I rarely write reviews but my disappointment with my stay at this hotel has persuaded me to do so. I have stayed at numerous Sofitels and enjoyed the luxury they provide. The Washington hotel does the Sofitel brand reputation no good. While appreciating the challenges posed by COVID, everything seemed a little tired. One of the two telephones in my room did not work, the sink plug was stuck and the fridge door was broken. Having asked for it to be fixed, the fridge did not work at all. I looked behind the desk it was mounted as part of to check it was plugged in and found rubbish including old water bottles that had clearly been there for some time. I had to ask for bathrobes, usually a standard provision. Service in the restaurant was slow, albeit the staff were very pleasant. Overall the hotel needs some love and care. If it wasn’t for the location my rating would have been 2 rather than 3.
Tvlplb
My wife & I have stayed at Sofitel many times when visiting family. It has always been top notch, yet it has suffered the fortunes that all hospitality has during Covid. Minimal overall staff, housekeeping, grounds maintenance, etc. Missed not having the canvas laundry bag. Yet it still feels mostly comfortable, especially this last visit. Management delivered a very much appreciated large bottle of sparkling water and a small variety of snacks. The 2 standouts were AHMED & CHRIS. We were warmly remembered & greeted by Ahmed at Valet, who remained friendly during our stay, even when we did not require his services to retrieve our car. Chris the restaurant Maitre'd likewise remembered us as returning guests and cared for us professionally. The breakfasts (served indoor and outside on sidewalk patio), seemed minimalist, but OK. We do miss the roving croissants and pastries of years past. Keeping the lobby coffee urn for us early risers is a solid. Check-in could have been friendlier with maybe a welcome back acknowledgement, but you can't have everything.
Rebecca G
I've stayed at Sofitel hotels all over the world and I must say this one was very disappointing. I know that everyone is short staffed but they should not be charging the high rates they are charging if they are really not ready to provide the services that should go with them. I'll start by saying that I've rated this 3 stars because the location couldn't be better. Five minute walk to the White House. Its beautiful and many restaurants nearby. However, the hotel was a problem. We had two rooms, neither was cleaned during any of the days we were there. It was clean when we got the room so they must be only cleaning the rooms between guests. The toilet was broken in one room and the door stuck in the other. I was able to get service for the toilet after calling downstairs, which was easier said than done because the phones ring and ring and ring with no one picking them up. (15 minutes before I hung up one time.) Everything seems to be sent through the front desk right now. They are being asked to handle everything, including breakfast, which you have to order the night before and pick up from the front desk. This worked fine the first day but the second day they'd forgotten to put in my order and we didn't get our breakfast. (Thank goodness Starbucks is around the corner.) The mini-bars are not stocked. Again, you have to go to the front desk to buy anything that might have been in the minibar. Except for alcohol, which you can only buy from the bar, which is only open very limited hours. No bathrobes in the rooms and without housekeeping bringing new towels, its frustrating. I know that everywhere is understaffed right now. I am sure they are trying really hard. But, if they are going to charge luxury rates, they need to provide some kinds of luxury services or lower the cost to what is appropriate for so little. I would recommend either waiting until they re-staff or skipping this Sofitel altogether. I'm thinking of canceling the reservation we have at another one coming up soon and booking at a different hotel chain. Again, I don't mind not having services if I haven't paid to have them.
Catalina3101
We (4 persons) stayed here for five days, we chosen a great hotel brand as Sofitel but after this trip we wouldn´t choose it again. We've been advised about the pick-up breakfast and others "covid protocols" but this we felted like a joke.. it's a very expensive hotel and the breakfast is expensive as if you consumed it in the restaurant, but no! They don't have housekeeping services either, only change the towels if you ask about it but don't remove the old towels. We can't believe the level of dirty, we stayed there for five days and they never changed the bed sheets!!!! I asked several times to change the bed sheet at least but the response was always the same "covid protocols". I understand all about covid but this is more than that, it's a little bit of respect for the guest. The mattress was very uncomfortable and the beds are very small. The attention was ok. It's undeniable that the location is amazing and the restaurante is pretty cool.
daniel_dinzi
I stayed here while visiting DC for the weekend. It was the perfect location, close to many of the restaurants and museums I wanted to visit (there are also 2 amazing coffee spots 1 min away). The staff were all great. The room was spacious, clean, and very quiet. I would absolutely stay here again, I thought it was excellent value for money.
