The Royal Sonesta Washington DC, Dupont Circle

The room was hot the entire time of my stay despite complaints to the front desk. Like every other review that I have read, I am frustrated that the hotel pockets additional fees after you leave the hotel. "Destination fee" - received nothing in value and was not informed of any benefit to this charge. Judging from the parroted responses to the many complaints about this fraudulent conduct, they don't care what you think as long as they increase their profits illegally. There are many hotels in DC which deserve your business and treat customers with honesty. Stay away from this one!

We visited the Royal Sonesta Dupont Circle for a family trip this past week. While we appreciated an upgrade to a suite, the accommodations were quite lackluster. The room was in disrepair, with the sliding door between the bedroom and seating area off the track and unable to close. My toddler also touched the handle on the sliding door and it fell off the door hurting him. The shower needs work and a new shower head, and the wifi was so poor that it was impossible to get any meaningful work done in the room. Thankfully an Au Bon Pain a few blocks away provided a suitable working space during downtime. Cleanliness of the room and the condition of its furniture should be examined. Valet parking at the property was expensive and the hotel does not disclose that the charge is prior to imposition of a substantial tax on parking. While the valets were kind, it was clear that they were overwhelmed with the number of vehicles and the limited space in front of the hotel for maneuvering. Even calling ahead for our vehicle to be brought around, we still waited each time we called down. There is nothing particularly positive from our stay, which was on Sonesta Travel Pass points. We've stayed at hotels across DC and stayed in recent months at Royal Sonesta properties in three other cities. This was an overall negative stay and will cause us to avoid staying at other Sonesta properties.

Watch out for resort fee. I was told at reception they needed a credit card in case I charged to the room, which I didn’t, was also told at the same time by the receptionist that it was a “security deposit” . It wasn’t. They took $200 after we checked out. I was NEVER told it was a resort fee. Long story short they took $200 of me for nothing. Stayed 4 nights will never stay again. No laundry facility- had to use hotel across the street. There are plenty of other hotels in DC - will give somewhere else a try in future.

My recent stay at the Royal Sonesta Dupont Circle was okay, but the customer service left me a bit disappointed. When I went down for breakfast on my first morning, the gentleman working seemed unsure of my room and name, even after I told him which made the interaction feel a little uncomfortable. When checking out, I learned that breakfast was not included. I mentioned this politely, but the response I received — “In this day and age, did anyone tell you breakfastwas included?” — came across as dismissive rather than helpful. The hotel itself is lovely, but I wish the staff interactions had felt warmer and more welcoming. A little kindness and clear communication would have made the stay much better.

The hotel interior and rooms are fine but do not expect to have a good night sleep. The AC in the rooms shuts off when you are sleeping even in the summer time making it hot, but worse than that, if you wave your hand to trigger the motion sensor to turn the AC back on there is a light that flashes and illuminates the whole room.