We were actually surprised at how nice the hotel was - our room was really clean, comfortable bed (no bedbugs!), great service. The hotel is located 5 minutes from Dupont Circle so it was super convenient to get around the city and to grab a bite to eat (also there is a Pain Quotidien situated right a round the corner from the hotel which great for breakfast). All and all, it was a worthwhile stay and we would definitely recommend this hotel.

Well, I had high hopes for the Fairfax. I will say, it is in a nice area, the rooms are pretty and they have killer lemonade in the lobby. But that's about it.

My room (room 525) had an air conditioner duct in the closet. So every time the air conditoner would shut off, the duct would begin banging loudly. This happened all night, every time the air conditoner shut down. Needless to say, I got very little sleep. It sounded like someone banging on the door. So when I would finally get to sleep, the duct would bang and startle me awake again. The next morning at 9, I asked the front desk to move my family. I continously checked the status and FINALLY at 10 pm I got my new room that was much quieter. But did it really need to take 11 hours for them to find a new room? Also as an FYI, when I complained about the noise in the morning, I asked if they had heard of this issue before, they informed me "not from this room". So although I can tell you to stay away from room 525, it sounds like you may have this noise issue with other rooms too.

The other family we travelled with, also had a problem. At around 5 pm, they went back to their room to find it hadn't been cleaned. They notified the front desk and was told "housekeeping will get right to it." When they returned to their room at 10 pm, it still hadn't been cleaned- no towels, etc.

The rooms look nice, but just don't function well. As others mentioned, the coffee maker is on the bar area, but no place to plug it in unless you unplug the TV or move the coffee maker to the bathroom. Just not what you need in the morning when all you want is a cup of coffee!

So although it might look like a 5 star hotel, it surely doesn't run like a 5 star hotel. Find somewhere else to spend your money.

Just stayed in the Fairfax. I had forgotten it was a former Westin, and a cab driver told me it was once a Ritz-Carlton. The location of the hotel is excellent. About a block off DuPont Circle and close to a Metro stop. The hotel lobby is small and not a lot of room to check-in when it is crowded. There are a lot of staff members working in the lobby- a bit too many. They are very helpful. However, when the valet thought I wasn't going to tip him he was a bit busk and when I asked if he was the valet that brought my car I got a "yeah." I think the hotel needs to continue training the staff, but they are very helpful and willing. I got an outstanding deal on SPG.com, so the room was on the small end. It was well appointed. The bed was comfortable and there was a nice flat screen. My coffee maker was in the room, but the desk lamp had an outlet so I did not have to move it. When I went to make coffee there was an old coffee filter in the basket. I did alert the front desk and the manager made a note of it. Again, the staff needs more training. As nice was the room was I too would not say this is at Luxury Collection level, but it is very nice. I have stayed in almost every Starwood hotel in DC, including the St. Regis, and this is certainly a nice hotel. I suspect the quality of the Jockey Club restaurant helps it with the rating; I did not try the restaurants. I did use the health club, which is fairly small. There were several cardio machines, but basically only a limited universal for weights. The cold bottled water, apples and cold wash clothes were a nice touch. If you want a nice casual meal- try Pizza Pomadoro. It is moving soon so check the address.

I just stayed here for two nights for my son's college orientation. Although I loved the location, and yes the hotel was comfortable, I would not say it deserves the Luxury rating. My room was nicely appointed with two queen beds, flat screen tv, etc. A coffee maker was in the room by the tv but I had to move it into the bathroom to be able to plug it in and use it. The two worst things were the view of the garbage area and my toilet was not clean when I first entered the room. Having 3 boys I just sucked it up and cleaned the spots myself but was not happy. I didn't try the restaurant or bar and maybe those are what bump up the rating, who knows.I enjoyed the Westin on M street much more.