The Royal Sonesta Washington DC, Dupont Circle

The customer service at check in was horrible. At this hotel, the customer is always wrong. The room they gave us was tiny with a lovely view of a brick wall. I will never stay here again, do NOT recommend

It was a horrible experience. The entire rug was sticky. The wallpaper in the bathroom was peeling off and hanging. The suite did not look like the pictures on your website. The room was not worth more than $300 before taxes. I paid extra for a late checkout and at 11:30 this morning, we had a housekeeper banging on the door repeatedly, then unlock the door and start to come in the room before I pushed the door shut. We also had a do not disturb sign on the door. It was completely unacceptable! When I was texted after checking out to see how my stay was, I wrote the same thing as I wrote above. It has been two days and no one from management has bothered to respond. That in itself should say everything. Truly unbelievable.

The location was unfortunately the only positive aspect of our stay. While I understand that construction can create temporary challenges, it does not excuse the level of service issues we experienced. During our stay, the elevator servicing the first floor was unavailable for one night due to construction, and no assistance was offered with luggage. On another night, our room had no hot water. By the third night, housekeeping failed to provide fresh towels. My biggest frustration was the lack of transparency prior to arrival. We booked through Capital One Travel and were never notified that active construction could impact our stay. At a minimum, the hotel should have sent a separate email before check-in so guests could make an informed decision or cancel if needed. To make matters worse, I was initially told that resort fees were being removed from my bill as compensation. I later learned those fees were not actually included in the grand total I had already paid through Capital One—they were simply charges the hotel would normally deduct from the security deposit, which made the “compensation” feel misleading. Based on our experience—and after seeing similar recent reviews mentioning the same issues—I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere until these problems are addressed.

Major construction is ongoing. This meant no elevator access to the first floor. Checking out I pulled my back and damaged my suitcase carrying it down two flights of stairs with no staff assistance available. The stay was not worth the injury or the damage to my belongings. Also the temporary lobby, check in area, and restaurant are all converted conference rooms.

My wife and I stayed at the Royal Sonesta while visiting D.C. The staff there are both friendly and helpful. We were greeted with a smile each time we walked through the lobby. Our room was spotless. Very comfortable, with a great view.