WASHINGTON, D.C.: Renaissance Downtown

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I’ve stayed at theRenaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown hotel several times over the years andhave found there is much to recommend it, including its location. Now, I canadd newly refurbished guest rooms to that list.

Interior, Room 722

In the year since my lastvisit, the hotel located at 9^th NW and “I” Street in the PennQuarter area has given its guest rooms, which had grown a bit tired, a verynice makeover.  Along with some updatesto the lobby and techno music that now plays in the elevators, one couldperhaps describe this hotel as “trendy,” which its website does.
Everything in my room was sonew, I even had to take the guard off the hair dryer’s plug. In addition,everything else is fresh and bright: bed linens are crisp and white, theflat-screen TV, while not the biggest I’ve encountered in hotels, is state ofthe art, and the carpet is neither worn nor stained.

TV and work station

The redesigned workstationactually has three power outlets for laptop, cell phone, and other electronics.In addition, there are two more outlets near the bed stand; no more pluggingone device in at the desk, another on the night stand and a third in thebathroom. One drawback is the sleek, modern light fixture. Tubular in shape, itgives off a lot of glare, making it difficult to work under for extendedperiods.
Internet speed, which isvital in today’s wired world, was fairly impressive compared to most of thehotels at which I’ve stayed recently: 4.8 MBPS as measured byspeakeasy.net/speedtest. Most of the other hotels have been around 1 MPBS, witha few as high as 2 MPBS. However, the only access available in most rooms iswireless, at $12.95 plus tax. Wired access is available in the meeting spaceand in a limited number of guest rooms.

Bath with historic photos

The rooms have been given adistinctly Washington, D.C. theme. Discreet splashes of wallpaper have replicasof the signatures of many Founding Fathers, a photo collage features black andwhite photos depicting the District’s history and monuments, and my room – 722– had a cartoon that even poked a little fun at Washington bureaucrats.
The cartoon, which appearedto be from The New Yorker magazine hanging above the work station, showed a manbehind what was obviously a desk in D.C., speaking to two people who looked tobe constituents. “We used to feel your pain, but that’s no longer our policy,”read the caption.
Perfect.
Would that the rest wereperfect as well.Unfortunately, as have beenmy previous experiences, I found service at the property to be so-so.
When I attend a conference,I often work from my room between sessions and I hate returning to an unmaderoom. Accordingly, I call each morning and ask that my room be made up early.During this visit, housekeeping honored my request two out of three mornings.On one morning, however, despite my 7:00 a.m. request, the room was not made upuntil nearly 11 a.m. While Meatloaf may have sung about how “Two out of threeain’t bad,” I was not impressed. (Baby Boomers will get the reference; othersmay have to look it up...)
On one occasion, I foundmyself working in my room through lunch. Because I could not locate a menu forin-room dining, I called the front desk and was told one would be sent up. Itnever arrived.
Other guests, however,apparently had no problem getting room service. Numerous room service trays andcarts from the previous evening were still sitting in the hallways at 10 a.m.the following morning. That is unacceptable.
On two occasions, otherguests and I crowded into an elevator with members of the housekeeping staffand their rather large carts. Why they didn’t use the service elevator was amystery to all of us.
Finally, few staffers on theproperty bothered to greet the guests they encountered. Bidding your guests“good morning,” saying hello, or offering some other sort of greeting as theypass in the hall or lobby is a basic in the hospitality industry, and anexcellent way to make your guests feel welcome. Or not, if it doesn’t happen.

Renaissance Exterior

The hotel has a lobby bar,the Presidents Sports Bar, and 15 Squares restaurant on site, and a Starbucksadjacent to the lobby. Coffee prices at the Starbucks seemed in line but myfavorite breakfast sandwich was more than $1 higher than at the Starbucks ablock away, representing a “convenience premium” for being able to get yourgoodies without going off-campus.
The hotel features the VidaFitness Center and Aura Spa, with complimentary access to the fitness centerfor hotel guests. Spa services are at additional cost.
Hotel personnel tell me theconference space, which is well maintained but starting to look a bit datedfrom a style perspective, is next in line and will be redone soon in a stylesimilar to the guest rooms.
Located just a few blocksfrom ChinaTown, two Metro stations, several restaurants, and many D.C.attractions, the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown hotel definitely needsto polish its service but generally is a pretty good, if not great, place tostay. 

Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on images to view larger size
 
Washington DC Hotel Review