Best Western Capitol Skyline Hotel Washington DC

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. The smell is awful-straight from the sewer. The service and the employees was terrible and rude. I was missing personal items for the bathroom and it was never acknowledged by the hotal staff. I will never stay at a Best Western ever again, nor will I recommend it to anyone. I will try to have it removed from the AAA recommended list.

My partner and I stayed at the hotel for two days last September - I just wish I had done some research about the hotel beforehand. It amazes me that such an awful place can be so near to all the tourist sights! I have never known a place with such a depressing atmosphere (we were in the cheaper rooms with a view of the 'pool' and not the Capitol, unfortunately....). Some thoughts for me though... in a place which caters for tourists, why can't the hotel at least provide advice on the safest route to the hotel (we stupidly thought that M Street was the nearest underground stop....!!!)... why was the bathroom mirror surrounded in light bulbs... why bother having a gift shop open in the evenings but not a bar... why were two detectives parked outside the hotel for two nights... and why did the restaurant/room service consist of a Texaco Garage and McDonalds (according to the hotel guide)!!!

Bizarre........

When we arrived, we realized that the hotel was located in a very bad

section of Washington, D.C. In fact, across the street was a small park

that was filled with homeless people, obnoxious drunks, beggars, and

many undesirable people. I was truly fearful for myself and my

children. There is no way we would have gone outside. Although the room

and the lobby looked nice, there were obvious signs that the hotel was

not in good condition. In fact, the room across the hall had sewage

backed up all over the floor, and the employees were walking around

with face masks. Also, the sewage somehow made its way to the parking

garage. Furthermore, none of the vending machines worked, the parking

garage was a mess, the elevator bounced, and the door leading to the

hotel from the parking garage was open for anyone to come in. On top of

it, while viewing the upper level rooms from the outside, it was

apparent that only the bottom level rooms were being used. We observed

that the upper level rooms were torn apart and the windows were either

broken or open for anyone or anything to come in.

My family and I were very uneasy staying at this hotel. I informed the desk clerk about my concerns and he said, "I totally understand," I wanted my children to feel safe and have a wonderful time, but this hotel was in no condition to accommodate guests. I hope this information will help, so that no one else has the same experience that we did.



Thank you

I read previous reviews about The Best Western Capitol Skyline Hotel after making reservations but before going to stay there. What I can say is that if all you want out of a hotel is a bed to sleep in...this is the hotel for you. My room was on the 7th flr. with a view of the Capitol for the price of $90 per night for the 4th of July weekend. To be straight to the point, it is close enough to walk to the Capitol and mall area but you have to walk through the ghetto, there's a McDonald's and gas station right across the street but we were harassed anytime we stepped out of the hotel because of the homeless shelter right across the street and the park they all hang out in day and night. There were police cars and ambulances almost every 5 mins. going down the main hwy. that runs right beside the hotel, we thought this was a result of the holiday but by the 5th of July this must be a normal evening for this area in Washington, so unless you sleep like a rock you will hear sirens the entire night. The bar in the hotel was closed by 9pm and this was a very old building, the rooms weren't too bad but the elevator was a little scary and the free parking garage doesn't have enough spaces for the # of rooms. This is all I can say about this hotel.

This hotel is located in the ghetto of D.C.. Neighborhood kids are running through the hotel and across the pool area screeming obscenities at the guests. Right outside the hotel, we were approached to buy drugs several times and when graciously turning down the offer, we were followed and threatened. NOT a good place to stay, especially with children. The inside of the hotel smells, the elevator broke down twice in one day. We only stayed one night and left...never again.

I found this hotel to be a great value. Work is being done to restore this 1960's gem. I had an average room. The staff was wonderful. I felt like everyone was my friend. I had to be there on business and an excellent location to the capitol. Great price compared to other hotels in DC. I was shown a renovated room which the staff told me 3 floors would be done in APRIL. Wow, this hotel will be something. Right now if you are going, you will have problems but remember you are paying alot alot less than the other hotels. Looking forward to going back again.

This HOTEL is a joke. I called around for price quotes and called back to the hotel to book w/i 10 minutes. I was then quoted a $20 rate increase. I asked why and was rudely informed that is the only price and the other person must have been mistaken. I decided to continue my search and made other arrangements. I called the hotel 30 hrs in advance of our reservation (their policy is 24 hrs) to cancel. I was assured the reservation was cancelled and NOT given a confirmation number- my mistake, I admit. This month I was charged a no-show fee... I called and inquired and was informed that they have no record of my cancellation. The situation being my word against theirs... I have no recourse. (Except to try to warn others and dispute the charges on my credit card.) Beware of the shady owners of this hotel.

I booked a room with double bed for one night on 12-28-02. I reched the hotel at around 12 pm and was told that i have a confirm booking, but the check-in- time is 3 pm, so we left and came back at about 10 pm, to my surprise i was told that all the room with double bed are gone, since booking does not mean anything and it was first come first serve, ok i told them that i was here at 12 pm and was told that i have a double bed room booked for me, so now what happened, REPLY was we are over booked.

I had to spend 1 hour and settle down with 1 bed room at 11 pm. We went in the room and room was FILTHY FILTHY AND FILTHY,. I was really surprised to see the NASTY room and could not under stand that BEST WESTON hotel are like this, IT's SHAME ON BEST WESTON, i am planning to write an artical in the leading news paper so that people know what they are getting into when they book BEST WESTON hotel.

OK, the hotel was built in 1962, it is not the Ritz. But it was remodeled in 1999 and the rooms are clean and average size. It is one block south of I-395, so it is not in the upscale neighborhood, but the hotel is safe and I found it to be no more noisy than any other hotel in DC. You may not want to go out for a stroll around the block, but I wouldn't recommend that anywhere in DC. The real selling point for this hotel is price and location... 4 blocks from the US Capitol and at least $125 per night less than any other hotel within 5 miles. Don't walk from the hotel, take a taxi. But the fare to the capitol is less than $5 and to the White House less than $10. For $125 per day savings, you can pay for a lot of taxi rides. If you are on an expense account, stay at the Hyatt, Marriott or Ritz and let the shareholders pay for it. But if you are footing the bill, stay here and use your savings to enjoy Washington. I am a former Member of Congress and I stay here regularly.

I just returned from a LONG weekend at the Skyline Hotel. I would not recommend it for a number of reasons. Unless you are a hiker with stamina you will have to resort to a taxi to get around if you don't have a car. The homeless shelter across the street and the adjacent park provide plenty of excitement in the form of ambulances, police cars, and police helicopters in the middle of the night. The only food available in the hotel is the breakfast buffet (at a mere 7.95) and a small shop with cold drinks and snacks. There is no restaurant as advertised but there are 4 fast food establishments within 2 blocks. I held my purse tight and ate fast --- once! My friends from the UK had made reservations through an unwary travel agent. They will speak to her when they return.