Homewood Suites by Hilton Washington DC Convention Center — Hotel in Washington

I wish I had read all the reviews prior to booking. I would have stayed some place else. My family and I stayed at Homewood Suites By Hilton Washington DC Convention Center 7/11-7/18/24 for a family vacation. Once we were finally situated in our correct rooms (there was a mix-up with our rooms) we noticed the condition of the rooms. We booked two non-smoking double-bed rooms. My son, daughter-n-law and two young grandsons age 2 and 4 were in one room, and I shared the other room with my other son. You would think that Hilton would want to keep their reputation intact and would make sure that the properties live up to the Hilton name and quality before allowing franchises to use their name. This hotel appears to have been a property that someone bought and then paid Hilton for the rights to use their name, but then did nothing to bring the property up to par with Hilton standards. I will start with the positive aspects of this property:

1. Location - we chose this hotel for the proximity to the airport and the Metro which was 2 blocks away.
2. Kitchenette w/refrigerator - this was a nice feature to have when traveling with young children
3. Daily breakfast included
4. Friendly staff
5. Safeway grocery store across the street and restaurants in walking distance

The Negatives: Son and Daughter-in-law Room:

1. Smoke Detectors - the smoke detector in their room was beeping when they checked in. They called the front desk and they sent a maintenance worker to check it. All he did was pull out the battery so it would stop beeping. He never came back to replace the batteries. I notified the front desk at least 3 times during our week stay that the batteries still had not been replaced. I was told everytime they would send someone to fix it. It was NOT fixed by the time we checked out a week later! That is just totally unacceptable and puts the occupants lives in danger and is a liability to the hotel! I pray it has been fixed since we checked out almost a week ago. One morning while having breakfast downstairs the fire alarm went off. None of the hotel staff reacted like it was an emergency. After a minute or so someone comes out of the kitchen and walks around telling everyone that it was a false alarm and to ignore it. We called up to our rooms to ask my Dad who also had a room and son who were in separate rooms if they heard the fire alarm, and they both said they didn't hear any fire alarms going off. That definitely did not make us feel confident or safe if there was an actual fire or emergency that we would be notified and get out safely. Again, this was a room with a 2 and 4 year old.
2. Blinds in room not operable. Both of our rooms were equipped for the hearing impaired. The blinds in the kitchen area of my son's room were supposed to be electronically operated, but when we plugged it in they didn't work and the roll-up shades were broken so they could not be raised... I guess that's why they weren't plugged in.
3. Paint chipped in bathroom, kitchen and bedroom
4. Dirty kitchen floor
5. Holes in doors where door knobs were changed
6. Carpet was stained and dirty
7. Pull-out couch torn, stained and dirty
8. Trash cans rusted out
9. Silverware dirty and rusty

My room:

1. Carpet was stained and dirty
2. Pull-out couch torn, stained and dirty
3. Paint chipped on walls and doors, walls patched
4. Holes in doors where door knobs were changed
5. Wallpaper coming off walls in bathroom
6. Trash cans rusted out
7. Shower rusted and dirty, mold in shower 8)Drain in bathroom sink over fills and slowly drains
8. The wiring for tv in bedroom doesn't make sense.
9. No sheer curtains and torn curtains, Filthy washer and dryer, laundry room. Terrible WiFi/cell service. There is so much more I could elaborate on but limited space. Photos attached. I would not stay here again and would not recommend this property to anyone...there are much better hotels near this area in the same price range. The pictures advertising this place do not...

