We have traveled across east US coast for last couple of weeks. Most of the time we chose the hotel via internet. In case of DC we just got discount coupons in virginia and we found out this hotel there. First impression: old hotel.... It was really a bad impression indeed. Spanish guy in reception even offered us better price than we found out in dicount coupons. Room looks adequately to the age of the hotel but everything in perfect conditions. Rooms are equiped with new LCDs. Everything was clean. The hotel offers free shuttle to the closest neigbourhood as well as to the airport. The driver is really cool. Actually the hotel is really close to the metro so u dont need to use this great service. Area is safe. From metro station Crystal city it is only 10 minutes to the city centre via yellow line. Breakfast was ok (i cannot put there really rating as i usually dont have a breakfast).

In general, staff helped us in replying ur questions as they could. They even let us park our car longer than normally is provided by the hotel.

Guys, if u need not so fancy, well maintained, clean hotel with perfect staff, just dont try to find anything better or even cheaper. U wont find anything better.

One more thing at the end. ONE NIGHT in DC = 60 dollars. Just great.

Tucked in among the mega-hotels of the mega-chains, this hotel seems like it may have been there before the building boom. It's quiet, it's clean, the staff is friendly. There's free parking in a surface lot, and the Wifi is free as well. Best of all, it's inexpensive, well under a third of the price of its neighbors. If you're content with a place to sleep and don't need a marble lobby, room service, a restaurant in the hotel, and all that other stuff, give it a try.

I'm going to say similar things as the other positive reviewers. I apologize for the wordiness, but I personally like to know what I'm getting into when I read the reviews (if you want to say only "it was great" or "it sucked" why bother to write a review?).

The hotel doesn't compare visually to the surrounding hotels, but the price and cleanliness makes up for the visual discrepancies. It's the same price each night, and we saved anywhere from $60-220 per night, depending on the night of the week. It ticked all the boxes - airport shuttle, close to metro, price, seemed safe, laundry facilities, some sort of food in the morning, no mention of bedbugs or cockroaches in reviews.... The housekeeping staff were pleasant, even the women who appeared not to speak English. The rooms were clean. THE KING-SIZED BED WAS FANTASTIC AND SOFT (however, the pillows were really hard and thick - the desk staff did call for additional flatter pillows to reduce the kinked neck syndrome- they were delivered promptly - bring your own pillow if you're picky about your pillow and a case if you like a less scratchy case), and the bedding, except for the pillow cases, felt comfortable. No issues about heating and cooling as we had beautiful weather, not too hot nor too cold (I did turn on the fan/AC a couple times, and it worked well). We didn't use the shuttle except for to/from DCA (very quick), but it seemed like a lot people used the service. We either walked, used the metro (very close), or made decisions too late to jump the head of the queue.

Some negatives to followup on positives (but these would not stop us from staying here again) - the front desk staff could be rude, the woman spoke really fast then seemed upset when people didn't understand, one desk person told us that the housekeeping took the key to clean the laundry room, we were left waiting for over an hour then when asked about it, the next desk person told housekeeping that we said she had it although we just stated that the previous desk person said housekeeping had the key to clean the laundry room (I was actually surprised that the desk staff didn't ask housekeeping to clean the laundry room during the week - the garbage was strewn across the floor and up the wall for the week we stayed. It wasn't a room that was visited by anyone other than people doing laundry so it wouldn't necessarily be noticed by staff unless the owner or front desk emptied the machines for coins - the other issue was that it was it was hit and miss if quarters available for their laundry room. The driver asked why the desk person didn't empty the machines to give to people using the laundry - he said they didn't have a key.) ... after housekeeping came down (desk staff blamed us again) and the driver sent to check returned, the clerk found a/the key in the drawer. POSITIVE - the laundry room was secure - however, you have to pull out the key to just the right depth to unlock the door.

Make sure that you eat breakfast early as it didn't appear that the breakfast was restocked when food consumed - at least that's what appeared to happen on the days we came down following tour buses. One really weird booking issue is that they don't book you in a specific room, even if you have a request such as away from the freeway or remodeled room; the front desk used the excuse that people cancel (my theory is that if it's available when you book and then you cancel, the next person might get lucky --- otherwise early birds might get stuck with a bad room such as freeway noise because you get what's available when you check in). Wifi worked well in the evening; there were a few quick glitches in the morning. We started with an old TV (it was fine although a little grainy, but better than some places we've stayed - even our home), and they must have upgraded the TV while we out. The doors were a little scary as we've become accustomed to what appears to be more stout security; I felt like I was in a really old non-updated house with a twist lock door handle and chain (it might have been safe, it's just not what we are accustomed to in a modern hotel although we've encountered it in older hotels) - plus the bathroom door wouldn't shut but worked for our purposes. The hotel entrance is at the back of the property, and the walk felt a little creepy at night, but the lobby was nice, and the lobby furniture was very comfortable.

To quote another reviewer, if you want a spa experience, try one of the fancier hotels next door (however, we've stayed at those hotels in other cities, and did not receive a spa experience and did encounter into rude front desk staff, broken stuff in rooms including cabinetry, counters, etc. which is very unpleasant in general and even more unpleasant when you're spending a lot of money for the experience.)

The Americana is relatively small and tucked between giant chain name hotels. The price I paid was about $300 for 5 nights here, vs nearly $300 for one night literally next door. The staff was very courteous, the room cleaner than I have experienced at the big chains, and the extras are most welcome. There is free internet in the rooms, free breakfast (go early if you see a bus and lots of students around), and a wonderful driver with nearly 30 years experience to take you the two or three blocks to the Metro or the Mall (or pick you up after 8 hours of sightseeing when those two blocks seem impossibly long). Be sure to check the literature at the front desk for coupons for discounted admission and extras at some of the major DC attractions.