Navigator208308
We have stayed at the Sofitel DC twice. It is very clean and the rooms feel upscale. We have stayed in the Luxury Room and the Junior Suite executive and were happy both times. We would recommend asking if the Junior Suite Executive is an interior-facing one or a city view. They may only be interior view but it is worth asking since the view is just the inside of the building.
417andrewt
I really enjoyed Sofitel DC! It’s easy to get to by metro from Union Station and 5 minutes walk from the White House. I actually found this Sofitel nicer than their Times Square Sofitel in NYC and much larger rooms. Keep up the good work Sofitel family!
624laurentf
The COVID pandemic is becoming a great excuse. No room service for dinner or breakfast. $20 for a yogurt with cereal and one cup of tea.... I have traveled extended during those sad times. Frankly I have discovered the lowest. Sofitel you should be ashamed.
Peg C
This hotel is just perfection! Worth spoiling yourselves. We stay any time we can find a good deal on Booking.com or Hotwire. we are woke up to the area and live in the DC suburbs so we don't spend a lot of money on vacations but when we have the opportunity we do like to patronize this hotel. Also their restaurant is amazing thing with constantly changing perfections and new drinks and desserts it's really just wonderful.
Curious563637
My wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel stay on our 15th anniversary. We stayed in the fancy (ie expensive) Prestige Suite. Pros: --great location to walk anywhere downtown. --valet parking was a nice amenity. --The front desk staff was friendly. Cons: --The room was big, but the quality of furnishings was just a step above a holiday Inn. I had read that the couches were dirty, but I couldn't believe the stains all over the couch. Very strange for a room that cost many hundreds of dollars a night. --It's still COVID time, but the hotel felt like a ghost town. The valet said the hotel was only 5% occupied when we stayed so you'd think they'd treat guests. Maybe its just a business hotel? --The hotel did nothing to make us feel special even after notifying them of our anniversary on reservation and calling head to tell them it's our anniversary. Obviously they dont have to do anything special, but that just shows the lack of customer service. --Since its COVID, there was no place to eat. They sent up a couple breakfast sandwiches like you'd get at the corner deli. No newspaper. Overall, it was fine, adequate, etc. I wish we hadn't spent the money. Not luxury at all.
We spent 4 days at the Sofitel in late February. This is our go-to hotel in DC due to its location near Lafayette Square. We booked a 40% off Black Friday rate avg. $200/night. We originally booked the junior executive suite, but opted to upgrade to the prestige suite for an additional $59/night due to the increased size and dining table. It was definitely worth it. We had room 1214 and I would highly recommend this corner suite. The room contains a king bed, corner couch and dining table, shower and tub and 2 55 inch tvs. The tvs come with google play which easily casts from most streaming services on your phone. We had no problem watching Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu. The hotel may be showing her age a bit and the furniture could use a bit of a refresh, but the customer service remains top notch. I had several email exchanges with the hotel prior to arrival and all messages were answered thoroughly, promptly and professionally. We arrived around 1 PM and our room was ready. Due to Covid restrictions housekeeping has been suspended, but the front desk was able to quickly handle any requests we had. Trashed placed in the hall was generally picked up daily. The restaurant was closed during our stay, but a limited breakfast menu was available. The food was outstanding, especially the breakfast pastries. It was nice not having to worry about a Covid safe dining option first thing in the morning. In room coffee is Nespresso and regular coffee (which was very good) was served with the morning menu. The mini bar is not stocked, but many items are available for purchase at the front desk. Most of the museums were closed during our stay, but we were happy to take advantage of the many outdoor monuments and parks. Unfortunately lots of fencing remains which limits your access to Lafayette Park, the White House, the Capital and the Supreme Court. In terms of dining, we were lucky to discover the atrium seating at the Old Ebbitt Grill on our first day. There are very high ceilings, the tables are comfortably spaced and it appears most people don’t know about it because 2 of the 3 times we went there we had the entire place to ourselves. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who isn’t comfortable with indoor dining. Try the Maryland crab soup. It’s tremendous. Also, the entre portions are quite generous and they are happy to plate for two. In summary, even though the hotel is aging a bit, the service and location more than make up for it. If you can get a good rate like we did, I would definitely recommend this hotel and specifically the prestige suite room 1214.
