Park Hyatt Washington D.C. — Hotel in Washington

I stayed 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Washington. I booked a junior suite that varied between $411 and $655 per night before taxes. So, it is hardly cheap but hardly expensive.||||The Park Hyatt is in a neighborhood with a lot of comparable hotels. The neighborhood has a lot of offices, a few restaurants, and some embassies. There’s a Fairmont and Westin across the street; a Ritz-Carlton is a short distance away as is the Four Seasons; there’s also a Marriott and, on the lower end of the spectrum, a Hyatt Place. So, a lot of options. All those hotels are within 5 minutes by car of the Park Hyatt. ||||Unlike some nearby hotels, the Park Hyatt accurately markets itself as being in Washington, D.C. The Westin and Marriott, for example, claim to be in Georgetown, when Georgetown is a solid 15-minute walk.||||Upon arrival at check-in, I wasn’t upgraded beyond the junior suite and there was no welcome letter or amenity. The front desk did give me two drink vouchers for the bar. Between my Hyatt top-tier globalist status and the fact that I did pay for a suite in cash (no points were used!) I thought I might at least get a bowl of fruit and a welcome letter. No such recognition.||||That aside, Hyatt globalists get good delivery of their benefits—namely, the breakfast benefit. Unlike some Marriott properties in Washington, the hotel doesn’t play games with the breakfast benefit. There’s also no resort fee or destination fee.||||Plus, the restaurant is excellent. It’s one of the better restaurants in Washington. It was so popular I couldn’t get a table inside the dining room for three of my four nights. They don’t seem to keep a few empty reserved tables for hotel guests who are unaware that they need to pre-book dinner reservations. One small note: At the restaurant’s prices, I would typically expect a candle and a white tablecloth. Also, bread and butter should be served with main courses.||||Regarding the hotel itself, this is a 1980s building starting to show its age. The interior decor blends Asian, Ikea/Nordic, and California—lots of browns, beiges and grays. The bar and restaurant have a semi-awkward design. The bar functions as overflow seating for customers unable to get a table in the restaurant’s dining room. However, some of these tables are extremely low, and the chairs are uncomfortable as they lack back pillows to help with posture and a comfortable seating position. I’m a short man, and my knees hit the underside of the dining table. It was like the furniture was designed for a kindergarten. Also, you’re eating or drinking next to a hotel guest in pajamas reading the newspaper, or they’re working on their computer. Even in the bar/lounge area, you expect a more elevated atmosphere, given the price point of the hotel and the restaurant. Finding your way into the restaurant from the elevators and lobby is also a challenge, as the most obvious corridor leads into the kitchen area and not the hostess stand. There’s a lovely outside patio, but they don’t use it in the winter. The lounge area gets so much sunshine in the late afternoons that it’s like a solarium or greenhouse. The huge bank of windows doesn’t seem to have curtains or electronic blinds. That makes sitting in this area uncomfortable.||||The blend of Asian, Ikea/Nordic, and California decor continues in guest rooms. The decor feels more California residential than a 4-star or 5-star luxury hotel. For a suite, it just looked and felt tired. There was a noticeable shortage of accessible USB and electrical outlets, no useable refrigerator (there’s a mini-fridge, but it’s a stocked mini-bar), and a smaller 40-inch television when many comparable hotels in the year 2025 would have a TV of 50 to 52 inches. The bed is low to the floor, and there are no drawers anywhere in the sitting room/living room or the bedroom. Just one flat nightstand and a flat desk. There are no drawers to put anything in. There was some visible wear and tear on walls, furniture, carpet, etc. But it is because of the color scheme. The colors show everything.