The Westin Alexandria

Great experience overall. Only area of improvement was the staff. Room was not ready at check-in time, and the staff did not initially seem to care. 5 minutes later I spoke to the manager, and magically there was now a room available.

The bedding was luxurious. We deliberately didn't use housekeeping to earn vouchers for food credit to find it was only good at their very expensive restaurant, (vouchers MAY have covered cost of drinks). Exorbitant charges for things lesser hotels offer as amenities, like local calls and wireless access. The leather-covered handrails in the elevators gave me pause as they'd be so much harder to keep clean than metal, so I feared catching someone else's germs from them. We won't be staying there on our next visit to DC later this year. Having a doorman doesn't impress me.

I called ahead to make sure I got a room with a view because I did not want to look out the window and see gravel and air conditioners. When I arrived I asked again that my room has a view. They assured me that I will have a lovely view facing the Mormon temple. I went up to the room, looked out the window and saw gravel and air conditioners. I called down to the front desk and they apologized that all their king rooms with a view were booked. They were able to move me to a double room with a view. I would of liked to sleep on a king, but having a room with a view was more important. Besides the room mix up....I had a lovely stay.

The hotel is OK if you're there on a business trip, getting up before 7am, and someone else is paying for it. NOT great if you're there on vacation and don't want to hear all the doors in the hallway slamming at 6am or pay (a LOT) extra for every little 'amenity.' If I would have had the forethought to look up parking and internet rates at this hotel, I would never have booked here to begin with. If you like your room dark and quiet at night, this is not the place for you either. We ended up putting a rolled up towel at the bottom of the door due to it being at least an inch too short, and all the light and sound from the hallway was coming in. I wished we had a roll of black tape to cover the large gaps around the door as well. There was also nothing we could do about being able to hear every word of the next room's TV inconveniently configured right against the wall the bed is on, or the sound of every word of the conversations people were having in the hallway. As for location, the hotel was in a nice, upscale area, but it's not that close to anything, unless you plan on driving or taking a taxi everywhere. For example, there are few convenience or drug stores within walking distance in case you forgot to bring something, and you can expect very little selection and a premium price... i.e. the only place I could find Aleve sold it by the individual pill at a ridiculous price. Deal breaker? No, but VERY inconvenient, especially when I've stayed at very cheap hotels that have offered such items complementary at the front desk, or even brought to my room. The hotel is within walking distance of two Metro stations, but neither is really all that close, and we seemed to be the only ones ever walking there. If you plan on using the Metro often to go into DC, this is not the hotel for you, either. If you Do plan on driving everywhere, in case you don't know, traffic in Alexandria can be just as bad as it is in downtown DC, especially during rush hour. It took us 35 minutes to drive the 2 miles from the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the hotel, and almost 20 minutes to drive down the 1 mile of King street on Friday evening. We don't often splurg on a hotel, so we were expecting a much better experience than we usually get at the half-the-price-places. I guess so-called 'upscale' hotels just aren't for us. I've had much better stays at MUCH cheaper hotels, and even motels.

We were initially charged $24 for valet parking in error, and the front desk refunded us as soon as we asked them too, before I even had a chance to explain why I should be refunded. Very good service.

If you are driving, better to avoid this hotel unless you have no other choice.It is difficult to locate plus there is only valet parking for $24 day plus tips. Although you are told you can call front desk to have your car brought out before going downstairs, the phone just rings and rings. There is no free wifi connection. Room and beds are nice and comfortable but walls are thin and you can hear people next door.

The staff was just wonderful. The room was nice and clean. Would have been nice to have a small refrigerater and/or microwave. The best part was the bed. It was to die for, best night sleep I had in a very long time. The hotels advertisement about their beds was an understatement. WOW!!!!!!!!!

Staff was great, amenities terrific and the location was outstanding. The only issues I faced dealt with television reception (was on the fritz for 4+ hours) and carpet cleanliness (seemed like it hadn't been vacuumed).

I had a meeting at the USPTO. It is just across the street from the hotel

The room was clean, spacious, and very comfortable. The bed was one of the most comfortable hotel beds I've ever slept in. The hotel is conveniently located near a Metro station, but there is not much to do or eat nearby. I had little interaction with the staff, so I don't have much feedback on the staff.