It is a wannabe hotel. They have made upgrades, but on the cheap! First look, I was impessed, but that was short lived. Lobby is very large and pretty. Front desk staff were efficient but gave you short, incomplete answers and very poor directions. The room looked OK, but this is where cheap comes in. The floor lamp ws broken and leaning over - i didn't use it in that condition. The other 2 lamps had only one low watt bulbs in the 2 light fixtures. Overall the toom was just too dark. I noticed the toilet seat was up in the bathroom, I can only assume it wasn't cleaned. I travel with Clorox Wipes, and proceeded to wipe down the bathroom. That's when I noticed the hair in the tub and sink. OK, it wasn't cleaned - but the towels were fresh I think. While cleaning, I had closed the toilet lid and sat down on it to finish wiping down the counter.- it colapsed! I have never encountered a toilet seat so thin and cheap that someone could not sit on it at all! I weigh 135 lbs, so it wasn't my weight! I normally sit on the toilet seat in the AM to put on my make-up, but not here! The remote for the TV only woked in one direction, so you have to go through all channels to get bck to something you wanted to watch, I turned it off. I didn't get a good nights sleep because the bed was just too hard, and the pillows were soft and cheap. This may be the right combination for some people, not me. Next morning I went down for coffee. Yes there were coffee makers in the room, but seeing the room was not cleaned, I was not going to take the chance to use it. So where is the coffee?? You have to walk through the long lobby, take a right to a long corridor, walk through another corridor and arrive at the diner - where you are charged for just a cup of coffee! Not knowing that I would be taking such a trip for just a cup of coffee, I had left my bags in my room. So I had to shlep all the way up to the 8th floor to get my bags. Too much for first thing in the morning. Because the lobby is so large, I can't see why they can't have a coffee cart set up there like most other hotels. Oh yea, they would miss out on the buck!

This hotel exceeded my expectations. It is about a block or two from the Crystal City Station which is about 10 mins away from DCA on the train. You can't ask for a better location, the Crystal City shops and restuarants is about a block away.

The 24 hr McDonalds next door is the nicest I've ever been in. There is a CVS right up the street and a Legal Seafood.

The hotel is clean, has flat panel tv's, nice room decor. I was suprise by the need for a room key to make the elevators move (to go up, not down). I stay at Holiday Inn's in the past and I was surprise by the USA today paper delivery.

The only downside was I thought the door was a little thin, when people did walk past my room talking it sounded like I had no door at all.

I highly recommend this hotel, given that this is DC I wouldn't pay more than 130-150 per night for this hotel.

Hotel is somewhat dated...and it shows in the condition of the rooms. It wasn't bad, considering most other hotels in that area are quite expensive. It's definitely a no frills hotel. The staff and service was very good. They were friendly and responsive. Location is great, as you are within walking distance of quick eating, 24 hr pharmacy, etc. There is also a park behind the hotel which came in handy b/c we had kids in our party. Overall, it was a good value...considering the cost of other hotels in the area. I would stay there again when back in the area.

If you have business in Crystal City, the Holiday Inn is very convenient price-wise and location-wise. Rooms are clean, the government rates provide you free breakfast, and there are plenty of places to dine out in the area. Proximity to Reagan is also a plus. All in all, compared to the other (pricy) hotels in the are, it is a good deal.