Catdaddy1129
We stayed here for 2 nights in November 2020 for a milestone birthday celebration. We stayed in a Junior Executive suite, which was quite nice in appearance. Unfortunately, the appearance of the room was one of the only nice things I could say about our stay. Pros: -The check-in was very smooth and straightforward. -Room was spacious with high-quality fixtures and furniture. -The water pressure on the shower was divine! That said, so is the shower in my house. -Robes and slippers are available on request, which were very comfortable. -They have a 48-hour cooldown period between guests in any room, which initially made us feel better about being in the room (until you read below). -“Room service” breakfast was ordered in advance, then I went to the lobby to pick it up. Good portions and great tasting food! -The WiFi worked really well, so we could stream videos in our iPad with ease. Read below for why. Cons: -No valet parking on our first night here, which wasn’t too bad since they had a deal with a discounted parking garage 3 blocks away. As it turns colder this time of year, I had to pick up/drop off my wife (in heels) at the door then trek to and from the garage each time we used our car. -HDMI cables for Google Chromecast were disconnected from both TVs, so I had to manually disconnect them then repeatedly wash my hands since it was clear that the staff didn’t clean those items touched by previous guests. -Chromecast repeatedly disconnected in the living room and the bedroom. We had this big beautiful TV in front of us and here we are watching shows on our iPad for the first day in the room. -Food was left in the minibar by a previous guest that required the staff to remove and wipe down the minibar so we could use it -No ironing board in room. -Iron didn’t work, had to be replaced. -Safe didn’t work, so we couldn’t lock away our expensive electronics and jewelry -Outlet on one of the nightstands didn’t work, so we had to use our portable power bank to charge my wife’s phone overnight then charge the power bank on a different outlet during the day. I was trying to be patient because I know how things have to be a little bit different because of the pandemic, but the things that were wrong with the room have nothing to do with COVID-19. I do not plan to return to this Sofitel in DC.
leroyk
First time at a Sofitel. Was in town for business and this hotel was close to everything. Metro is a block away. Monuments a few blocks away. Staff was great. Room was good size, comfortable and well appointed. Bathroom was spotless. No complaints. I cannot think of any negative with this stay. Wow. I would stay here again.
I rarely write reviews but my disappointment with my stay at this hotel has persuaded me to do so. I have stayed at numerous Sofitels and enjoyed the luxury they provide. The Washington hotel does the Sofitel brand reputation no good. While appreciating the challenges posed by COVID, everything seemed a little tired. One of the two telephones in my room did not work, the sink plug was stuck and the fridge door was broken. Having asked for it to be fixed, the fridge did not work at all. I looked behind the desk it was mounted as part of to check it was plugged in and found rubbish including old water bottles that had clearly been there for some time. I had to ask for bathrobes, usually a standard provision. Service in the restaurant was slow, albeit the staff were very pleasant. Overall the hotel needs some love and care. If it wasn’t for the location my rating would have been 2 rather than 3.
My wife & I have stayed at Sofitel many times when visiting family. It has always been top notch, yet it has suffered the fortunes that all hospitality has during Covid. Minimal overall staff, housekeeping, grounds maintenance, etc. Missed not having the canvas laundry bag. Yet it still feels mostly comfortable, especially this last visit. Management delivered a very much appreciated large bottle of sparkling water and a small variety of snacks. The 2 standouts were AHMED & CHRIS. We were warmly remembered & greeted by Ahmed at Valet, who remained friendly during our stay, even when we did not require his services to retrieve our car. Chris the restaurant Maitre'd likewise remembered us as returning guests and cared for us professionally. The breakfasts (served indoor and outside on sidewalk patio), seemed minimalist, but OK. We do miss the roving croissants and pastries of years past. Keeping the lobby coffee urn for us early risers is a solid. Check-in could have been friendlier with maybe a welcome back acknowledgement, but you can't have everything.
