Motto by Hilton Washington DC City Center — Hotel in Washington

I was traveling to Washington, D.C. for work and needed to stay in a specific location and searching I found the Motto by Hilton Washington, D.C. City Center. This hotel is located in Chinatown right across the street from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stop. When I got to the hotel and went to check-in, that is when the check-in agent let me know that Motto by Hilton is a micro-hotel meaning that the rooms are very small and the services are limited - basically its similar to a pod-hotel or an upgraded hostel. I found out later that his hotel used to be the Pod Hotel Washington D.C. and that is still the name listed on some online maps. The lobby was very small as it was a standard lobby but divided into two halves with one half being the hotel lobby and check-in and the other half being the bar area for the attached restaurant. As you entered into the lobby, on the right were the two small check-in desks were you checked in and received your key. Further along the right side was a couch that faced the elevators on the left-hand side; there were 3 elevators but sometimes it took a while for them to come. My room was at the end of the hallway and tip - if you are a light sleeper do NOT get this room because the window faced the alley way with the garbage bins and between 4a-6am the garbage trucks came and made A LOT of noise.

When I opened the door, I did not realize how micro the room was - especially because the price charged was not micro but rather really expensive. You enter into a little hallway with a coat hook and a mirror and then there is a sliding door that leads into the main room. As soon as you enter the main room, on the left hand side is a small desk with a chair that blocks your entrance into the room. Literally right next to the desk is the extra-large twin bed and right next to the next is another bedside table and the room ends. The bed was on the left-side of the room as on the right was a stack of shelves for storage, the window that had black-out shades but was not noise cancelling, and TV mounted to the wall with a small ledge underneath. The bed was decent and comfortable but there was definitely a lack of storage space and there was no room to move around the bed - it was very tight space. In between the hallway and the main room was a sliding door and that sliding door was the main door to your bathroom - so either the door slid to close the bathroom door but then left the entrance to the hallway open or the entrance to the hallway was closed and the bathroom door was open; not very good design. The bathroom itself was a decent size and had a toilet, a small sink, and a small shower - the shower was decent but was poorly designed so that the water spilled everywhere outside when you showered. The bathroom also had zero storage space so there was no place to put your toiletry kit or other storage. There were refillable bathroom toiletries in the shower with shampoo and body wash and a soap and lotion were provided in the sink. As it is a micro-hotel, there were not the standard amenities that you would find at a regular hotel. Instead this hotel offered wifi, a hotel restaurant, there was a gym in the basement, and an iron and ironing board in the room. The wifi was decent and provided enough speed to connect devices and stream videos. I was mainly there for work so did not time to checkout the gym nor the restaurant but the restaurant seemed very popular amongst locals, especially for happy hour.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the hotel. The room was definitely small but the price was that of a standard hotel room in D.C. - the hotel offered a micro-hotel at a standard hotel room rates - its convenient as its located across the street from the metro station but that is all the bonuses...

A perfect option for solo travelers.

Pros:

-Affordability -Location -Staff -Cleanliness -Amenities

Cons: -Parking

Tips: -The room is 150 sq ft., this was perfect for my needs but may be something to consider if you are traveling with friends/family. -Parking was a mess and I will go into further details about this below. -Walgreens is right below and to the right in case you need any last minute things

Context of stay: I was here for Otakon, a large anime convention, from 7/28/23 to 7/31/23.

Full Review:

Upon initial arrival, I was pleasantly surprised by the location. Odingas greeted me straightaway and did an excellent job explaining the room and the style of hotel it was. I really appreciated this as I had never stayed in a hotel room this size before. There is no fridge or microwave in the room itself, however these were not considerations of mine and so not a dealbreaker. Odingas helped me bring in my luggage and bags and held onto them for me while I went to find the recommended parking garage, I will elaborate on this further down below.

After finding parking, he helped me to bring my items up to my room and I was happy to find a sparkling clean room. The shower has plenty of toiletries for you to use. A small thing that I particularly like is that this room has plenty of wall outlets so from any point I could charge my batteries for all my stuff to stay on during events where I could be recording, taking pictures, and using my small fan (it was 100 degrees this weekend). Every day I came in and out Chris and Odingas greeted me. I really felt like they treated me like a friend and made sure to help me wherever and however they could.

