The Normandy Hotel

A boutique hotel is always cozy, but the amenities at the Normandy were really great: in-room espresso machine (but stocked with too many decaf pods and not enough creamers and sweeteners), free WiFi, in-room DVD player, in-room refrigerator, raindrop showerhead, daily (even on weekends) social hour with wine and cheese-and-cracker plates (not replenished enough), and coffee/latte/espresso/hot chocolate/tea available all day in the sunroom and lobby living room area. So this place definitely felt like a nice respite from weary travels and a gem of a find in Washington DC's Embassy Row neighborhood. Parking is awful, so rental car users beware: because of the diplomat neighbors, there is almost no unrestricted parking for many blocks around. Also, I returned to the hotel one morning after brunch and found the entire street corner marked off with police tape. The lobby, elevator, third floor, and my sixth floor all had signs of some kind of domestic dispute gone badly in one of the rooms that caused some people to go running through the halls in a mad rage, contaminating what looked like the entire building. I don't need the gory details, and my stay was already pre-paid which was still a great deal, and I'm familiar enough with the area to know that it was an isolated incident in a safe neighborhood. But the management of the hotel never explained what happened to me (or the other guests, apparently), which made the whole incident feel more dubious than perhaps it was. Some kind of accurate report would have been appreciated; a gesture of goodwill (like a return visit credit or a bottle of wine or something) would have been even better. To return to your hotel room twice and be told by housekeeping staff "be careful of the mess" when walking on carpet or moving through a hallway is unsettling to say the least.