We've stayed at this hotel before so apparently we like it. I like that it's kind of secluded we had a nice view. Check in was a breeze. The room experience was nice too. Everything was clean & in its place.

My wife and I take one or two trips every year and have become quite adept at finding lodgings that are both affordable and accommodating. Still, while planning our first visit to Washington DC this year, I grew increasingly discouraged by the high prices for hotels that seemed to be in a good location for those who were interested in exploring our nation's capital. So when I came across the Capitol Skyline the first thing that made me happy was the price; it was around $89 per night -- which doesn't seem that cheap until you compare it to other DC hotels.

I read some reviews and checked out their website before deciding to book it.

My wife and I stayed there from the 17th to 22nd October, 2012 and I think it was a good decision. That being said, I'd like to mention a few things that I'm sure would help readers make up their minds very quickly about the hotel.

1) Neighborhood - Some reviewers said that this was a "not so good" neighborhood. The truth is, it was just fine. We walked back to our hotel from the metro every night in the dark (8-9pm) and there were always other people walking or jogging along. On every one of our walks we saw at least two squad cars patrolling the area. It was well lit and the locals we spoke to said they have no concerns about this neighborhood.

2) Location - While we could see the Capitol building from our room (you can from most of the rooms), it's not close enough to want to make the trek to see the sights. That's where you'd want to take advantage of the hotel's courtesy shuttle and DC's top class metro system.

3) Shuttle - A shuttle departs from out front the hotel every half hour from 7:30am through 10:30am. And again in the afternoon for a couple hours. They stop at Capitol Hill, The White House and the Washington Monument. The shuttle is one-way (you have to find your way back to the hotel). The shuttle driver we had was from Egypt (same guy everyday) and gave us bad directions every time we asked for it. He also played Egyptian music all the time -- which did get to be a little annoying. If I had anything to complain about it would be him. On one occasion my wife had forgotten her jacket in our room and went to retrieve it. She was getting in the elevator to head back down as the driver pulled up (I had her on the phone). I told him she was on her way down and would be only a minute -- he literally waited 30 seconds before telling me to catch the next shuttle. He was pulling away just as she exited the front door -- so we ended up having to stand around for half an hour because the driver couldn't wait 15 seconds more.

4) Metro - The subway system in DC is easy to navigate and efficient. The two closest ones to the hotel are Capitol South (15 - 18 minutes walk) and The Navy Yard Metro (10 - 12 minutes walk). The Navy Yard is not only closer, it's also an easier walk; which makes a huge difference after being on your feet all day. The fare from as far away as Foggy Bottom is only about $3.10 per person. A taxi can cost substantially more.

5) Hotel - The hotel isn't new, but it's clean and charming. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. We got to the hotel at about 7:45am and they let us check in. When we were leaving they held our bags for us (our flight was at 10:30pm) while we enjoyed our last day on the town. In reviews I read before, some people complained about sirens from the nearby station. Honestly, we heard them, but they never disrupted our sleep or really bothered us at all. In fact, we heard more sirens around the National Mall and Capitol Hill. What did seem a little disruptive was when we could here people going by in the hall. The walls do seem a bit thin -- but disruptions were so infrequent that it never really mattered that much to us.

6) Restaurant - The hotel restaurant is a bit expensive and other than the McDonald's across the street, there aren't too many options for dining close by. My advice -- leave early enough to have breakfast at your destination and have dinner before you return.

7) Pool - It was too cold, so we never used it.

All-in-all this was a nice hotel (worth the "discounted" price). Just plan your visit carefully.

My boyfriend and I went to Washington DC for a trip in my schoolbreak. He chose this hotel via Blackberry travel. The clerk didn't know that we had the breakfast included and we had to show him on the phone. Those 3 breakfasts weren't good at all. There's not a lot of choice. We can't eat apples or bananas which is sad because I don't like any kind of melon! The bread is dry and there is only apple jam no strawberry or raspberry! For the room, it was okay, ours was a bit smaller because it was near the elevator. The location is not bad if you like to walk like us. Capitol is about 20-25 minutes if you walk fast. The neighborhood is okay. I don,t think that we'll come back here again.

There are only 3 things good I have to say about this hotel, 1) The cleansiness is very good 2) The location made it easy for us to visit the tourist sites and the people at the reception were very nice. Thats all, but I have A LOT of bad to say about it.

My advise in going to Washington DC when it comes to asking what area is safe and whats not (and yes EVERY city has good and bad) is to do ALL your research before coming because you absolutely can NOT ask the people "is this area safe", at least not at this hotel, they get VERY angry and offended, and this happened to me twice in a row (the very moment I arrived in the hotel and I even mentioned how there are good and bad areas in every city). First time I asked this arts lady and straight away budged in said something like "your be fine, how about just keep out of the NE part, how about that" very sharp and rudely (and I think also she said something about why are you here then), so I thought to myself (I'll ask someone better if I am not going to be answered nicely) so I asked the security guard who was standing around (judging the fact he is a security guard so I thought he would be most helpful) and he says "yeah noones going to kill you or hurt you or anything" and I says "are you ok" and he goes "yeah Im just a bit ofended you know..." as if I had that intention to upset them, they both KNEW that every city has good and bad areas and that I was a foreigner (a tourist that is, not a immigrant) who knew nothing about it AND the act of being angry and being offended was all put on (me ending up throughout the whole vacation holding my breath) I have travelled to the USA 8 times now and every time I asked about low and high crime areas and everybody in every place told me and helped me out, unlike this hotel! I have crap like this in the UK time after time even directed at me and we all get fed up with it, I did not save up all that money to USA to experience another UK attitude.

Other complaints is that as soon as I arrived, I went up to the swimming pool, and it was all set out which looked like there was going to be a party (ok I understand its a conference hotel), but I asked if I could go in the pool and apparently its only for people in this "Arts" thing, I could not use the pool the whole time I was there and when the people from the arts group came, you could not MOVE in the lobby because it was crowded so much so that we felt that we werent guests anymore, the elevator was unmovable at times and they were all drunk, (I mean VERY DRUNK) you could not even stand outside in the entrance at night without the crowd screaming about next to you, therefore unless you were toat least put up with the outside bit, you are limited to your hotel room because you were in the crowds way allthe time (you can tell the body language when you walked past). The only nice people there really was, was the people in the reception (they were VERY nice) but the rest, I would go as far to say that they need to know how to respond to tourists better, even when we were waiting in the lobby for the airport shuttle, the people both inside and outside couldnt seem to get rid of us quick enough.

Apart from all that, there was nothing really in the hotel shopwise apart from a gift shop (even there, there wasnt much that was worth buying) apart from the hotel resturant in which we had to book to get in, we had to live on McDonalds on the other corner of the road.

I do sound like a complaining Brit here, but I would by far consider it worth complaining when you have spent all that money to live your holiday like that.

I would never again in my life waste a single dollar, pound or euro on even USING this hotel even if I won the lottery, let alone staying, and I would not recommend others to either!

DISGUSTING!!