I just stayed at this hotel for 5 nights for a conference and if I could do it again- I would 100% book somewhere else. Honestly, I’m kind of upset I didn’t just change hotels after the first night. Positives: Good location in regards to the conference center. Great coffee. Amazing muffins at breakfast. My room was a very nice size. The valet that helped me to my car at checkout was very nice. Negatives: I couldn’t figure out which garage door to pull up to for parking. There are no signs. The valet was not outside (neither was a valet stand.) There is no spot to pull over in front of the hotel to figure out where you’re supposed to go. I called the reception to ask as I circled the block the 4th time and she was not very helpful either. You would’ve thought at that point she could’ve asked the valet to step outside for a minute. But instead I circled about 9 times, found street parking and then walked a block to the hotel. If this happens to you- look for the garage door that has broken out panels- that’s the one that you’re going to pay over $55/ night for. I checked in online but needed to verify my ID with the front desk. Waited in line for 20-30min to do this. Front desk staff was not very happy to be there. My room on the second floor overlooked the dumpsters. That garbage man comes by 7am. So if you’re a light sleeper like me, avoid room 213, or you’ll have a minor heart attack first thing in the morning. One of the two elevators was broken for my entire stay. When you’re on the second floor waiting for it to pick you up, the elevator goes from the first floor- to the 13th- and then works its way down. So the second floor is last to get picked up. Multiple times I had to wait through an entire next cycle because the elevator was totally full by the time it came down to the second. At no point did anyone who works at the hotel tell me about the broken elevator. I found out from a sign on the second floor. Tried to take the stairs down to avoid that situation. One of the two staircases does not have a handle to the door to the first floor and the only other door in that area says “emergency exit- do not open- alarm will sound.” So I went to the first floor then had to walk back up to the second to wait for the elevator. Did I mention I had my toddler with me? That was a nice workout. Later on a helpful guest told us about the other staircase that actually will let you out on the first floor. The first night we arrived, I was putting my child to bed and someone from the hotel knocked and handed me a big pot when I answered. Didn’t say anything. Just handed me a pot. I was confused and it took me a minute but then I told her that I didn’t ask for a pot and she apologized and said she must have had the wrong room. Same breakfast of tacos every morning, no waffles or pancakes or anything. You have to wait for the valet for a good amount of time so plan ahead. In previous stays at other hotels with a valet, they would give me a phone number to call to give them like 10min or so to pull the car around. Not here. Wait 5-10min for the elevator, go down to the lobby, show him your claim card, then sit there for 20min while they pull up the car. My ice bucket was dirty- could’ve been mold or maybe just dust. I washed it and put in the disposable bag, dragged my cooler around to the other side where the ice machine was. Aaaaand the ice machine was broken. Probably could’ve tried a different floor but that elevator situation was rough. At checkout I had planned on discussing my concerns with my stay when the front desk staff inevitably asked how my stay was- but they didn’t ask. Just ran my card. For an expensive hotel downtown, they really don’t care about customer service. I’m pretty upset that my association endorsed this hotel. If you have another...

The good: clean, well maintained and the location was OK. Breakfast was also well done and the employees were all very pleasant.

The bad: The valet was hostile and started conflict with others in traffic.

The elevators were very slow. Be prepared for long waits.

The housekeeping was comically inept. First night, our bed was not fully made. We tried to make it ourselves but the fitted sheet did not fit. We made the best of it and, in the morning, left a note asking for a new fitted sheet (along with a $10 tip).

By noon, housekeeping hadn't been there. I asked at the desk if we needed to ask for housekeeping. I was told, "No, you shouldn't have to, but I'll put in a special request for you." I told the deskman about the fitted sheet and asked for an extra towel.

After dinner, still no housekeeping. Called the desk. "Someone will be right up." Within minutes, a young man knocked, passed us a pile of sheets and left. Sadly, we discovered he'd given us only flat sheets, not fitted ones. Called again. The woman said she'd have one sent up. We asked also for extra towels. "I got you covered," she said.

No one came. We called again. The woman said, "Don't worry. I'm going to do this myself. I will see you in five minutes." Ten minutes later, the young man is at the door, holding a stack of sheets. He says, "These are all we have...if none of these work i don't know what to tell you." I check them and one is another flat sheet but two are fitted. He quickly retreats. I tried the fitted sheets. Neither fits though one is labeled "King," the correct size.

I went to the desk in person. The woman there said, "I'm going to do this myself." I said, "Great, and can you bring some towels with you, too, please?" "Sure!" she replied.

Later, the woman is at our door. I ask her if she'll wait while we try it. She does. We try and, again, the fitted sheet does not fit. I ask, "This can't be the first time you've had this problem. Do you think I'm doing it incorrectly? Or do you have a bunch of fitted sheets that don't fit your beds?" With her help, three of us then tried to put the sheet on, without luck.

Twenty minutes later, she returns, with two more fitted sheets. The first isn't close. With her help, three of us wrestled the second fitted sheet on to the mattress and it worked. The towels, however, never materialized and we gave up and went to sleep.

In the morning, I realized that we needed toilet paper as well as towels. I stopped at the front desk and asked. I was assured housekeeping would be up. I said, "Listen, I hear what you're telling me but this is important. We really would like towels and toilet paper. Can you make certain that is handled today for us, please?" "I got you," I was told.

By the end of the day, housekeeping had not been in the room. I found a cart in the hall with toilet paper on it and helped myself. At the front desk I asked if he could get me towels while I waited. He said he couldn't but promised they'd be sent to my room shortly.

No one came. I went back downstairs and asked again. Eventually, the promised towels arrived near 9 p.m.

This hotel does some important things right. It was clean. It was bright. The employees were very nice, albeit a little lacking in polish. But very nice, nonetheless. The hotel got some important things wrong, too (not making the bed and leaving it unmade) and it badly and repeatedly fumbled the response when alerted to problems. The experience was very frustrating, particularly as we were tired at the end of each day and making our bed, struggling to find clean towels and toilet paper were tasks that really sucked a good amount of joy from the trip. I won't stay here again, at least not without some assurance that ownership has invested in significant training...