WASHINGTON, DC: Sheraton Pentagon City

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I spent four nights here while presenting at a conference and found the hotel to be quite nice, if somewhat less conveniently located than others at which I’ve stayed in the Washington, DC area. I also uncovered an important caveat for coffee drinkers. 

Exterior, Sheraton Pentagon City

TheSheraton Pentagon City is located on Columbia Pike, about a mile west of thePentagon and just beyond the southern boundary of Arlington National Cemetery.Despite that, there’s little within easy walking distance of the hotel in termsof restaurants or other attractions. However, shuttle buses run every half-hourto Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon City Metro Station a little morethan a mile away, and several city bus lines run along Columbia Pike, so it’snot difficult to get off-property. Thehotel itself is quite nice, with an inviting lobby, on-site bar and restaurant,fitness center, indoor pool, and meeting space.

Interior of guest room

Roomsare well appointed with the amenities travelers expect today including aworkstation with both wired and wireless Internet access, flat screen TV, safelarge enough for a good-sized laptop, iron and ironing board, and in-roomcoffee. In addition, the bed is quite comfortable and the curtains dark enoughto allow me to sleep in, even though my room faced east and got the fullmorning sun.Thehotel has ample meeting space on the ground floor and several reception roomson the 16^th floor, which provide an outstanding view of Washington,DC, from the Air Force Memorial near the Pentagon to the Pentagon and ArlingtonNational Cemetery. Farther away, the panorama stretches from the Kennedy Centeron the Potomac River to the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the WashingtonMonument, and the U.S. Capitol in the distance.

The view from the 10th floor

Forthe best view, be sure to get a room facing east, on the highest flooravailable.Staffwas attentive and friendly with most everyone acknowledging their guestswhenever they encountered them on the property. What price coffee? Muchto my surprise, a cup of coffee in the hotel restaurant was $4.95. Per person.No, I’m not kidding: $4.95! Whilethe price is listed clearly on the menu, a price that high that borders onbeing deceptive because, when a waitperson asks, “Coffee?”, coffee drinkersoften say “yes” almost reflexively, especially at breakfast. I just happened tosee the price before I was served and asked my waitperson to confirm it wascorrect. I then decided I could live without it.Otherthan the cost of joe, I thought food prices were quite reasonable for breakfast,lunch, and dinner.HiccupsInaddition to the modest inconvenience of not having much within walkingdistance, I did experience a few shortcomings.Oneminor hiccup was addressed promptly.  Onmy first morning, I called at 9 a.m. and asked that my room be made up. Morethan two hours later, it had not been touched. A pet peeve of mine, especially when I’m at a conference, is returningto my room after attending a couple of sessions to find that it has not beenmade up, particularly when I’ve specifically asked the hotel to do so. However,when I spoke to the manager, he had it addressed immediately, and my room wasmade up early each successive morning. Internetaccess was slow, at about 1 Mbps for both wired and wireless access. The speedin my in-home office is about 25 Mbps, and I have stayed at hotels with accessas high as 40 Mbps. Business travelers who rely on e-mail will find this lackof speed limiting, and likely frustrating.

The hotel's historic site

Thehotel also lacks a proper business center. Instead, it offers Link@Sheraton, acasual lounge with several computer terminals and a printer available withoutcharge. While that would have been fine for many travelers, several of thecomputer workstations did not work properly (or "at all"), making them less useful thanthey should have been. Thehours at the indoor pool were quite limited. During the week, it is open onlyfrom 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. When I went to take a look at the pool, there wasactually a lifeguard on duty; if that’s required in the state of Virginia, thelimited hours are probably to limit the hotel’s overhead.Finally,another conference attendee told me of an issue he had with the hotel’s phonesystem. For some reason, he was unable to receive an inbound call in his roombut when he reported that to the hotel operator, s/he offered to place the callfor him. Considering the circumstances, he presumed the operator was making anaccommodation for his inability to receive the call in the first place.However, when he got his bill it included a charge of more than $50 for the“operator-assisted” outgoing call. 

Ultimately, the hotel took the charge offhis bill but it does serve as a reminder to always check the invoice beforechecking out.Generally,I give an approving nod to the Sheraton Pentagon City; just pay attention toprices.

All photos credit Carl Dombek
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