In terms of location this place could not possibly be any cuter. There is a rooftop bar and a bar inside the lobby called Crimson. It is right behind the Chinatown Gate, and 4 minutes away from the Walter E Washington convention center. I loved having somewhere to rest my feet after walking around for hours. The Walgreens right below was so convenient and there are tons of restaurants around that you could take your pick from. I was thinking of renting a hostel, but for the slightly more expensive price I had my own bathroom, bed, and enough space to work.

Now onto the only gripe I had with everything. For all the work Motto staff did to make this an excellent stay, I found that by contrast, the parking situation was only made more frustrating and that much worse in comparison. Directly on the Motto website they recommend reserving a parking spot in advance (which I did) After he helped me bring my bags in Odingas told me to turn my car around and go to the parking garage on 6th street run by Colonial parking. Despite having a "reserved spot" they waved me on due to being full. The next two parking garages were run by LAZ parking and also full. I believe this may have been due to the Drake concert going on. I went to the next colonial parking on 8th street, where I asked if they were honoring reservations from Motto, they were not, and at this point I was okay with accepting the cost to park overnight anyway since I was tired and had been driving around for quite some time at this point. I ended up paying 4 times the amount and I feel like the promise of being able to enter and exit with no extra charge as a perk of staying at Motto was not fulfilled. This was truly my only issue, but it was a big enough problem that I feel like this represented the hotel and Hilton overall very poorly.

In general, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and I strongly recommend this for anyone looking for a comfortable, affordable and clean stay in the...

We stayed at Motto by Hilton Washington DC last weekend, and it turned out to be a great choice for a last-minute trip. We booked the night before and appreciated how easy and efficient the process was. Our reservation was for the bunk bed room, but because we requested an early check-in, that room type wasn’t available at the time. The staff helped us adjust, and check-in was smooth.

Let’s talk about the room: the space is mini—truly minimalist. There’s just enough room to walk around the bed, but not for two people to pass at once. That said, the room is thoughtfully designed. There was more than enough storage for our needs, with clever hooks and hangers perfect for purses, jackets, and bags. It’s not a room you’d lounge in all day, but for sleeping and exploring the city, it does the job well.

That night, we decided to stay in and enjoy the wedding cake we had with us. Since the rooms don’t have tables or seating space for two, we headed downstairs to the lobby area near the bar. There’s a stylish lounge connected to the on-site bar and kitchen. When we arrived, the hostess told us we could sit in the back since we had outside food—but to clean up after ourselves. I thought it was a bit odd because the room was nearly empty, but I let it go. We just wanted to enjoy the moment.

We ended up ordering food anyway. The bar menu looked great, and while we waited, I overheard someone mention that a jazz band was setting up—downstairs. A downstairs bar? Surprise number one! I asked the bartender about it, and she enthusiastically said, “Yes," but then added, "and also, you’ve got to check out the rooftop bar!”

Rooftop bar?! Surprise number two!

She offered to have our food sent upstairs and asked us to meet the rooftop hostess at the elevator for access. That kind of service is exactly what makes a stay memorable. We packed up and started wiping down our table—but as we were cleaning up, staff began telling us not to worry about it. We were grateful, but here’s where things turned south.

When we met the rooftop hostess at the elevator, she told us we couldn’t go upstairs. I explained that we were hotel guests and had already placed an order. She hesitated, then said the bartender shouldn’t have told us to go up. She eventually let us on the elevator—but then turned around and yelled at the bartender.

It felt incredibly unprofessional.

I went back to the front desk and asked if the rooftop bar had restrictions. The answer? “No, it’s open to hotel guests.” The desk associate offered to report the situation to management, and I appreciated the gesture. It wasn’t enough to ruin the stay—but I do hope that hostess isn't on duty next time we visit.

On a positive note, the rooftop DJ, delicious brussels sprouts, and sweet chili bites we ordered were full of flavor and perfect for sharing. The food presentation was lovely and felt upscale without being fussy.

The view alone was worth the trip. Motto’s location puts you right in the middle of the action without the chaos of a...