A recent stay at the Hilton made me ponder what makes a business hotel a good value. Routed to this hotel by a combination of factors outside of my control for a business trip, I was impressed by some aspects of this hotel and a little disappointed by others. The pluses are nice rooms that are tastefully decorated and a great location within a 5 minute walk of the King Street Metro station. Another plus was a very accomodating front desk crew that really worked to answer your questions and address your needs. The negatives are noisy rooms that face the Masonic Memorial and train tracks (both freight trains and the Metro), an over-priced breakfast ($17 if not included in your room package) and over-priced in room internet service (it is free in the lobby), and kinda flimsy TP in bathrooms. For the $226 rate charged to my firm, these seem to be un-necessary add on expenses and a room should not have the level of train noise experienced in my room. I checked at the Embassy Suites, which is also close to the King Street Metro (but not contiguous to the tracks), and they offer a better package deal that I would use if traveling on personal business.

Thanks to manager, Shirley, and an efficient front desk staff, my stays at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town are consistently the best. The staff is welcoming, the rooms comfortable and spacious and any request is met with timely service. It is the only place to stay.

Pros: Great location, nice, spacious room. Nice staff.
Cons: Lousy room location, bad breakfast buffet, pricey wi-fi, indifferent manager, NOISY ROOM

I booked four nice in a King room. At check in, I asked for a quiet room and was assured it was a quiet room. When it was time to sleep (around 10pm) - my wife and I were showered, fed and in bed - we heard what sounded like a night club starting up - the thumping bass, etc. The front desk told me it was a party in the meeting room directly below me with a DJ and the party would be going on, I was told, until midnight. The music was loud enough that I could identify every song on the playlist and it got louder and louder as the night went on. When I complained about getting a room over a party when I'd specifically been told I had a quiet room, they told me that they didn't know there would be a DJ for the party, but they still would let it go on til midnight. The manager told the front desk to tell me I could change rooms, but the music would not be stopped until midnight. We were already unpacked, clothes hung up and folded in drawers - moved in for a four night stay. After a long day of travel and an early start the next morning, we didn't want to get out of bed, get dressed, get packed up again to move to another room because the front desk put us in a room that is DIRECTLY OVER A PARTY. Since it was their mistake and we weren't able to get our much-needed sleep in our hotel room, I asked for the room to be comped for that night, but was instead offered a voucher for breakfast and $20 off the room for the night.

We layed awake naming the songs that were blasting from below us and watched the clock - counting down til we could go to sleep. The music only ended when I called the front desk again at 12:10 and insisted they stop the music.

3 out of 4 mornings there was thumping coming from below us that started around 6:30 am - like chairs being stacked or a vacuum banging on the baseboard. Not sure what it was, but that always woke me up and the noise kept going until I gave up on sleeping and just got up.

The breakfast buffet was pretty bad. Really bad. Powdery, gritty scrambled eggs, undrinkable coffee, greasy flabby bacon. Even for free, I wouldn't eat there again. Stick with the fruit and yogurt. Or better yet, walk a couple of blocks to Whole Foods and eat there.

On the up side - the entire staff (minus the manager) were friendly and helpful and the location can't be beat.

Would I go again? I'm still pretty steamed over the manager's attitude. Not sure that I would. Definitely stay clear of the third floor!!!!

The location of this property can't be beat. The King Street Metro stop is across the street. Old Town Alexandria is down King Street, with your choice of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Joe Theismann's restaurant is across the street, as is a small farmer's market.
Parking is below the property and is shared with the adjacent Wyndham Vacation property and I gather nearby office parking. There seemed to be more reserved Wyndham parking stalls than Hilton, but it worked out fine. There is a Starbucks and a nice restaurant called Seagar's, where I ate two enjoyable breakfasts. Staff members were courteous and assisted me locate a cell phone store in Old Town. The fitness center is expansive, and has more than enough equipment to maintain your workout. Pool has a lifeguard on duty for part of the day.
The only mystery is the doorway that leads to the Wyndham property inside the fitness center. I'm guessing the Hilton pool and fitness center are shared by the Wyndham, although one gentleman who walked through the door and looked around in the Hilton could not get back into the fitness center door using his Wyndham card. I had to let him in. Seems like a liability to allow patrons and even non-hotel patrons to have uninhibited access to the fitness center and pool. Overall, great stay and I will stay again in the future.