Hotel Palomar
2121 P Street NW
Washington, DC 20050 (202) 448-1800
- Nearest Transit:
Dupont Circle (Red)
- Price Range: $$
31 Reviews for Hotel Palomar
After a 15 day road trip, staying in a hotel every night except two, our room at the Palomar was my second favorite (Wentworth Mansion in Charleston is #1). The suites are a little unnecessary here, as you just get to regular sized rooms, but the fancy king room is enormous, and perfect, and a great value.
They also have fabulous products.
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Loved staying at this hotel- great room, cool ambiance, pool and workout gym available, awesome location by Dupont Circle...
Minor complaints were that we could hear everything in the hallway, inlcuding housekeeping knocking on doors way too early in the morning to clean rooms. Oh and the movie we bought off their service was poor poor quality (think bootleg quality).
Then we checked out and there was one MAJOR problem. The valet totally scraped the front side of our rental car and did not take responsibility for it! In my dream world, they would have notified us as soon as it happened. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the scrapes (chipped paint, scratches, etc) until I was at my next destination and it was a pain dealing with the hotel customer service. I know, my fault for trusting a valet driver with the car but hey, I expect some customer service if they mess up. Have you ever done a walk around when a valet returns the car to you?!
Unfortunately all I got was service with a smile until I had a problem. I definitely won't be going to another Kimpton hotel again, not when there are so many other options in that price range in major cities.
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I love this place so much I want to move in.
From the big, comfy bed to the gigantic window (bonus points for super blackout curtains that didn't dare let any of that damn sunlight into the room until I was ready), I was totally into it. The contemporary decor was cool without trying too hard and the faux fur throw made a great blanket for middle of the night reading in the cozy armchair that almost made me forget I'm a crazy insomniac.
Oh! I almost forgot my favorite feature: all the lights are on dimmers, even the bedside lamps. Who doesn't love mood lighting?
The only thing I didn't love was the layout of the bathroom. Taking a bubble bath next to the potty isn't exactly my idea of relaxing. My solution? Just close the shower curtain and appreciate the quiet and stillness of a night in lovely room.
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I was looking for a modern boutique hotel to stay at and I definitely got it here! Upon walking through the glass doors and being greeted by the friendly staff, I looked at the cool artwork on the walls as we headed up to our 9th floor room. Unfortunately, for some reason the carpet was wet and we had to get another room that was situated on the 6th floor.
You have got to love the beige leather headboard, animal print carpet and throw and the touch of pink with the pillow. Oh and you have to laugh at the cheetah and zebra print robes that you can purchase. The flat screen TV and jumbo liquor cabinet was a nice touch and the bathroom with super nice with the sliding loft like door.
The only gripes we had was that the customer service could have been consistent. Sometimes there was a doorman and concierge and sometimes there wasn't. Oh and people...if you bring your dogs with you, make sure they don't bark!!!
Definitely a great place to stay and they have a fantastic gym and pool as well!
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This hotel has a great location in Dupont Circle its a few minutes from
the Metro Red line. There is also a great Gyro place (DC Cafe) and a wonderful yogurt place (Tangy Sweet I think). Oh yea the hotel...the staff was excellent they were always very attentive and accomadating. The hotel is a typical botique hotel thats always trying to be to trendy and modern. Nonetheless, it will suit your needs. The rooms are a little small but your there to hang out in the city not in the hotel. By the well, the free wi-fi is nice but I think the higher the floor you stay on the worse your connection.
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The thing about Kimpton hotels is, they're typically clean but kinda hokey in that "look at me, do you like my decorations, aren't I super-hip, huh, huh??!!" kind of way.
So I was pleased that the Palomar is a bit more refined yet still fun. Nice touches include the extra big animal print robes (I HATE a hotel that makes you ask for a robe!!), L'Occitane products, spacious rooms and decent linens.
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As a graduate student its practically impossible to get away from my lab long enough to truly relax. One Acela train ride later and I'm at the Hotel Palomar chilling in the area acclaimed as the gay-bor-hood of Washington D.C. The hotel wasn't that expensive and yet I felt like a queen among queens.
