The Poppy Georgetown — Hotel in Washington

I’ve been thinking about what I would say in a review for the Avery. My husband and I booked a two night stay. I have stayed at other properties in DC but came across this and thought it looked very charming and had great reviews so we were excited. I had called twice before our arrival and my radar was already up because nobody ever picked up the phone, it just rang and rang. Upon my third call, someone answered. When we arrived after a 4 hour car ride, we went inside and out walked into the bar/lounge area. Nobody was there so we waited for a couple of minutes. Nobody showed up. We walked down the hall and up the steps thinking there must be a front desk somewhere. There was nobody. We actually went back outside to see if we had the wrong entrance. This seemed like the only entrance so after 23 minutes, my husband went downstairs and saw a closet door open. There was a woman in there doing laundry. When he said “hello” she got very alarmed and all she could say was “you scared me” . We explained we wanted to check in and that there was nobody anywhere to be found, instead of apologizing she just went upstairs. By the time we found her, it was around 2:30. Now she tells us our room isn’t ready yet. We have chosen our arrival time to be between 12-1pm that day, no mention anywhere rooms wouldn’t be ready near that time. When we asked about valet, she said he doesn’t arrive until 3pm. So we waited some more. She told us she was the only one there because they were empty. Upon us waiting, she was on the phone with a guest who called and she offered him a room upgrade. When I asked about an upgrade she said she could have done it if we were only staying one night but because we were staying two, we could move to another room the first night and then move again the second night. This coming off her saying the hotel was empty. While we were waiting for our room, we hiked up to where the parking is which is like 4 blocks away. The time I called before arrival I was told parking was $50 for valet. Now we find out it’s $50 a night. She did the right thing by reducing the charge for us after we expressed our dissatisfaction. So now that we’re parked in one of their spots, we’re told we can move our car for the stay. That’s annoying. When we return to the hotel, our room is ready. It was the first room right off the entrance/ bar/ lounge area. Rooms are fairly small but not a big deal. Decor is cute. The room and bathroom could have been cleaner as there was Hair on the ground and Hair on the towels to which I requested extra towels, which again had Hair on them. I can tell you that it is extremely noisy. We live in an old home so I understand lack of sound protection but this was quite extreme, maybe because it was the first room? I was woken up by the clambering of glasses and dishes for I’m guessing the complimentary breakfast in the morning. There always appeared to be a staff of only 1 person, sometimes you would see the person sitting in the lounge and other times you wouldn’t see anyone. I never saw any other guests, either. My point is that it’s fairly expensive to stay here. While the decor and idea is nice, it could be executed much better. Better customer service, more than a staff of 1 (I am guessing this is why it wasn’t completely clean). Would I give it the worst review? No, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it or stay here again for the price. I was thinking I should have booked the...

We had a really great experience here. We chose this hotel for our brief stay over the 4th of July for its proximity to some local family members. We were really pleasantly surprised by the B&B feel of the hotel. It's got great proximity to Rose Park, is a 10 minute walk from Dupont Circle, and a 15 minute walk from the Georgetown waterfront, while being on a really quiet stretch of street.

The staff was very accommodating, and we felt bad turning down their hospitality each time it was offered as we were trying to pack in a very full agenda. Coming back at 11PM to an offer of champagne, beer, or wine when all we wanted was to fall asleep was very endearing but passed upon. The rooms were very nice, with comfortable beds, spacious bathrooms, and small electric fireplaces.

In fact, our only two gripes really came down to the rooms. The first was that on our last day (when we opted to shower at the hotel instead of at my cousin's place) the water wouldn't get much above lukewarm even after running it for a bit. However, the more sticky point for my wife and I was that most channels on the TV aren't included. It seems there's a basic cable package, but most of the TV we saw that looked interesting was unavailable, which was frustrating when trying to pick something to watch before bed or when killing some time in the morning. The latter issue may not bother most, but was flustering for us.

We look forward to our next stay here (it is our new DC hotel when visiting our family), and hopefully the issues will have been...

Georgetown is probably my most favorite part of D.C. to visit - there's so much heritage, personality & class (not to mention a warm, upscale vibe) to the area. The Avery Georgetown completely personifies this, and more.

The hotel is in a FANTASTIC location, just minutes from downtown Georgetown shopping and delicious restaurants - it might be the only one that close in proximity with the quality that one would want in a stay. The building itself has so much history, but has been renovated in a way that one can still get the old world sense, without sacrificing modern comforts (like the refined L'Occitane toiletries in the sleek bathroom, flat screen TV, luxury high thread count soft sheets, fluffy pillows & duvet). It was the most restful night of sleep I had, it felt like home!

Thoughtful touches like the COMPLIMENTARY minibar with yummy drinks/snacks makes you forget that you're a visitor in town. The generous (& comped) evening drink/wine hour at the downstairs lobby/bar also serves as a great place to connect with the most interesting / cultured group of travelers also enjoying Georgetown/DC.

On my travels, I tend to avoid impersonal/corporate/cookie-cutter type experiences (who wants that?), and I've found The Avery to be the perfect,...