The Mandarin Oriental in DC

[christa112]

Has anyone ever stayed there? We are looking into taking a trip to DC this summer with the kids. I was on their website today and it looks very, very upscale. I am almost thinking too upscale for my family. I am wondering if there maybe any other hotels in DC that we could use our DVC points instead of the Mandarin.

TIA

Christa

 

[Disney Todd]

I've stayed there on business a few times after previously having lived and worked in DC. First off, it is a very nice, very expensive hotel. My business rooms, rack rate, are probably $500/night. Aside from that, there are three reasons I would not take my family there. One, it is a (high-end) oriented business hotel. I've never seen a family there. Ever. Two, it is located 15 feet from old school train tracks that are well used all hours of the day. This is highly unusual for DC, and can keep some people from getting decent sleep. While it's technically close to the Tidal Basin and the Smithsonian area, on the other side it gets industrial very fast. Finally, it's not far but neither especially close to a Metro stop, which is the lifeblood of DC transportation.

Since I'm guessing point trade-off isn't very good, I would recommend pretty much any hotel in Rosslyn. This is barely across the Potomac ( you can walk across the key bridge into Georgetown) and also right on the blue and orange line metro. Your money will go a lot farther here and the location is actually better than the Mandarin for moat DC stuff.

 

[TiszBear]

Christa,

I have used my points to stay there and loved it but I really won't call it a family hotel. The room I had was really great and we were treated exceptionally well by everyone there. But the entire week I was there I really didn't see any kids. Also to go anywhere we took a taxi, which wasn't that bad on cost, but the location was amazing.

 

[Woermazing]

I have never stayed at the hotel, but I do live in DC have been to the hotel on several occasions for events. I would agree that it is not a family-oriented hotel. But I would disagree with previous posters that it is not a good location either. It is only 3-4 blocks from the Mall, and the Smithsonian metro stop is right there on the Mall (so also only 3-4 blocks from the hotel). So you're really only a short walk from being right in the middle of the Smithsonian museums and many of the monuments.

However, many other DC-area hotels would provide you with a better value. Most hotels in the Rosslyn or Crystal City area would be convenient and cheaper. There are also a lot of hotels throughout the Dupont Circle area or downtown where you might be able to get a good deal. My parents have often been able to find some very good values by using one of the common hotel search websites.

 

[Psychodisney]

We stayed there with our kids a couple of years ago. The kids(13,11,8) picked up on the fact that it was not necessarily a family hotel. We did not use the pool. Our rooms were beautiful (we had 2 adjoining rooms on the Tai pan level). That level included a very nice continental breakfast and afternoon snacks. There are not a lot of dining options close by. We enjoyed the proximity to the museums, monuments etc. Did not notice the noise the other poster mentioned. Parking is available but expensive.