The Mayflower Hotel, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Washington

My unfortunate experience at the Mayflower hotel this past week negatively affected 3 out of 4 days of my stay. Luckily, I was able to check into the room early but there was no view...just a brick wall. On the second day, the sink backed up and the shower drained slowly. Engineering fixed both issues but upon returning to the room, I found remanence in the sink from when the water was drained, dark schmutz on the lid of the toilet and the blockage from the drain was floating in toilet bowl. I had no choice but to call housekeeping to clean the bathroom which they did.

I generally don’t order room service when staying in hotels but this time I wanted the experience so on the third day I ordered breakfast. What arrived was partially incorrect, for which I was charged. I called In Room Dining and they promptly removed the additional charge for the items that were brought but I didn’t order.

I was also told, prior to reserving the hotel, that a microwave was available, however, when it was needed, I was informed by a male staff wearing a security type badge that there wasn't one. When I confronted him with front desk staff's contradiction to his response, he then directed me to the Front Desk Manager who then consulted with the Edgar Restaurant Manager, Joe. Upon inquiry about the microwave procedure/policy, Joe stated that the microwave was only available when the restaurant was open, I needed to sign a waiver, and a manager must be the one to use it. He also shared that a microwave unit could be requested for the room ahead of arrival. None of this was revealed to me when I called before making my reservation. Ultimately, Joe did warm my food despite the restaurant being closed.

That evening the Business Center was planned for use, so I spoke with the front desk because the space was unusually warm in comparison to the rest of the hotel. I was told that Engineering would address it. I preemptively asked if one of the alternate rooms could be used were it not fixed and was referred to the opposite front desk. Needless to say, the Business Center was still warm at time of use and staff shared that the other room was not available despite no one using it, so an electric fan was given to mitigate the heat.

Upon check out, I spoke to Mr. Murphy, Rooms Operations Manager, to share the disappointment with my stay at the hotel and wanted to know how he could remedy the circumstance. During that exchange it became clear that the room service bill was incorrect. Mr. Murphy stated that he would consult with the restaurant manager, investigate and contact me. I noted concern for my credit card being charged for all incidentals since formal check out was soon approaching. He noted that there was still time. I requested his business card with which he obliged. When I hadn't heard from him an hour and 15 minutes later, I called and he said he'll 'call back after I help this guest, I found a resolution.' I haven't heard from him since then. I then placed three additional calls over the next two days to him and none of them were answered or returned.

The next day, I contacted the hotel’s Accounts Payable office and Ms. Rachelle diligently reviewed my itemized Guest Folio/receipt, found another error and cited intent to refund my credit card, which she did.

I'm recovering from what was supposed to be my vacation and I'm still plagued by my Mayflower hotel experience. The mere fact that none of my issues have been remedied and I'm forced to recount the entirety of my tumultuous weekend is very frustrating and counter-intuitive to the very reason why I scheduled my weekend getaway. How could so many negative occurrences happen in such a short period of time in...

At best, this place might be mediocre…for my husband, son, and me, it’s been awful. Writing this as we are still completing our stay in this hotel. The staff is mostly rude and unwilling to help and the hotel is extremely dirty and old.

We chose this hotel partially for location but also because it allowed us to have a one bedroom suite. Upon arrival, we were told we would have an upgraded suite (upgraded from the original one bed suite we booked) due to our Bonvoy status. That did not happen. We weren’t too upset about it until multiple other things transpired.

We were given a second room which was essentially the same (not an upgrade) with the same issues. We have a ten month old and wanted to be able to set him up to sleep in one room while we slept in the other.

Within five minutes of being in the original room, we let him crawl around. His knees and hands were INSTANTLY black and dirty. It was actually so disgusting to acknowledge that the filth was directly from the carpet. I can’t believe the prices this place demands when their rooms are so foul. Upon moving to the second room, we hoped that it might be cleaner…nope! It also caused our son to get black hands and knees from crawling around.

Second, the AC is horrible and old. We can barely hear anything over the ac units (in either room). It sounds like an industrial fan just going on and off all day and night. Hearing our son in the other room will certainly be impossible which basically defeats the purpose of paying for a larger room to accommodate for him.

