Holiday Inn Washington Capitol / Smithsonian Washington DC

We stayed here December 27 - 31st. First of all thanks to all who contributed here before. Your info on room choice and the adjacent Capitol Gallery bldg. is much appreciated.The good news: You cant beat the location. Maybe two hundred yards from the Air & Space Museum up 5th st., an easy walk to the LEnfant Metro Plaza and close to the Capitol grounds by walking northeast up Maryland Ave. The bad news: Stay away from the Smithson Restaurant. One of the top ten worst dining experiences in my life there the first night. Too many things wrong to describe in detail. Just eat somewhere else like Vie De France Bakery & Cafe, (202) 554-7870, 600 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024. When you come out of the main entry to the hotel and face C St., then across the street you will face the Dept. of Education bldg. Turn left and the building you see is a private one called Capitol Gallery. When you enter you face a long hallway. About halfway down on the left is the Vie de France which includes really three places, a bakery/breakfast place, a sports bar further down the side hall and a sit down restaurant across from it. We ate there three times and werent disappointed. Closes 8pm weekdays, closed weekends. There's also a McDonalds east on C St. and next to it a sub sandwich place is scheduled to open soon.Also, if you continue all the way down the long hall of Capitol Gallery from the 5th St. entry doors you will find an exit door to your right which puts you right on LEnfant Plaza. This is great in bad or cold weather. Closes 7pm weekdays and not open on weekends. You can also hit LEnfant from the hotel by going left along C St. to 5th, cross 5th, turn right and follow 5th to Maryland (Capitol Gallery bldg. on your left), turn left on Maryland and follow it to the Plaza. Be sure and ask for an inside room facing the courtyard. There is a rail line just south of the hotel. We were on the sixth floor, courtyard side, and it wasnt a problem but you could hear it. The building wraps three sides around a courtyard with the Dept. of Transportation bldg on the other (east) side. If youre far away from the lobby like we were look for the second set of elevators mid-building. Theres another entrance from the courtyard close to them which is better if youre not close to the lobby elevators. The room was fine, service was good except for the restaurant. We didnt try the breakfast line or the Launch Zone. We would definitely stay here again.

The location is terrific for tourists like us.

Everything was great at the Holiday Inn just south of the Air and Space Museum except the incredible delay each day at breakfast. Not worth a 45 minute wait in delay to start the day of sightseeing to save the cost with the "Kids Eat Free" program. The food was fine, but be prepared for a real delay getting any service in the restaraunt and finally getting the food!

First time in Washington with my 3 kids and had a great experience.

Hotel was one block from the Air and Space Museum and the Metro was a shortcut through the lobby of the building across the street. The hotel was clean, the room large, and provided everything you could want. It was quiet and overlooked the inner courtyard and everyone was friendly.

The room had a coffeemaker, iron and ironing board, blow dryer, movies (currently in theaters), and nintendo games (for a fee). 2 restaurants - one where kids eat free or pay a very small fee for the buffet. The breakfast buffet was great, the dinner one OK. You can order Pizza Hut in your room which we did one night for dinner. They have a takeout deli which we used on checkout. I was impressed that on the last day, the maid had left plastic tops for the coffee cups so we could take them on the road with us - a nice touch. They also slipped an itemized bill under the door for us to review and sign for easy check out. The only complaints I had was there was no concierge - which really surprised me. The desk clerks acted as concierges but they were impersonal and only answered specific questions and didn't seem very knowledgeable. I ended up using the DC information visitor number to answer some of my questions, but use your cell phone since they charge you 75 cents for each call. The underground garage charged $18 per day and the attendants were like Gestapos - so beware. Other than that, our stay was great and I would definitely recommend it!

The location was perfect. We just returned from spending three nights.

