A Good Value

Just returned from the Hawthorn Suites Alexandria. This hotel was the best deal we could book for my sister and combined our four children. We all stayed in a one bedroom suite with a pull out sofa. Having a very limited budget this room which we booked at $125 a night for six people which also included a dinner with happy hour and full breakfast was worth it. It was noisy at times though I have learned that packing ear plugs in your travel bag just in case is well worth it. There seemed to be a fire station pretty close. We did walk to the Landmark mall and ate at a Ruby Tuesday's rest. There were other fast food rest there. You can walk up the hill via the side walk and cross the mall parking lot to get there. It took us very little time to get there. The van driver was so friendly (Mike) and he even made a side trip one day to take us to the close by Safeway to get extra snacks. The kitchen in the room is huge and has some dishes. There were a lot of dogs at this hotel so if you are not pet friendly this would not be the place for you. There was a huge German Shepherd right across the hall that would bark when we walked up. It didn't bother us too much but it did scare our kids. People were constantly taking there dogs out to walk in the grass outside the hotel. It was interesting to see all the breeds. I was a bit worried about fleas being in the room but we didn't have this problem. All in all if you are on a budget for DC this is a good option.

Great value and service

After spending a week here during a recent vacation, I can say that I'll recommend it to anyone looking for a great value and a comfortable place to stay. Noise was not really an issue, as I requested a room on the Van Dorn side of the hotel. At times I was reminded of my years in a college dorm, with doors slamming shut up and down the hall, but as the hotel caters to business travelers, the halls quiet down around 9 or 10 pm. Other great pluses included shuttle service to the Metro, happy hour beverages and munchies, and free wireless Internet. Will stay here again.

Saved alot on meals

We stayed here during the week after investigating many hotels all around the DC area and finding very high non-weekend rates. The major pluses with this hotel is that it was easy to find, the suite we had was very large for our family of four (basically comparable to a one bedroom apt), and the free food (tasty pork sandwiches one night and tacos the next during our stay)and drinks provided during the week in the evenings and the extensive free breakfast in the mornings cut down on the cost for a family vacation. We did have one issue upon check in that the room we supposedly reserved was going to be higher priced since they said having 2 beds was an "upgrade" but we held to our guns and showed that on the reservation that we had specifically requested 2 beds (4 people) and the price we were quoted, and mgt finally backed down and honored the previous price. The main downside to this hotel is that its isolated on a busy street. It is a few miles from a metro stop and mall and shops but nothing within walking distance (or with sidewalks). They provide a shuttle to the metro stop but only in the morning and evening hours and we missed it once in the evening and were forced to hail a taxi to get back. Tried parking also at metro stop and parking was limited and lot was full. Noticed the street noise a bit but other than an occasional fire truck, its nothing intrusive. Kids loved the microwave popcorn in the kitchen.

Convenient Location

My husband and I just stayed at the Hawthorn Suites Alexandria for 3 nights. We found that the hotel rates in D.C. were a bit higher than what we wanted to spend and opted to stay at the Hawthorn Suites to save a bit of money. The hotel was easy to find - right off the freeway. When we headed into D.C. we just hopped onto the freeway and were there in minutes. Unlike the previous reviewer we found the hotel quiet, although we were not located on the freeway side. We were quite pleased with the amenities - a toaster, coffee maker, dishwasher, microwave and even microwave popcorn with a nice big bowl for it on the shelf. Another nice feature was a laundry room with vending machines on the ground floor. I would stay at the Hawthorn Suites again and would recommend it to others heading to the D.C. area.

Mixed Review

We had a mixed review of this hotel. The price was great $99 a night. The room contrary to other postings was not that large. The room opens to a hallway which is the kitchen area. This leads to a one bedroom room and a small bathroom. When we first arrived we had to change rooms as the room we initially got had an unclean bathroom. This would lead to some problems with the cleaning staff later. The hotel has the freeway on one side and a busy street on the other. The busy street side is the nosier of the two. Previous postings are right in the inadequate sound proofing. In our second room (of three) we were awakened by out next door neighbors TV at 6 in the morning. The breakfast is great and if you want to skip dinner the evening managers special (Monday-Thursday) is quite filling. The staff is very helpful. We did have a misunderstanding about the shuttle. When you get off the metro, go to the Taxi exit (not the bus exit) to catch the shuttle. On our third night at the hotel we came back late. When we came through the door of our room we first encountered a mound of trash. As we got farther into the room we noticed that not only had the bed not been made they forgot to leave the sheets. Also, the bathroom was filthy. They moved us to a suite because of our problem. The suite is big, full kitchen, living room, dining room, separate bedroom with a larger bathroom. The rest of our stay was good.

