The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill

High price for average hotel and service. Room was fine. Nice and big. And clean. However, minus one star because there are no bathtubs in this hotel and no floor mat for the slippery show floor. Plus, lost a star because I had to go the front desk to check out. When I called the front desk, they said I can't check out via the phone. Not great for me when I'm in a rush to get out of the hotel to my meetings.

Amassed a ton of Sonesta Travel Pass points a few years ago and needed an annual stay to keep them active. Decided to try this location since it is newish and centrally located. Ease of parking is easily the highlight of the property- there is a garage ramp as you approach on Mass Ave from 395 that leads under the hotel with easy elevator access to the lobby for check in. Despite being 4th of July weekend the lobby / desk wasn’t busy but check in seemed clumsy and slow with no acknowledgement of Sonesta membership and impersonal service. Had reserved an “Olmstead Suite” which was best available upon booking. It was at the end of the hallway as expected for a corner accommodation but the entire hall reeked of weed. Ice and filtered water station functioned well and were nearby. Entering the suite we found it to be like a sauna and the AC was not working. When we called we were told the central AC system was being worked on and that most of the hotel rooms were impacted- the type of thing one would reasonably expect to have mentioned when checking in on a 100 degree day. A fan we referred to as our “personal air fryer” was delivered promptly by a pleasant housekeeping attendant. A maintenance worker came to the room and stated he would place our thermostat in “VIP mode” which allows a lower setting but ultimately acknowledged it would do no good until the central AC issue itself was fixed. The design, furnishing, appointments, and cleanliness of the suite were all good. The main view from the living / dining area of the suite was in the direction of the postal museum / Union Station which wasn’t particularly nice as the lower 1/3 of the view from 546 was of an adjacent crumbling rooftop littered with mess- and for some reason we were charged a “high floor” fee (presumably for this view)- sad but true. The hotel’s food and beverage outlet “Bistro du Jour” had average quality food but the service was very slow with surly unpleasant servers at the bar- the types who will walk past your empty glass to go wipe an empty clear unoccupied space at the opposite end when the place is dead. We were checked out by a woman wearing a blue procedure mask for some reason who mumbled unintelligibly. There are too many good hotels in the immediate vicinity (full service upper mid-scale) to waste your time with this one. Wish we had just checked in and immediately out of a local Sonesta for $200 to keep our points active rather than staying at Sonesta DC Capital Hill.

The hotel was very nice and very clean. Being there were 3 elderly women in this reservation we felt completely safe and well taken care of. Ebit (spelling) was so kind and helpful The staff were very professional. The food in the resteraunt was so good that we ate all of our meals there. Another great experience. I highly recommend

Had a really great stay here overall! The rooms are super spacious, elegant, and perfectly clean. We also loved learning about the cool story and history behind the hotel.A major highlight was the hotel's restaurant, Bistro du Jour—we had both dinner and breakfast there and the food was amazing. For dinner, the wild mushroom puff pastry with a poached egg was incredible, and breakfast with the smoked salmon and poached egg was the perfect way to start the day.Huge shoutout to our server, Grace! She was so accommodating, hooked us up with personalized food options, and gave us top-tier service. We’ll definitely be back!

Was a great experience the staff was extremely kind and helpful location excellent and right in Midtown Washington the room service was great and those receptionist was super helpful. (Dayshea)