Typically, we set up a wifi baby monitor…but nope, not here! When we called down to the front desk for the standard wifi password to set up the monitor, the person on the other end was rude and “had no idea” what I was talking about. We have used this baby monitor in other hotels and haven’t had issues receiving their general password to set it up. So, not only can we not hear really anything over this awful AC unit-even in an attempt to use a monitor to help the situation is impossible.

The beds aren’t comfortable-my husband’s side of the mattress is sinking in and it feels like he is sleeping on the frame.

The place is old and dingy but they get away with this by calling it “historic”. The rooms are gross and filthy-there’s zero excuse for it. Unacceptable to charge what they charge for this place and the room. I would highly recommend staying further away in a ritz, or even paying a bit more at the st. Regis. We have stayed in places around the world and this is one of the worst hotels I’ve stayed in.

I didn’t realize you could add photos but I will definitely upload photos tomorrow of my son’s dirty hands and knees to this review as proof!

Update-during our second day here, today, we ordered some room service to the room. I asked for an iced latte. There was a bit of back and forth about what an iced latte was on the phone which was a little concerning but I decided I would hope for the best…my drink arrived with a large cup of ice and a hot up of coffee (not an actual latte). When I called down to ask for a remake, the man on the other end yelled at me. He told me that’s how you make an iced latte (if I had poured the hot drink on ice it would have made a water drink) and that the bar makes the drink that way. We have left for the day but certainly don’t expect kind service when we return. Additionally, when we moved rooms last night, the same bellhop was very kind upon arrival helped us. He was angry we were moving and was throwing our bags and...

Check-in was pleasant and Caesar who helped us in from the curb was delightfully friendly. Lady working the front desk was pretty nice, but advised us of the situation with room service and receiving food. There isn't any. Also there is no one to bring you food if you order out. She did say that if we insist, they would arrange for someone to bring food up that we ordered out. I did order out and because I am currently walking with a cane in our room was a good distance from the lobby, I asked that the front desk either allow the driver to bring the food up or send it up. The gentleman I spoke with then told me with a great deal of attitude that they would make a one-time exception and that they typically don't do that. When the food arrived I called down to advise them. 15 minutes later it had still not come to the room so I hobbled down to get it. Of course it was cold by this point. Frustrating. In any case, the room was very nice but small. No coffee maker in room. A small fridge but no stocked mini bar. RV was of the trash cans in the alley but the natural light coming through the windows which had a nice shade system was enjoyable. Bathroom was excellent. Large closet space as well. We really didn't need more than that. There was also a nice chaise lounge and a decent sized desk. You have to request maid service daily which I did not realize the first day but figured out for the second and third. I don't know if they changed the sheets but they did make the bed and brought fresh towels, as well as toiletries which was good enough. The in-house restaurant, Edgar, was very good for breakfast and with fast service. Rather expensive but that's DC for you. There was the occasional doorman but often times found ourselves opening the doors which wasn't a big deal unless we had our hands full. Other hotels of similar price and caliber do have full-time doormen. Location was phenomenal for access to virtually everything. I suppose that is one of the reasons that Harry Truman called it the second best address in Washington. Here's the bottom line though, while it is a nice hotel and most of the staff was friendly and generally helpful when necessary, service is not a standout. I realize a lot of properties have used and are using covid as a way and excuse to curtail traditional services, but this is frustrating. It bears mentioning that the public spaces in the hotel are beautiful but the businesses on the ground floor except for Edgar seem to be closed or not open regular hours. I suppose my sign off is this; it is a very beautiful and historic hotel with charms all its own, but for the price point, the lack of service is frustrating, and I am not surprised that they have lost their Forbes 4 star rating, though they do maintain their four diamond rating through AAA. The latter rain however is quite dated and I would not be surprised if that is reevaluated in the near future. Having stayed at the Mandarin Oriental which is probably twice as expensive and the Watergate which is marginally more expensive on my two other most recent trips, I can say with certainty that while I would definitely return to those two, a return to the Mayflower is not at the...