I've stayed at Sofitel hotels all over the world and I must say this one was very disappointing. I know that everyone is short staffed but they should not be charging the high rates they are charging if they are really not ready to provide the services that should go with them. I'll start by saying that I've rated this 3 stars because the location couldn't be better. Five minute walk to the White House. Its beautiful and many restaurants nearby. However, the hotel was a problem. We had two rooms, neither was cleaned during any of the days we were there. It was clean when we got the room so they must be only cleaning the rooms between guests. The toilet was broken in one room and the door stuck in the other. I was able to get service for the toilet after calling downstairs, which was easier said than done because the phones ring and ring and ring with no one picking them up. (15 minutes before I hung up one time.) Everything seems to be sent through the front desk right now. They are being asked to handle everything, including breakfast, which you have to order the night before and pick up from the front desk. This worked fine the first day but the second day they'd forgotten to put in my order and we didn't get our breakfast. (Thank goodness Starbucks is around the corner.) The mini-bars are not stocked. Again, you have to go to the front desk to buy anything that might have been in the minibar. Except for alcohol, which you can only buy from the bar, which is only open very limited hours. No bathrobes in the rooms and without housekeeping bringing new towels, its frustrating. I know that everywhere is understaffed right now. I am sure they are trying really hard. But, if they are going to charge luxury rates, they need to provide some kinds of luxury services or lower the cost to what is appropriate for so little. I would recommend either waiting until they re-staff or skipping this Sofitel altogether. I'm thinking of canceling the reservation we have at another one coming up soon and booking at a different hotel chain. Again, I don't mind not having services if I haven't paid to have them.
We (4 persons) stayed here for five days, we chosen a great hotel brand as Sofitel but after this trip we wouldn´t choose it again. We've been advised about the pick-up breakfast and others "covid protocols" but this we felted like a joke.. it's a very expensive hotel and the breakfast is expensive as if you consumed it in the restaurant, but no! They don't have housekeeping services either, only change the towels if you ask about it but don't remove the old towels. We can't believe the level of dirty, we stayed there for five days and they never changed the bed sheets!!!! I asked several times to change the bed sheet at least but the response was always the same "covid protocols". I understand all about covid but this is more than that, it's a little bit of respect for the guest. The mattress was very uncomfortable and the beds are very small. The attention was ok. It's undeniable that the location is amazing and the restaurante is pretty cool.
I stayed here while visiting DC for the weekend. It was the perfect location, close to many of the restaurants and museums I wanted to visit (there are also 2 amazing coffee spots 1 min away). The staff were all great. The room was spacious, clean, and very quiet. I would absolutely stay here again, I thought it was excellent value for money.
We have stayed at the Sofitel DC twice. It is very clean and the rooms feel upscale. We have stayed in the Luxury Room and the Junior Suite executive and were happy both times. We would recommend asking if the Junior Suite Executive is an interior-facing one or a city view. They may only be interior view but it is worth asking since the view is just the inside of the building.
I really enjoyed Sofitel DC! It’s easy to get to by metro from Union Station and 5 minutes walk from the White House. I actually found this Sofitel nicer than their Times Square Sofitel in NYC and much larger rooms. Keep up the good work Sofitel family!
The COVID pandemic is becoming a great excuse. No room service for dinner or breakfast. $20 for a yogurt with cereal and one cup of tea.... I have traveled extended during those sad times. Frankly I have discovered the lowest. Sofitel you should be ashamed.
This hotel is just perfection! Worth spoiling yourselves. We stay any time we can find a good deal on Booking.com or Hotwire. we are woke up to the area and live in the DC suburbs so we don't spend a lot of money on vacations but when we have the opportunity we do like to patronize this hotel. Also their restaurant is amazing thing with constantly changing perfections and new drinks and desserts it's really just wonderful.
My wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel stay on our 15th anniversary. We stayed in the fancy (ie expensive) Prestige Suite. Pros: --great location to walk anywhere downtown. --valet parking was a nice amenity. --The front desk staff was friendly. Cons: --The room was big, but the quality of furnishings was just a step above a holiday Inn. I had read that the couches were dirty, but I couldn't believe the stains all over the couch. Very strange for a room that cost many hundreds of dollars a night. --It's still COVID time, but the hotel felt like a ghost town. The valet said the hotel was only 5% occupied when we stayed so you'd think they'd treat guests. Maybe its just a business hotel? --The hotel did nothing to make us feel special even after notifying them of our anniversary on reservation and calling head to tell them it's our anniversary. Obviously they dont have to do anything special, but that just shows the lack of customer service. --Since its COVID, there was no place to eat. They sent up a couple breakfast sandwiches like you'd get at the corner deli. No newspaper. Overall, it was fine, adequate, etc. I wish we hadn't spent the money. Not luxury at all.