Animal print robes, king sized bed, bathroom bigger than my bedroom, wine tasting nights and a reasonable gym made this place hard to leave. It is also in close proximity to a KRISPY KREME! something I can barely find here in NYC. This is a really great place to enjoy D.C because you're still near the Metro and able to get over to the Smithsonian and the like.
Try this place!
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This is a pretty neat little place, despite its superfluity of artistic odes to the male anatomy. The rooms are spacious, and the bar and restaurant downstairs serve some really good drinks and personal pizzas. The hotel is also dog friendly. I like the leopard skin blankets. If you happen to stop by for a night and are in the mood for a large room and bathroom, go ahead and pay the $300 nightly fee. If, however, you'd just like a place to crash, don't accept the hotel's first offer; be assertive in asking for a more affordable room. Overall, the hotel is modern and trendy, but I don't really think it's all it's cracked up to be...
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Animal print robes in the closet? A room almost bigger than my apartment? Free wi-fi? Extremely nice and professional staff?
The Palomar is located in Dupont Circle, and this was my firs Kimpton experience - all of my colleagues seem to be fans, and I can now see why. This was five stars all the way. Very much a modern take on the traditional hotel, complete with furry (not tacky, I promise) animal print throw blanket. L'occtaine soaps, fluffy towels, and the sexiest hotel sink I've seen in a long while (see photo).
And, all the lamps worked in our room. Which almost never happens in hotel-ville.
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Maybe it was because it was my last free hotel gift certificate, or the wine, or the company, but I really enjoyed my stay here.
I was surprised to see so many people give it one or two stars below, because I had a completely different experience. I'm extremely familiar with hotels, and even though I don't stay in as many as I did before, in my former life I stayed at five star hotels all over the country, some of which included a dress code and hosted former guests such as Queen Elizabeth, and I still really liked this place.
It's in a convenient location, close to all things DuPont, it's modern, the beds are uber comfortable, the rooms are a great size, and their mini-bar offers intimacy kits. (Though if call past a certain time of night, they cannot bring more intimacy kits...). I didn't feel as though I was staying at a hotel, I felt like I was hanging out in my friend's bedroom. If my friend was an ultra hip zebra robe wearing martini drinker.
Check the schedules, but they have wine receptions in the evenings, as well as coffee and tea receptions in the morning. And I also recommend grabbing some breakfast at Urbana before you head out. I'm not exactly sure what syrup they use, but I'm pretty it has heroin in it, because I couldn't get enough.
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This is smack dab in the center of my hold stomping ground, Dupont Circle. I actually have a really good friend who lives across the street from this hotel.
The hotel is absolutely GORGEOUS. The rooms are decorating tastefully, but very modern. Seriously, I just want to live in one. I am going to try to recreate that look in my apartment. Or just be buried in one of those rooms. They are very comfortable.
The staff is always super friendly.
The thing I love the most about this hotel is not only are the pet friendly, but the actually cater to the animals. They have a doggie day spa, dog walking service, you can even get a piece of grass to keep in your room for your little guy to use for potty breaks.
They have a doggy "bar" outside of the lobby that is really a multilevel drinking bar full of water for all pets who need a sip.
They have daily, wine tasting and gatherings in the lobby so you can meet other guests, or have a quick drink before dinner.
This hotel is so amazing, that I only try to stay in Kimpton hotels when I can. I have also stayed in the Hotel George in DC which is just as nice.
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Stayed here for a work related trip. Beautiful hotel, yes they are artsy, but I enjoyed it. Great service and helpful staff. They have wine hour 5-6PM (free wine!). It is situated in a the beautiful DuPont Circle neighborhood. Lots of good places to eat nearby as well as Metro stop and a CVS (in case you forgot something). If you can afford or have money, this is the place. Good exercise room, great bed/bedding and comfy robes. Don't forget your iPod, they have a radio clock to dock your iPod.
The most comfortable bed ever! I Liked this hotel but agree with others that it could date quite fast. However, the bed, sheets and quilt was one of the most comfortable I have ever slept in which counts for a hell of a lot in a hotel.
