of the key card faces the scanner is not at all intuitive. If it's an RCID system, it should work regardless of direction.

When we entered our room, the primary light switch looks like it has a skidmark on it. Presumably, a previous resident hit the switch while holding a leather bag that scooted along it. And immediately above the door was a massive cobweb. With the lights off in the room, hallway light shines through the side of the door, in a startlingly wide gap. I feel like someone could look into the room through that massive gap. For a hotel that claims it had extensive renovations in 2021, these seem surprising.

The toilet paper is that atrocious "half-ply" you find in businesses that hate their employees, and the TP roll is unreasonably far from the toilet, at an awkward angle. There is no fan in the bathroom. Shower is excellent. Two shower heads, and good control to have both spraying simultaneously. Water remained hot throughout shower.

Curtains are installed to overlap, so minimal light can come through when closed. There is a pretend Juliet balcony outside the room, as the window (14th floor) is understandably locked closed.

The TV is very sizable for the room, and has options for signing into streaming services you may have at home (i.e. Netflix) plus a range of (satellite?) channels. That being said, the TV frequently glitched out, causing the audio to drift farther and farther from the video, so much so that commercials were still talking seconds after the show resumed. Powering off and changing channels didn't fix the problem.

It feels like there should be a dresser under the television to store your clothes. there's a lot There is an open closet area to the right of the entrance, with hangers and drawers, but there don't seem to be enough drawers for two occupants—if you wish to unpack your suitcases.

The "market" has a good variety of options, and is open 24/7, in case you need a Sabra® hummus pack and a Red Bull® at 3:41 am. Hot Pockets, a few decent beer options, sodas, snacks. Don't remember seeing toiletries, OTC's like aspirin, but doesn't mean there aren't any. Also, only place in the hotel where you can access a microwave because there isn't one in the rooms.

Great location, perfect near L'enfant Metro (five subway lines available there), but I wouldn't stay here again at a subsequent DC visit. Had lunch at the Monaco Hotel by Kimpton on F Street, and WOW, was...