||||The bathroom is spacious, but the walk-in shower was exposed, and no door separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom. Again, it has a more residential feeling than a hotel. It is perfectly fine for one person but not ideal for two people who value privacy in this situation. The shower itself was lined in stone, which had visible mildew, grime, and just wear and tear. Speaking of the bathroom, the toiletries are wall-mounted dispensers above the bathtub, which is inconvenient for the shower. Also, the dispenser-style shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles are not tamper-proof. Only one bar of soap was provided in the bathroom. You used it in either the bathroom or the shower. That said, the bathroom countertop was well-stocked with additional individual-sized toiletries, like a dental kit and mouthwash. ||||The bed had Garnier-Thiebaut linen, which is acceptable. Given Park Hyatt’s brand positioning, I would have expected Frette or Garnier-Thiebaut at this price point. However, the pillows were awful. First, they were small and thin. Like flat pancakes for a twin-sized bed. Some of the worst hotel pillows that I have ever had. Some of the pillows were stained and worn. Some had pillow protectors. Others didn’t. Second, they only use one fitted sheet and then a duvet wrapped in an envelope-style sheet or whatever it is called. There was no top, flat sheet. The duvet was a cheap 100% polyester-filled, made-in-China duvet. It felt like polyester cotton balls. So, while the linen was excellent quality, the pillows were awful, and the duvet was more like a Holiday Inn Express-quality duvet. If I’m being honest, the bedding at typical Hyatt Place and Hyatt Regency properties is better and of a higher quality than the Park Hyatt Washington.||||Those things aside, housekeeping did an excellent job. My room was cleaned twice daily: once in the morning or early afternoon and then again with turndown service. The mini-bar was stocked and replenished without me ever asking. The staff were polite, professional, and gracious. ||||Also, I appreciated the hotel provides multiple daily newspapers (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times) and a free coffee station every morning. That’s something little that most hotels have eliminated. It’s nice getting an old-fashioned paper copy of the newspaper and a morning coffee. Especially if you must leave early for meetings or the airport and can’t wait for the restaurant to open for breakfast.||||Now, the real question: Is the Park Hyatt worth it? If I’m being honest, I think the overall hard product across the street at the Fairmont is better and more upscale. The Park Hyatt felt more like a nice Hyatt Regency or a nice JW Marriott, not a Park Hyatt. There’s no question that the nearby Four Season is the best option. I also think the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown is a better option. But the Park Hyatt is marginally better than the closer Ritz-Carlton on 22nd St., Northwest, and considerably better than the Westin and Marriott. ||||All things considered, the Park Hyatt’s hard product is average if not a little below average, the service is better than average, and the elite benefits are better than average. If they updated rooms, had a few more amenities (like a club lounge or little things like a second bar of soap), and improved guest recognition (like an amenity or personalized welcome letter for a globalist booking a suite), I would consider it the second-best luxury hotel in Washington behind only the Four Seasons. I would stay again, but I’m price shopping next time and will not automatically book the Park Hyatt because I’m a Hyatt globalist. The Fairmont was considerably cheaper than the Park Hyatt. As was the Ritz-Carlton on 22nd St., Northwest. Notably, both the Fairmont and Ritz-Carlton have...