The room was enormous which was really nice, and relatively quiet with a nice bathroom.
I think we paid $200 a night, it was a business trip and I didn't consider this extortionate.
Service was good, but the included breakfast was chaotic and left a lot to be desired.
This place only lost one star due to breakfast which was pretty useless. Breakfast consisted of a table with very little on it except some chopped up cucumber and tomato, awesome scrambled eggs, and muffins, bagels and cream cheese. No toaster, no butter, no cereals and no choice. Oh there was fruit salad too.
I asked for some All Bran but they only had granola which is 100% sugar. I also had to ask for something to be toasted.
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day when you are staying in a hotel and while the breakfast was OK in the end it was a bit of a disappointment.
They had an iron and ironing board in the hotel room which gets them a mark but no tea and coffee making facilities, this is a massive failing to me as I don't want to pay $5.50 for a coffee, plus $3.50 delivery charge plus 20% gratuity. I would say that was gratuitously a rip off. I hate room service but you just have to have a hot fresh coffee first thing in the morning.
Papers delivered to the room which is good, and you can pick up the FT downstairs for free.
Front door men were the most enormously scary people I have ever seen despite them being really professional. I am not sure what kind of image the hotel wants to portray in that respect, it is not a night club.
Interestingly the fabulous glass porch was leaking massively in a rain storm so everyone waiting for a cab was on one half of the porch as the other half was sheet water as the seals were completely useless. I suggest they go back to the architect of that and get it fixed.
Outdoor pools were closed when we were there due to it being January but the gym looks OK and better than most.
Pros:
Nice bar and restaurant
huge rooms
gym
iron and ironing board
One of the most comfortable beds and quilt ever
Handy for Mass Ave
Taxis all stopped for us cause our door man clearly new all the cabbies, the poor guy at the cheapo hotel on the otherside of the road lost 5 cabs to us and they were all on his side of the road.
Cons
No tea and coffee making facilities although coffee available for free in lobby in morning but you obv have to get your carcass out of bed and go get it.
pools closed as they are outdoor
$3.50 delivery charge plus 20% gratuity on room service.
Badly designed front glass porch that leaked massively in a rain storm on one side.
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For DC, this is an awesome hotel! Cool location, huge rooms, nice extras. In a city where much of the rooms are "traditional", this is a breath of fresh air. Kimpton rarely disappoints, and this is no exception.
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The Hotel Palomar is to the Best Western as Target is to Wal-Mart.
In other words, if you can get a rate below $179 or so, you will find that Palomar is a much trendier, more modern and less fussy take on other hotels in its price range. It's true that the high-quality feel isn't always backed up with a high-quality reality, but I'd rather stay in a modern-looking place than an ugly, antiquated one.
During our stay, we were bumped up to a suite because I'm a member of the Kimpton Hotels rewards program (and a suite was available). We were given this reward without having to ask for it, which was really nice. Our room was absolutely huge, but I have heard that standard rooms are fairly small.
It's obvious that some design elements are for form, not function. For example, one of our bathroom walls had, essentially, a large window cut-out covered by a sliding wooden door. So anyone in the bedroom could slide open the wooden door and take a gander at your bathroom activities. It just seems unnecessary and silly.
Another bathroom problem was that the shower room -- and it was just a big room, not enclosed like a traditional shower -- also held the toilet. And because there was nothing to keep the water from spraying all over the shower room, we found ourselves with a wet toilet. You have to mop up the floor with a towel after you shower or your feet will get wet every time you have to use the toilet.
Finally, no towel racks in the shower room. Just... dumb.
Despite those problems, I'd stay here again if I could get a good deal because it is a cooler looking place than others at a similar price point. Plus, the location is excellent. I'd also recommend that people traveling with pets consider this place. I saw many dogs welcomed into the hotel.
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We were here for just one night on the quiet night before Columbus Day, so it was pretty much dead and we had a rate of $179. I generally quite like Kimpton Hotels. They're pretty trendy and I can't imagine them aging gracefully, but for what they are, they're fun.
