I spent five nights at this hotel, time to visit the city as well as attend a conference. The location made everything easy; the mall and museums were a nice walk away, and the nearby metro connection makes getting around easy even in bad weather. My room was comfortable and quiet, with a convenient storage space and safe for valuables; bathroom had a walk-in shower and pleasant toiletries. Everything was very clean -- excellent and courteous housekeeping. There are two bar/restaurants, one more upscale than the other, both with good food. The only thing lacking was telephone service; my husband tried to call my room using the hotel line and had great difficulty getting the call through to me; he was told it was hotel policy not to connect to guest rooms late at night (it was c. 11:00 p.m.). I asked about that at the front desk and was told it is NOT hotel policy; I asked that my husband's calls in future be put through to my room and still he had trouble! The hotel needs to warn guests of this policy, and also make sure staff understand just what the policy is.

We stay in Marriott brand because the standard of their room, bed and cleanliness, in addition to lounge access. What set one aside is their service and their food in the lounge. This hotel is right by the convention center and able to walk to some of the DC attractions. Lobby is grant. Our first night, we arrived late for dessert in the lounge. It was loud, dirty dinner dishes were all over. There was no soda, juice beverage but water bottles and the bar was open with a bartender. We stayed a week and realized since there was a volley ball convention, the items served in the lounge were different. Unlike other Marriott, staff do not clean off your table, although there are a few of them standing around. Items of food are in low quality. Except for two, most of the staff are not friendly in this lounge. The two- level gym is awesome. It has high quality equipment, even better than a commercial gym with a hefty membership fee. Apple, fresh towels and water bottle were plentiful, along with multi-TV.

The AAC&U Conference was held at this location and I am truly impressed with how well the hotel handled such a large crowd. My room was clean and comfortable with a nice street view of the city. I couldn't believe how good the hotel food was along with the service at High Velocity and Anthem. I will have to return for a personal trip next time.