It was within walking distance to most of the sights we wanted to visit. The staff was wonderful--very friendly and helpful. We requested a room away from the train line, and didn't have a problem at all with noise. The only downfall was the restaurants. The first night we ate at the Launch Zone...the pizza took about 45 minutes to arrive. We also tried the breakfast buffet at Smithsons...it was mediocre and overpriced. However, despite that, we would definitely stay again. We found plenty of other places to eat--of course we couldn't take advantage of the "kids eat free" deal. Other than the restaurants, everything else was great.

We stayed here a total of 4 nights over two weekends during the first week of June. I got a great deal of $99/weekend night, $167/week from the holiday inn website. Fantastic location. Literally 1.5 blocks from the Air and Space museum and metro stops. Kids eat free! Cloth washing facilities and good staff. If you have a car the daily parking is $18 with in-out priviledges. We would definetly stay again!

Can't beat this hotel for location and value if you are bringing the kids. Just stayed there a couple weeks ago. All hotel personnel were polite and helpful. They offer discount tickets to all Imax show,kids eat free in their dining room(great bonus),close to quite a few sites. We would definitely stay there again.

We stayed here a few times and like the location. Easy to get to the sights from here, rooms are nice and clean, employees helpful and kind. Deli is good for coffee in a.m. Too many great restaurants in DC so didn't try the hotel restaurant. Kids love the pool on the roof.

The only good thing about this hotel is the location. Our room was right next to a train line and we were kept up all night by the noise and vibration. The mattresses were terrible - we all woke up with bad backs. The hall reverberated the sound of heavy slamming doors all night long. Add the sound of flushing toilets and water running and you get the picture. The restaurant was slow and mediocre. I'd rather stay farther away and get a good night sleep so we can be ready for a day of sightseeing.

I've stayed several times at the Holiday Capitol and do not think you can find a better location for the price. One block from the Air and Space Museum, three to the Capitol, one block to the metro station at L'Enfant Plaza makes for easy access to all the sights of DC. Rooms are continually being upgraded and renovated (or so it seems) so they are clean, bright, and do not show much wear. Request a room facing the inner courtyard area if possible. The concrete and plant-laden courtyard is a nice place to sit and enjoy your morning coffee. Hair dryers and coffee makers are provided in the rooms, though the Maxwell House coffee is rather bland in comparison to the Starbucks you can get downstairs in the deli-cafe. We've always found the staff to helpful and friendly (on one trip my husband commented that he liked the desk clerk's tie, and he took it off and handed it to him!) Decor is a bit split-personality as the lobby and deli areas are modern and the rooms are more traditional; Smithson's Restaurant, is decorated in a strange mixture of modern/traditional. Not sure what they're going for in that room! ( But they do offer a very good down-home pot roast!) Restaurants are not plentiful in the immediate area but the metro is only a block away so you can easily get to more lively options.

I would definitely recommend this hotel for it's locale, cleanliness and overall good value.

Maybe it has something to do with expectations. I had seen some negative reviews about this hotel online, but was locked in due to business requirements. If you're looking for proximity to the National Mall (not as in shopping, but as in the Smithsonian, the Capital building, monuments, etc.), this location is hard to beat. I don't know if the hotel was recently renovated (I stayed 4/17/02), but my room seemed it - clean, and plenty of room, too. The staff had gotten slammed on other postings, but I think expectations come into particular play here. The staff I had contact with was businesslike, that is to say they weren't warm and fuzzy, but they answered my questions without any rudeness, which was fine by me. If you're looking for a personal concierge that will spend 1/2 hour letting you know "the inside secrets of where to go and how to beat the crowds", you probably ought to stay at a pricier hotel with a higher staff-to-guest ratio. I paid an internet special rate of $159 for the night, and I feel I got more than my money's worth. About the only negative I can throw out is that if you don't want to eat in either of the two restaurants in the hotel (and I didn't), there aren't any reasonable options close by (unless you like McDonald's). My suggestion if you want a lot of decent dinner options would be to take a taxi to Georgetown, the Metro to Dupont Circle, or, if you're feeling adventurous, a taxi past Dupont Circle to the Adams-Morgan section (Brazilian, Ethiopian, Jamaican - you name it).