The staff was friendly and helpful. Our room was clean and the bed was cozy and I was seriously digging on the bed linens -- so nice. I love that sheet/comforter/sheet business that some hotels do. I'm easy to please sometimes!
We didn't eat or drink, so I can't report on that.
I don't know if it was a fluke or standard, but we weren't charged for parking. Bonus.
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After reading others' reviews, I'm compelled to try and sort out the good, bad and ugly about the Hotel Palomar. I'm a bit of an expert on the hotel, having spent 45 nights there last year--and approaching 30 this year. I am also a Kimpton Hotels Inner Circle member and have stayed in almost every Kimpton property in the U.S.
First, there is no hotel like the Palomar in the DC market. It is a perfect mix of luxury and chic, comfort and simplicity. It's hip and fun, yet elegant and refined. The Hotel is designed around an art theme--what you take away from it, depends on your perspective.
The decor is wonderful and the rooms are well appointed and comfortable. The standard King room is adequate at 285 square feet, but the double queen room books at the same rate and is 585 square feet. If you're traveling on someone else's dime or don't mind splurging a bit, book a "spa" room. These rooms come appointed with a huge, two-three person jacuzzi tub. (Or, if you think the hotel might not be fully booked, ask for an upgrade when you check in...they often will oblige.)
Many rooms have flat screen TVs, all have stereo IPOD clock radios.
Another nice feature: every light is on a dimmer switch, allowing you to create any sort of ambiance you desire.
The lobby is fun and active during the day and Urbana, the hotel restaurant is fabulous.
Now, for the service: I must admit I'm biased because I'm somewhat of a regular at the Palomar. They know my dog (a 95 pound Boxer), Ernesto, by name and if he's not with me always send me home with treats for him.
But, I stayed in the Palomar the first week they opened when they didn't know me from Adam. I agree there are some employees who could use a swift kick in the butt---and you should tell the manager on the spot when you encounter them--but on the whole, I've found that most will bend over backwards to help you.
Case in point: Six months ago, I found myself homeless--literally, having moved all my belongings from my NYC apartment while on a business trip to LA only to find out my new apartment was not ready and wouldn't be for the forseeable future. I was sitting in my hotel in LA realizing that I had no where to go--when I called the Palomar in DC. I explained my situation and said I wasn't sure when i would arrive or how long I would stay, but that I needed some place I could call home for a while if necessary.
The General Manager came on the line and simply said this to me: "Get here when you can, stay as long as you need. We'll give you a flat rate of $125 a night for the duration--it's our friends and family rate, and we figure that applies in this situation."
I asked if he was sure he had availability and that I wouldn't have to move and he assured me I could stay in the same room with my dog until I was ready to go.
Two days later, I arrived with Ernesto and stayed for three weeks. Not only was I well taken care of, I was cared for--which made a very difficult and unsettling situation much more bearable.
The Palomar isn't a place that will faun all over you and kiss your ass. But if you reach out to them, let them know what your needs are--what you like and what you don't--you'll find that every one of your desires will be fulfilled...often without you ever giving it a second thought.
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From the moment my taxi pulled up to the hotel when I first arrived, to the the moment my fellow Yelp ambassador picked me up after I checked out, my stay was extremely pleasant. The hospitable staff greeted me with all smiles and sent me off with regret. I assured them that I would return to DC, and be staying there again for sure.
This Dupont Circle Kimpton hotel is only 1.5 years old, so the amenities are all new and modern. Miss ATL Yelp, Deanna J, and I stayed in a room on the 9th floor, and we could even see the top of the Washington Monument from our window. The room was HUGE -- it could have fit another 2 queen beds and still have enough space for us to turn into a yoga studio. We had even considered having the Yelp '08 after-party in there. The beds were super comfortable, with chic animal print throws on top of each of our beds, which were great to snuggle under during our power naps before the big party. We had free wi-fi, which was very beneficial so we wouldn't have to miss a beat in our Yelp cities. There was an iPod dock and DVD player as well, which we wished we could have taken advantage of. The bathroom was complete with luxurious bath and body products from L'occitane, and we had cozy leopard print bath robes to wear out of the shower. RAWR!
