Placemakr Dupont Circle

The fridge and AC were so quiet that I managed to sleep without earplugs, which almost never happens for me in hotels. The room was clean, modern, and comfortable, with loads of storage. We stayed four nights, and it was like having an apartment with hotel service: we could cook, and had our own dishwasher and clothes washer. I'd definitely recommend it and come back, it had everything we needed.

Our room, M3101, was huge, with high ceilings and a lovely window view of Dupont Circle. It felt like a full suite and even had a washing machine. The older building has lots of character, the location felt very safe, and everything was spotless and well kept. The elevator was a little unusual, which made it more interesting and fun for us. Staff were welcoming from the moment we arrived, and the reception team and everyone else we met went out of their way to make us comfortable. One of my nicest hotel stays. Highly recommend!

The hotel reimbursed us later, but that doesn't make up for the fear, stress, humiliation, and danger of being put out at 1:30 AM with police called for no valid reason. This was the worst hotel experience of my life, and I'd strongly urge people to think carefully before booking. My friend and I checked in around 9:00 PM. At about 10, she went out to eat while I stayed in the room to sleep. Before leaving, she spent around ten minutes talking with the receptionist and asking for local recommendations. The receptionist gave her a passcode to use when she came back. When she returned at about 1:00 AM, the code didn't work. The receptionist was there and had spoken to her earlier, but staff wouldn't let her in. That same receptionist told another receptionist she'd “never seen her before,” which wasn't true. They wouldn't even talk to my friend, who stood outside in the cold for nearly 30 minutes trying to explain she was a registered guest. Eventually they let her in, and she asked to speak to a manager. Then the receptionist told the manager she didn't want us staying there. Rather than hear us out or acknowledge that the hotel was in the wrong, the manager threatened my friend, saying we had to leave at once or the police would be called. I was asleep in the room and knew nothing about this. Around 1:30 AM, my friend came in crying and told me we were being forced out. As we packed, someone knocked. Five police officers arrived with several police cars and sirens, and escorted us from the hotel in the middle of the night. They told us that because the property was privately owned, the hotel could evict us without giving a reason. We were shocked and humiliated, and had nowhere else to stay that night, despite having done nothing wrong.

DuPont Circle is right across the street, with lots of sightseeing within walking distance, and the building itself looked nice, though we didn't explore it much. I wish we'd asked for a better room, but I suspect it would've been the same one with a nicer view. We booked through Airbnb after seeing photos of a bright, attractive room, then got a “C” room, meaning courtyard, or basically basement. The decor had the usual HGTV look, with LVP floors, cheap cabinets, and clunky furniture. Our windows faced brick walls and garbage tossed down from the sidewalk above. For a stay costing over $1000, it felt like a rip-off. Service was almost nonexistent despite signs in the room saying to call, email, or text for help. We needed more laundry detergent pods, but my text got no reply. There were no phones in the rooms, and the number on the fridge didn't work. I found another number on Google, called, and was told by the front desk to come get them myself. It wasn't a huge problem, but you'd think housekeeping could bring supplies to the room for that price. The front desk was empty half the time, and service was hit or miss when someone was there. We could always walk right into the building, but one night while I waited in the lobby for food, another guest couldn't get in. I told the woman at the desk, but she stayed seated and yelled for the guest to enter her code. The woman was struggling to figure it out. The desk attendant then told me it was for security that she couldn't let people in, as if I'd been criticizing her for not doing her job.