Room to stretch, but bring earplugs!

We had a spacious 1 bedroom suite (really a 1 bedroom apartment) with a separate kitchen, dining table, sofa sleeper, recliner, desk, and wireless internet. Hot breakfast was available, and they had just started a free dinner buffet (which we did not try). Unlike another reviewer, my experience with the metro shuttle was good. In general the room was great for my family (2 young boys).

The problem we found was noise due to relatively poor soundproofing (rememember, this is an old apartment building that was converted). We were awakened early in the morning on both nights we were there by the sound of a wakeup call IN THE ADJOINING ROOM, followed by the voices in conversation that kept us from going back to sleep. The problem wasn't noisy neighbors - just poor soundproofing. The sounds of cars and trucks on the nearby freeway was also worse than in most more recently built structures.

Although I liked the space, amenities, and services for the most part, I can't see going back when there seem to be so many other choices,

Spacious suites

Our one bedroom suite was perfect for our visit. Clean and attractive spacious rooms were provided. We got a great price on the hotel chain's website. The metro shuttle was a great convenience as well as the hot breakfast buffet. Excellent value for the price.

Stranded in Alexandria

When we arrrived we loved the space and the extras for our family vacation. So we excused the long waits for the van (50 minute wait for the every 30 minute shuttle) and the van driver locking the keys in the van so we stood even longer on our tired tourist feet. We excused the housekeeping for not cleaning well, even though we left a tip, and they didn't do the dishes or leave soap for us to do it ourselves even though we called and requested the service. We excused the no hot water one night due to a maintence problem and them shutting off the air for the season when my room was over eighty degrees. We overlooked no one except the front desk personnel could speak much English. By the way I saw no candy basket and the food is okay at best since it was "free" but nothing to get excited about and we didn't get free grocery service. The problem was them putting a double hold of $650 each (almost $1300) on our debit card. Meanwhile we are spending our money like it is there and find out this messed up our account back home in Illinois. Now by the time we find out and the bank is through with the charges, my husband's paycheck is gone along with the rest of the money to cover Hawthorn's mistake and the bounced checks, and we need to go drive home in the morning with no money! Thanks Hawthorn! I wanted to pan handle my way back home almost 1000 miles. By the way, they say they are sorry for the inconvenience! I stayed here because I stayed at the Louisville one for work and loved the service and thought this would become my new hotel chain of choice. I am going to rethink this if I make it home. By the way if you see a couple with a five year old girl begging for gas money to get back to Illinois this weekend please take pitty on them! What is sad is that I may not be kidding, I will see in the morning. Just don't stay here. There are better choices in the area!!

We loved the extras

Our best hotel stay in the USA (we stayed in 6 hotels). Spacious, comfortable suites, immaculate and full of extras. We loved our suite's fully set table for dinner, lazyboy chair, bowl full of candies, and free offer to buy groceries. The staff were very helpful, it is located in a very nice area, and the shuttle to the metro station was always available on demand. Free fully cooked daily breakfasts and free wine and dinner Mon-Friday were added bonuses. Amazing value for money.

We came, we saw, we left! (July 2004)

Where do I start? Having stayed in Hawthorn Suites in El Paso and San Antonio, TX, (see reviews) during our cross-country relocation, we expected two relaxing nights at this location. The first indication of trouble was that they did not have my reservation that I had made online several weeks before. Nonetheless, they were able to accomodate us, giving us the same rate at which I had reserved the room. Coming from the car to the elevator, we could not help but notice how dirty and musty the carpet smelled. Upon entering our room on the 5th floor, we were overcome by a strong aroma of long ago fried bacon. While the room was the biggest we ever had, it was because the hotel is A FORMER APARTMENT BUILDING! It was so big, that speaking in normal tones resulted in echoes in the room. We then decided to check out, which we did, and found a Homewood Suites, which did not disappoint us. Finally, to add injury to insult, when I received my Visa bill, I saw where I had been charged for my original reservation after all, requiring me to call the 1-800 number to have them refund it.