We were lucky to get a special internet rate of $220/night, which was an amazing deal. I've stayed in W Hotels that weren't even as nice and cost twice as much.
If you want to stay in DC in style and be treated like royalty, Hotel Palomar is your best bet!
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I'm staying at the Palomar this week on business and pleasure, and so far the experience has been wonderful.
We pulled in around 6pm last night, and our valet was super friendly, making sure our car was taking care of while ushering us into check-in. We had our room key in under five minutes, but with enough time to tell us about the amenities (pool on the 2nd floor, complimentary happy hour, etc.).
The room we have is spacious (the bathroom is huge!), with a view of said pool. Free wireless too, hence my ability to fiNish this yelp.
Overall, I'd recommend the Hotel Palomar for a nice stay with some luxury to it, and right in Dupont Circle certainly helps. Location location location.
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The first time I stayed at the Palomar, I loved it -- refreshing modern vibe in a great hood -- something DC definitely needed in its hotel scene. But every time since then it has disappointed in increasingly frustrating and comical ways. Watch your credit card statements very carefully after staying at the Palomar -- twice I've had mysterious and erroneous charges show up on my statement a week or so after my stay (I'm talking over a grand, not mini-bar disputes). Both times, despite being a relatively frequent guest at Kimpton hotels, I was treated with contempt and cycled through every conceivable department known to the hospitality industry. Eventually I had to pull the charge-back trigger with my credit card company, and should have way sooner.
The Palomar, like many Kimpton hotels, won't age well. It did just open... but it's not really new... Kimpton just took an old hotel and pasted on a W-wannabe veneer, which even after a few months has begun to peel away. High room rates + truly abysmal service = 1-star.
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Chaotic, unorganized and a mad house!
That's how I describe this hotel.
I have to agree with Aaroon.
This hotel is over rating!
One star hotel service and what frustrating place to stay!
The Head Concierge did not have a good knowledge about the city and can not provide a good recommendations for restaurants and giving recommendations to a crappy place to eat!
And this dude clueless about the hot spot in the city or cool places for the night out!
So useless!
The robe is over rating and not even as smooth as I imagine!
Cheap quality of fabric!
Give me a break!
Paying the high rate and get a crappy service?
Just like Aaroon said, this hotel just pasted from outside W wannabee veneer but really crappy inside!
And please.. hire the real concierge! A real Washingtonian!
That big dude so useless did not know a shit about the city!
As a traveler from NY, I know better than him!
With the high rate I should at least get the first class service right?
Or at least one thing can be done right!
Go to school kid!
Learn your town!
Stop bullshitting!
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Just stayed there for my dear friends wedding 3/22-3/26. Great location for getting around DC. It is right off Dupont Circle and everything you need is right close. There was construction out front, but should be done soon, could have been worse. The rooms were very clean, modern and HUGE. I would have given them 5 stars, but the down side was the lack of fitness equip. and the awful lady that checked me in. The rest of the staff were some of the best in the biz.
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The room was spacious, CLEAN and colored in muted tones. The accessories are WONDERFUL: L'Occitane toiletries; IPOD stereo, DVD, electronic in-room safe, wine glasses and of course, animal print robes. The room was quiet, unlike some of the other reviews from Tripadvisor. I deducted 1 star because the service was spotty. (doorman not always opening door, COLD concierge, waited forever to get someone on the phone for room service). The room and style is typical Kimpton, however the service was not typical. ATTENTION KIMPTON: Your DC counterparts (including the Madera) need LOTS of work on the service front (inconsistent from many reviews). Great location: walking distance to Metro and Blue bus to G-town.
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Let's just say this was a big, BIG step-up from the Radisson, which is who owned this building the last time I slept in it.
Leopard skin rugs, zebra skin cushions, tiger print robes - this decor made me have to remind myself that I was staying here on business! The rooms were huge, the service was great, the gym had plenty of machines and weights, and there was a great selection of quality newspapers to choose from when drinking the complimentary coffee in the lobby every morning.
