The Churchill Hotel Near Embassy Row — Hotel in Washington

Great historic property in an embassy laden location, you can really feel the historic quality of the area.

The hotel fell short for the price and location, just a bit. The finer touches need to be looked at, you can feel that the management may be off-site and trusting to on premises staff to report back, and that is leading to a feeling of "coasting" or plateauing in the upkeep and reinvestment into the property.

The restaurant attached to the hotel is standard fare and should be complementary as far as the flavor profile and quality of the offerings; to charge going-rate prices for the institutional-level preparation was a "fool me once" situation. We decided not to patronize them for the remainder of our stay and opted for delivery or eating out. The complementary coffee bar in the morning was clutch tho, thank you Lavazza.

The room was quality, a very expensive space and you can imagine Presidential visits in the past. The bed was beautiful and comfortable, the pillows were top quality as well as the sheets. There was a small office space to the side, and the windows opened onto a quiet street with views of a neighboring embassy or two. The in-room complementary Lavazza Keurig was awesome and very welcome. They refilled the two bottles of water and K-cups for the Keurig every morning, which felt very very nice. There were ample bedside power outlets, super welcome in this age of mobile devices and each plug was quickly populated with chargers. The water pressure was nice, and the included shampoo/conditioner/body wash smelt great and I wished they sold full sized versions in the lobby to take home. The lobby staff at check in was very welcome and professional, felt great to be received so well at arrival.

Great walking distance to a wide array of great restaurants, the national zoo, and public transportation. This cannot be stated enough as this is a major selling point.

Continuing the review of the hotel, there are some points that need to be addressed. The wallpaper is showing gaps in the seams, the toilet paper holder for some reason was partially detached and from the holes and screws in the wall around it, this isn't the first time it was replaced. The walls were a bit thin, we are fortunate that our neighbors were quiet at night and/or the room adjoining ours was vacant. The hallway noise was very easy to hear inside the room, again we were fortunate to be in an end of the hall room with the least foot traffic possible. The shower did take a bit to warm up, reminded me of an older apartment building where the water heater had to get going before it got hot. It makes sense if this building was never cutover to a more modern new electric gas boiler. The bedside tables were sharp, so sharp, and the bed frame itself had a very strong iron tab that was intended to hold the box spring in place but ended up scraping the back of my calf muscle more than once. Yeowtch.

Having a later flight I booked an extra day at the hotel, and checked out early. The clerk simply accepted the key cards with a shrug and an uncomfortable smile as if to say "what do you want for checking out early" and nothing was processed, nothing was noted in the computer. I believe our rooms were left idle until our scheduled checkout time the next day, yet another sign that this establishment is running on autopilot and not necessarily being driven. It's possible the property owner dreams of a building full of Airbnb where checking in, cleaning, and checking out is done entirely by the occupants but I feel the expectations of this being a hotel is weighing down their aspirations.

Despite the small amount of negatives we would patronize this establishment again, as it beats many places we've stayed in, including some high ranking...

This is quite possibly, the closest I've been 1 starring a review and turned the ship around before posting. So first, the bad. Do not expect a parking space in the garage if you're a late check in. Parking in this area of DC is at such a premium, it might be easier to fast rope from a Blackhawk to get here, and since this hotel is in White House airspace, that's saying something. In the right conditions, you could be parking so far away, there would be two hotels between your car and this property. Second, you get an ice bucket in your room. If you scour the second floor for an ice machine like I did, you won't find one. When I went to the front desk, bucket in hand, the clerk looked at me, left abruptly, and left me standing there. A minute later he reappeared with a bag of ice in an outstretched arm as if I had asked for a bag of pet fish. This ice dispensing procedure is a one of a kind in my fifty years and is known only to people who are desperate enough to travel the front desk looking for the location of the ice machine. And after a late check in, a parking debacle, and a five minutes search of the second floor, it is maddeningly unhelpful. Finally, the fan in the bathroom runs when the light is on, a common configuration. However, the fan is as loud as a generator running outside of your window and eventually is enough to make you try to work by ambient light mixed with a cell phone flashlight.

Now the good. This place is stunning. Nestled in Kalorama Heights, the property is within striking distance of almost anything DC has to offer. A recent renovation has been extremely well done while preserving the historic foundation of the hotel. Ornate molding and trim that lines the hallways and guest room doors, along with features like a vintage mail chute remind you of the history this building has to offer, all while providing rooms with well appointed and comfortable furniture and all of the modern amenities one would expect during their stay. Our bathroom was the perfect example of history blended with a modern touch. Our shower featured a white marble finish and a rolling glass door, but also had a small outside double hung window in the shower, the kind Danny Torrance can fit through, but Wendy can't. Opening that perfectly positioned window during my morning shower brought in the fantastic smells of breakfast and fresh air, a one of a kind experience I'm sure will never be duplicated.

I'll be back, and if I can manage to check in much earlier, and remember my ice on the way up to the room, I'm sure it will easily be a five...

It is currently 2:10 AM. I accidentally locked myself out of the room. I was able to go to a colleagues room and use their phone to call the front desk. I made multiple attempts to get a hold of someone with no avail. I proceeded to walk downstairs and there was, a security guard at the front door I told him my situation he responded OK and began to walk towards the elevator, but proceeded to go right and then took another right into a ballroom or meeting room. I followed behind the gentlemen, where I was greeted at the door by an African-American woman that was aggressive with attitude stating do not come in here, why are you in here? I proceeded to say I attempted to call for the last five minutes to get access to my room. She responds back, but you have no business here, I respond well I have no clue where to go. No one is giving me instructions but if someone would’ve answered the phone I wouldn’t be here. The lady proceeds to tell me to shut up. I look at her and say excuse me did you just tell me to shut up she says yes and restates shut up and stop being rude , I say wow completely unprofessional. She responds back that if I continue, I will not get access to my room. There was no voices raised. There was no screaming of aggression, but this is how she proceeded to talk to me. Furthermore, she proceeds to look at the security guard and ask him in an assertive and demeaning tone, why did he let me come back there even though I never left the threshold of the door. The security guard proceeds to raise his voice in an assertive manner at me. I look at him and say, sir please do not allow her to entice you in this situation. The receptionist slid my activated key over the front desk. I Then ask, is there a manager available? She does not respond. I am completely blown away by the representation of the Churchill Hotel. I am here part of the conference for the national Association of workforce boards. My colleague and I have acquired two rooms 616 and 618 for five days. To be treated like this is completely unacceptable and I will no longer stay at this hotel, and make sure to let the members of the national Association of workforce boards planning committee not to utilize this facility for this reason due to the actions of both receptionist and security. I hope that someone gets in contact with me so that way we can rectify the issue, because this is completely unacceptable for the amount of money my Organization has paid. The date is March 25, 2024 at 2 AM...