Description: Arriving at One Washington Circle we were greeted by a fast and friendly check-in clerk in the small but warm reception area. From the lobby décor, I was expecting a hotel room akin to that of the one I stayed in at the Renaissance on M Street but was instead welcomed into a vast, apartment style suite.
I was immediately taken aback by the baby grand piano that stood in front of what I later found out was a sliding door leading to a wide balcony. It took me about five minutes to get my bearings in the suite, which for one person staying one night was unnecessarily large. The suite had a small hallway toilet room, a living room area with television and study, a modestly sized kitchen, a large dining room, a large bedroom area also with television and a full bathroom. If the sofa in the living room area converted into a bed I’m fairly sure that a family of four would be pretty comfortable staying here for any length of time.
At One Washington Circle though the abundance of space was not matched by quality decoration. Apart from the bedroom, which was fairly warm and cosy in appearance, the rest of the suite was strikingly bland and in need of some updating. In some areas the wallpaper was peeling or the walls just looked plain grubby and in need of a makeover. The artwork (if you can call it that) on the walls was strangely mismatched and overall the suite could have benefited from the eye of a Feng Shui practitioner.
I settled into the bedroom, which besides the bathroom was the only room I really used during my stay. Despite the fact that the room overlooked a major roundabout, it was very quiet and I slept well that night once I’d cranked up the heat a bit. The only conundrum I faced that night was that I was unable to find a wireless remote control for the television and instead had to use what looked like a games console, which was attached to the television set.
The hotel also offered a swimming pool, gym and bistro, none of which I had time to take advantage of. I would recommend forgoing the bistro anyway as the hotel is within 15-20 minutes walking distance of Georgetown, which you should visit even if you’re only staying for one night as I did. Not only does Georgetown have some great shops but it also has some wonderful restaurants and I can obviously advocate Filomena and the News Café where I ate on a separate visit.
Neither the Renaissance nor this hotel overwhelmed me on my trips to DC. They both cater well to the business traveler and are in central locations but I would encourage visitors to look elsewhere if you’re looking for a true quality experience.
www.thecirclehotel.com
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