A surprising plus was the strong eco/social-consciousness of the hotel. Instead of the usual "throw your towel on the floor if you want a new one" deal (which is usually ignored anyway), the Kimpton hotels actually conduct true social responsibility efforts through their "Kimpton Cares" programs. These are: the Kimpton Red Ribbon Campaign (AIDS), Dress for Success (providing suits to low income women trying to get into the workforce), Parks for People (conserving open space through the Trust for Public Land), and Greening Hotel Business Practices (only using biodegradable cleaners, and conserving water and energy). Kimpton is the only company in the hospitality industry to receive a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for their diversity hiring practices.
Makes you feel good to support such a great company, and they even give you a free photo frame that will sprout seeds if you put it in water!
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My husband and I stayed here on our wedding night, courtesy of my younger brother's generosity. He and his fiancee arranged to have a bottle of champagne sent up to our room, which arrived without incident.
Unfortunately, we were too tired to enjoy it -- or the room, really -- so we watched a little tv and looked at the amazing, luxurious room, and fell into bed, utterly exhausted from the day's events. The service was wonderful and the people were so kind (exactly what I needed, checking in at midnight in my wedding gown!).
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Stayed here with my family last weekend. Quite nice, urban, contemporary, and fun. Fur (I assume faux) throws on every bed, french toiletries, and complimentary leopard and zebra print terry cloth robes. What could be better? Very pet friendly.
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I've never stayed here, but my friends tend to do so when they are in DC and it's a pretty cool place. Palomar is a part of the Kimpton family of hotels, which tends to have more "alternative" hotels - they are funky, cool, modern, chic, and all-in-all a departure from the typical brass and marble bullshit you see in traditional hotels. Palomar is also one of those cool hotels that will typically take $100/night on Priceline.com if you select Dupont Circle as a location of choice. $100/night is well worth it. The rooms are typically dark and have some funky furniture and something weird to them - a white shag carpet, for example. They have cool restaurants, attractive employees, and will overall satisfy the client who does not want the traditional hotel experience, but rather, something more modern and funky. If you're into this kind of hotel, check out Hotel Helix, Topaz Hotel, Hotel Monaco, or kimptonhotels.com to find others.
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Agree with some others. This place is seriously overrated. I'm quite used to staying in hotels for weeks at a time and do it quite frequently....stayed at hotel palomar for almost two weeks and it was not fun.
The stars are for the deco and location. I agree that the deco is very nice... modern, clean, the room is pretty functional. Nice lamps, bed is comfy, lots of dresser space. But it is smaller than other hotels in DC that i've stayed at. Not that big a deal.
Location is close to dupont metro, close to restaurants, bars, etc. Neighborhood around the hotel though.. is sometimes questionable.
Service is seriously in need of improvement. Badly managed, I think. First of all, I arrived to check-in and the front desk was clearly not wanting to be there. No smiles, no "welcome," of any sort, ...just a are you checkin-in and i need a credit card. well, okay.. maybe someone's having a bad day. also, i had quite a bunch of luggage since i was traveling previously from overseas. Well... i saw all of my luggage sitting on one of those luggage carts in the lobby. It was unattended and just sitting there (along with all my shopping bags that had stuff I had purchased from overseas). So i went back to the front desk and asked if someone would be bringing my luggage up shortly. Didn't even get a verbal reply, the lady just looked at me like I asked a stupid question and nodded once. OK. Now I'm really thinking service sucks here. More to come... so I wait for my luggage in my room. 10 minutes pass....then 15, then 20, 25, then 30 minutes. I decide to go check on the luggage, go downstairs and what do you know. My luggage is still sitting in the lobby, unattended, in the same place that I last saw it. So.. i decide to bring it up myself since there is no staff around other than those at the front desk. I drag the cart pass the elevators, past the front desk, not sure if anyone saw me, but if they did.. they didn't say anything.
Second....the place is loud!!! The walls must be paper thing cause you can hear EVERYTHING. The rooms are very close to each other, the hallway is narrow so the room across from yours is only like 3-4 steps away. ... not sure if this was why i heard every door opening, slamming, people in the hallway talking, people in the room next door talking. the amount of noise I heard was ridiculous!! now, i don't expect not to hear anything at all, but seriously, the amount of noise i could hear was excessive.