Restaurantji Recommends
We spent 4 days at the Sofitel in late February. This is our go-to hotel in DC due to its location near Lafayette Square. We booked a 40% off Black Friday rate avg. $200/night. We originally booked the junior executive suite, but opted to upgrade to the prestige suite for an additional $59/night due to the increased size and dining table. It was definitely worth it. We had room 1214 and I would highly recommend this corner suite. The room contains a king bed, corner couch and dining table, shower and tub and 2 55 inch tvs. The tvs come with google play which easily casts from most streaming services on your phone. We had no problem watching Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu. The hotel may be showing her age a bit and the furniture could use a bit of a refresh, but the customer service remains top notch. I had several email exchanges with the hotel prior to arrival and all messages were answered thoroughly, promptly and professionally. We arrived around 1 PM and our room was ready. Due to Covid restrictions housekeeping has been suspended, but the front desk was able to quickly handle any requests we had. Trashed placed in the hall was generally picked up daily. The restaurant was closed during our stay, but a limited breakfast menu was available. The food was outstanding, especially the breakfast pastries. It was nice not having to worry about a Covid safe dining option first thing in the morning. In room coffee is Nespresso and regular coffee (which was very good) was served with the morning menu. The mini bar is not stocked, but many items are available for purchase at the front desk. Most of the museums were closed during our stay, but we were happy to take advantage of the many outdoor monuments and parks. Unfortunately lots of fencing remains which limits your access to Lafayette Park, the White House, the Capital and the Supreme Court. In terms of dining, we were lucky to discover the atrium seating at the Old Ebbitt Grill on our first day. There are very high ceilings, the tables are comfortably spaced and it appears most people don’t know about it because 2 of the 3 times we went there we had the entire place to ourselves. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who isn’t comfortable with indoor dining. Try the Maryland crab soup. It’s tremendous. Also, the entre portions are quite generous and they are happy to plate for two. In summary, even though the hotel is aging a bit, the service and location more than make up for it. If you can get a good rate like we did, I would definitely recommend this hotel and specifically the prestige suite room 1214.
We stayed here for 2 nights in November 2020 for a milestone birthday celebration. We stayed in a Junior Executive suite, which was quite nice in appearance. Unfortunately, the appearance of the room was one of the only nice things I could say about our stay. Pros: -The check-in was very smooth and straightforward. -Room was spacious with high-quality fixtures and furniture. -The water pressure on the shower was divine! That said, so is the shower in my house. -Robes and slippers are available on request, which were very comfortable. -They have a 48-hour cooldown period between guests in any room, which initially made us feel better about being in the room (until you read below). -“Room service” breakfast was ordered in advance, then I went to the lobby to pick it up. Good portions and great tasting food! -The WiFi worked really well, so we could stream videos in our iPad with ease. Read below for why. Cons: -No valet parking on our first night here, which wasn’t too bad since they had a deal with a discounted parking garage 3 blocks away. As it turns colder this time of year, I had to pick up/drop off my wife (in heels) at the door then trek to and from the garage each time we used our car. -HDMI cables for Google Chromecast were disconnected from both TVs, so I had to manually disconnect them then repeatedly wash my hands since it was clear that the staff didn’t clean those items touched by previous guests. -Chromecast repeatedly disconnected in the living room and the bedroom. We had this big beautiful TV in front of us and here we are watching shows on our iPad for the first day in the room. -Food was left in the minibar by a previous guest that required the staff to remove and wipe down the minibar so we could use it -No ironing board in room. -Iron didn’t work, had to be replaced. -Safe didn’t work, so we couldn’t lock away our expensive electronics and jewelry -Outlet on one of the nightstands didn’t work, so we had to use our portable power bank to charge my wife’s phone overnight then charge the power bank on a different outlet during the day. I was trying to be patient because I know how things have to be a little bit different because of the pandemic, but the things that were wrong with the room have nothing to do with COVID-19. I do not plan to return to this Sofitel in DC.
First time at a Sofitel. Was in town for business and this hotel was close to everything. Metro is a block away. Monuments a few blocks away. Staff was great. Room was good size, comfortable and well appointed. Bathroom was spotless. No complaints. I cannot think of any negative with this stay. Wow. I would stay here again.
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