*Update: The Asst. Front Office Manager reached out via email the first business day after this review to address our complaint. As a result, I've given them an extra star.

We arrived at 3:30pm on a Friday to be told that check-in was at 4pm and our room was not ready yet. That was fine, we were early, so we waited in the lobby. I got back in line to check at 4pm - there were other couples waiting on their rooms - and by the time I got back to the desk at 4:05pm, I was told our room was still not ready and they could not provide an estimate because that would require reaching out to housekeeping (which was apparently an insurmountable task). I told them we had reservations and plans for the evening, and I'd checked using my Marriott App and the St. Regis and Ritz Carlton both had rooms available. I explained that if it was going to take longer than 15 minutes for our room to be ready, we'd be better off asking them to cancel our valet charges, refund the points and money used for the room, and head to the St. Regis. I even asked if a more expensive room was available. At that point, someone who I assume was the manager stepped in and found us a junior suite with city view - the same thing I'd reserved - but on a lower floor and therefore $30 cheaper. So we took it.

The room was OK, it was missing a towel (only one was hung by the shower despite two hooks) and there were two shampoos instead of a body wash. But the large shower and separate soaking tub were very nice. With the lower floor we woke up once to the sound of sirens (I've stayed twice at The Westin across the street and never woke up to street noise, but The Westin upgraded me both stays to a higher club room due to my status). The gym was also nice, as well as the pool area, although we had to stop and ask at the front desk how to find them.

I don't often stay in Hyatts, but I have roughly 800 nights in Marriott and Hilton hotels. I feel like their quality and service have gone down since COVID - for example, Marriott lounges in DC were closed during the holidays - so I wanted to try the Park Hyatt. This is the first time staying in a hotel in 800+ nights where our room was not ready at check-in and we weren't somehow compensated, either with an upgrade, comped breakfast or parking, extra points, etc. I paid for a room to be ready at 4pm and it wasn't ready. They explained that the previous guest had requested a late checkout and had left at 3:30pm. Honestly, I don't care, I paid for a room starting at 4pm and it wasn't ready. They shouldn't accommodate late checkouts if they can't get the rooms ready for the next guest.

In short, the room was a 3, the bathroom was a 5 (for a junior suite), so call it a 4. Service was a 3 at best (I saw other couples still waiting for their rooms). The location was good for walking to Georgetown in nice weather. Unless you're a devout Hyatt loyalist, I'd recommend trying a different hotel. Had I known our room wouldn't be ready on time, I'd have...

This was our first stay at a Park Hyatt, and we chose the Park Hyatt Washington D.C. for a quick one-night getaway. While our trip wasn't exactly what we envisioned due to unforeseen circumstances, the hotel itself was undeniably impressive (more on this later).

Arrival and Check-in

We went there for our stay on early March. Upon arrival, there was a slight wait for the valet service due to a busy period. We waited in our car for a few minutes before heading inside. Despite the initial wait, the valet staff was friendly and assisted us with our luggage.

The check-in process was smooth. The front desk staff was professional and welcoming. They explained our upgrade to a Park Junior Suite, highlighted hotel amenities, and informed us about the complimentary breakfast included with our Globalist status.

The Room

The upgraded Park Junior Suite was beautiful and spotless. It came with fresh fruit and bottled water, and the bathroom was equally impressive. We did experience some minor noise from what seemed like a family gathering in the next room. While not overly disruptive, there was a noticeable lack of soundproofing between units.

Location

The hotel boasts a fantastic location. It's situated in a quiet area with easy walking distance to Georgetown and other parts of DC. The weather cooperated perfectly for us to explore the city on foot. We strolled from the hotel to the Lincoln Memorial and surrounding areas before heading to a restaurant reservation in Dupont Circle.

Unforeseen Illness

Unfortunately, our perfect getaway took a turn after dinner. My wife experienced food poisoning after dinner (not at the hotel restaurant, but another restaurant around Dupont Circle area), suffering from diarrhea and vomiting throughout the night. (I was unscathed though we shared some of our meals.) This significantly impacted our ability to fully enjoy the hotel's offerings.

Breakfast at Blue Duck Tavern

Despite my wife feeling unwell, we decided to try breakfast at Blue Duck Tavern. The service was exceptional, and the staff genuinely cared about our experience. They noticed my wife wasn't eating much (she ordered Matcha Souffle Pancake) and offered alternatives, which we ultimately declined and explained to the staffs that she wasn't eating much due to her illness, not because she disliked the food.

The BDT Benedict I ordered was delicious, but the new matcha souffle pancake that my wife ordered and I tasted, wasn't a standout (interestingly, even a staff member confided in disliking it). The manager even approached us to gather feedback on this new menu item, which I provided.

Overall Impression

We would give the Park Hyatt DC a 5/5 rating. The hotel's location, room, service, and (mostly) the food at Blue Duck Tavern were all fantastic. We hope to return soon for a proper stay where we can fully experience everything the...