$450 per night - really?
This is the most expensive hotel I have ever stayed in my entire life but it rates near the bottom in terms of quality. If I had paid the $450 per night the Grand Hyatt charged out of my own pocket I would have checked out after the first night. However, I was tagging along with my wife while she was on business in DC so I only have to wonder why a hotel could charge so much money for a basic room. No this was not a suite, it was a room withtwo double beds.
First the good. When you walk in, the lobby truly looks grand. But this is DC and this is the kind of hotel people stay in when somebody else pays the bill. The breakfast, while expensive ($21 for the buffet) was good. I especially liked the omelets. Service was friendly. We had drinks at The Cure a very relaxing bar. While expensive ($20 for a glass of merlot and a draft beer) the bartender was friendly and efficient. The check in was quick ut when we inquired about the price of wi-fi access the clerk did not know. I decided to live without e-mail for a few days since I was on vacation. What else is good? The location. My wife was able to walk to her meetings offsite and I was able to get to all the tourist hotspots in about 15 minutes.
Now the mediocre. While the lobby was great, we did not sleep there. We slept in what was essentialy a $100 a night room. The beds were comfortable enough and the TV was big, but everything else was rather underwhelming. The bathroom was dimly lit, there was no exhaust fan that we could find, and the toilet seat was broken. The towels looked like somebody bought the cheap ones at a Wal-Mart. The AC unit was on its last legs. We called maintenance to have them look at. They determined it was working OK, and despite it only being about 60 outside, we "just had to turn it all the way down and leave th blower on high". I pity the poor blokes who stay in 247 in July. Apparently the maid's vacuum didn't work either because the floor didn't appear to be vac'd during our stay.
So all in all, a rather unimpressive hotel. I was expecting much more.