Also, no coin laundry in the place. They have laundry and dry cleaning service, but I don't really want to send out my PJs, undergarments, etc. to the hotel laundry service. Nearest coin laundry, according to guest services, is 12 blocks away. soo..i ended up sending everything out to the laundry service...with a whopping bill afterwards.
Oh yeah.. and the reception for cell phones sucks and is spotty at best. Most of the time I could only get one or two bars on my reception strength.
The hotel does provide free coffee/tea in the morning and has a wine social/event in the evenings for an hour. I don't think that this is that big incentive for me since most of the hotels i've stayed at do the same thing or something similar.
I think it's funny that palomar is trying to push an upscale/modern/cool type of image. If they truly wanted to be considered upscale they need to fix their service. This was my first KIMPTON hotel stay and i am not tempted to stay at another one again... at least in the DC area.
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Yet again Kimpton gets it right. Hotel Palomar is modern and refreshing for the city of DC. The rooms are large which makes it really comfortable if you're staying for more than just a couple of days or traveling with another person.
The staff and quality of service is exceptional as is typical of Kimpton properties.
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Incredibly spacious and very comfortable. The desk and chair were well-proportioned, and there were plenty of plugs at desktop height--yay! Just kooky enough that I enjoyed being there but wasn't tempted to want this in my own home. (The robes, for example--zebra and leopard. I didn't expect them to be fluffy or absorbent, but they were! And very yummy L'Occident toiletries.)
I was here for a conference about two weeks after opening, when they were still working out the kinks. Some of the other attendees were actually woken up by a smoke alarm test the previous night, among other newness foibles... but an unsnooty, cheerful staff who apologized for the kinks and otherwise patched things up as they could.
Within walking distance of the Dupont Circle metro. Not sure when I'll next need to stay in a hotel in DC, but this is the spot for a swanky, swoozy helluva good time near downtown.
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The whole problem with the Palomar can be understood when you look at their bathroom sinks. Each bathroom has a beautiful vessel sink, with a square basin and a rectangular spout, which look really modern and wonderful. The problem? The way the sink is designed, when you wash your hands, water hits your hands and shoots out to each side and literally sprays all over the counter. It's impossible to carry water from your hands to your face without bumping into the spout b/c it's so poorly designed. And to top it all off, the sink never had hot water. This is really the whole problem with the hotel. Nice amenities, decor, and a very trendy theme, but they ultimately prove to be all show and completely useless. Another example: nice L'Occitane bath products... which all had expiration dates from last year.
PROS:
- Pretty, spacious rooms
- Complimentary yoga bag, upon request
- iPod clock radio
- Environmentally friendly, have a recycling bin in the room
CONS:
- We were first assigned to a room about 5 steps away from and eye-level with the pool area - zero privacy
- They couldn't change our rooms til the next day. They gave us the key to another room - but the room belonged to someone else! (as we discovered when we went in their room!)
- It was hard to reach the front desk and especially room service on the phone - 24 hr rm service proved to be nonexistent
- The free wireless internet was very spotty and unreliable
- They business center offers printing, but it cost us $8 to use a computer for 5 minutes and print 3 pages (plus the toner was out)
- The walls were SUPER thin - we could hear everything going on around us, above us, you name it. When our neighbors opened the door to their room, it literally sounded like they were coming into our room.
- Our keycards kept deactivating - we had to have 3 of our cards rekeyed, and other people on our floor complained of the same problem.
- There are only about 2 outlets in the entire hotel room! If we were ever to stay here again (which we would NOT), we would need to bring a power strip.
- The staff, who, according to the hotel pamphlet, are "trained by the Joffrey Ballet in grace" and other mumbo jumbo, were, for the most part, clueless and pretty unfriendly.
Overall, we were really disappointed by the whole experience. At $300+/night (corporate rate), there are much, much better places to spend your money (for example, the Sofitel Lafayette, which we stayed at last month and really enjoyed).
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