This hotel's best attribute was the the wonderful agent who took my reservation. I was very impressed with her professionalism and openness to answer all my questions.

This was a get-away, overnight stay in DC and I knew the area I wanted to stay in. Hotel Helix is tucked away in one of the most charming areas of DC, away from the tacky touristy area. The staff was very nice and helpful.

The room however, was starting to show signs of old age, funky growing stunky. For example, the bathroom had several cracks in the tub and something that makes me a little queasy in a shared space, lots of carpeting and throw pillows . . .who knows who did what with those . . .

The hotel is scheduled to redo all the bathrooms so maybe you might ask for a room that has been remodeled.

It was Saturday night and the lounge, two stories below my window was really a happening place . . .which reminded me of my stays in South Beach. Watching that from my window was much better than anything on TV. Trendy "twenty somethings" seemed to flock to the place...and I doubt many republicans . . . Be aware though, DC allows smoking indoors still so your trip to the elevator will be very smokey.

The bed linens were very clean and comfortable. This hotel welcomes pets and can't be beat for price.

My husband and I stayed here for a long weekend. We we're a little scared since some of the reviews showed this as a young, twenty something hotel and we are in our forties. However, we thought this hotel was great. The rooms are clean and fun. The bathroom is tiny, but it was clean and that's all that matters to me. The honor bar is great, it has everything you can think of at fair prices. Room service was delicious and right on schedule. The champagne hour was also appreciated. The staff is friendly and goes out of their way to help. There's a 7eleven, a hamburger joint, and a coffee house all within walking distance. We would definately stay here again, as well as any Kimpton hotel.

The Helix is another of Kimpton's "Pop" hotels geared towards the younger "jetsetter" type traveler. We enjoyed the pictures of Steve McQueen, Little Stevie Wonder, Jane Mansfield, etc in the corridor heading toward the elevators, but you can tell that the entire place was done with a concept on an extreme budget. While we did enjoy the champagne hour, a great way to have hotel guests mingle, flirt and possibly find reasons to use the "intimacy kit" in their mini bars, we found the bar to be spectacularly sparce, and the folks who were there were way too casual (which is a problem with Americans, not the hotel). This was a different story at night, as we noticed the crowds picking up as we were heading out to our clubs of interest. So the hotel bar does appear to attract a good local crowd at night.

The entertainment center was on a pole allowing the guest to swivel the TV to watch it from the loveseat in the room, or from the bed. This is a great idea which was used and appreciated.

I did find the bed to be quite comfortable but wished that they had taken the concept of the room a little bit further by investing more in better quality curtains, furniture etc, but in the same mid-century style. My initial reaction was that it was like a "sugar-free" version of The Hotel Allegro in Chicago. Then again, the prices at the Helix are also a lot cheaper than The Allegro. So there's your proverbial grain of salt.

All in all, it was a fun stay, but my partner and I were glad to only be staying for two nights.

My suggestions:

+ Dehumidify the rooms
+ Don't nickel and dime us to death ($12 breakfasts of the same foods you get for free at a Hilton or Marriott? No thanks, there's a Caribou Coffee half a block away)
+ Replace those orange desk chairs with something comfortable
+ Keep the Aveda hair care products!
+ Keep the champagne hour, ditch the horrible Velveeta "beer cheese dip". Yuck!
+ Can the 70s/80s music and pipe in some proper 60s jazz, or at least take advantage of your local hipsters at ESL Records and play their compilations - much better than elevator rides with "Radar Love" blaring at you and it will better match your decor.
+ Send some of your staff out to Chicago for an exchange program with the Hotel Allegro. They pay more attention to the details of customer service out there. Trust me on this.
+ Give your room attendants a raise. They are very polite and do a great job.

We had a great stay at the Helix. I took my husband for his 30th birthday even though we live in Alexandria, just for something different. Everything on the website was correct, it was just as I expected. They allowed our dog for free, which is always appreciated. The bed was super comfortable and had a duvet which was covered with clean white sheets- no gross hotel bedspread. Room was very clean and all of my preferences were granted- king bed, non-smoking, quiet. Staff was very friendly. We actually found parking right out front on the street. I took CDs for the stereo. We'll go back!