Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Hotel Review: Donovan House, Washington D.C.

I received a complementary night at this hotel as part of the Kimpton inner circle program.  As I mentioned in my post here, Kimpton has a very generous status match policy and they have a program which allows inner circle members a chance at a free night at any or all of their new hotels.  In the past, you could book these free stays immediately after a status match but the policy has now changed to require a minimum of 3 paid stays prior to being eligible for the free nights.

The location of the hotel is well suited for a weekend get away or for business travelers.  It is located right on Thomas circle.  There are lots of restaurants in the nearby area.  The hotel is a little far away from the Mall and main tourist sites, but some people might see that as a good thing.  Upon check in we were greeted at the front desk with a warm smile.  They thanked me for being an inner circle member and told me that I had been upgraded to the "donovan suite"  Check in was very quick and efficient. 

We stayed in room 1110, on the 11th floor. This was the Donovan Suite and is the largest room in the hotel, and at 1,230 square feet, is the largest room Ive ever stayed in.  The suite included a full sized refrigerator and kitchenesque space (although no other appliances other than sink), a dining table for 8, large living area with full sized leather sofa, 2 lounge chairs, flat screen TV with Bose surround sound system.  The living room has floor to ceiling windows overlooking Thomas circle.  There is also a spare bathroom adjacent to the living area.  The bedroom is at the far end of the suite with the master bathroom attached.  The bathroom included a very deep and comfy soaking tub and a very unique spiral shaped shower.

As for the service, there was no inner circle welcome amenity in the room when I arrived, but about 2 hours later a cheese platter and sparkling water was brought to the room.  I had listed Belgian beer and aged Gouda as my amenities of choice online, so i guess they got this half right.  Anyways, the cheese was very good.  I had also seen online that kimpton provides goldfish to guests who request them.  We called down and within minutes we had our very own pet for the evening.  The hotel also has a "wine hour" from 5-6pm in the lobby.  They offered light snacks (wasabi peas, grilled tofu) as well as red and white wine, sangria, and sake.  They were very generous with refills.

As part of the inner circle promotion that I booked, we also got 50$ dining credit in the hotel restaurant, Zentan.  The restaurant is "Asian tapas" so rather than ordering several small plates we ended up going with the sushi platter for $49.  I thought the sushi was good, and it was nice to be able to try such a good variety (30 pieces in total).  The prices in the restaurant were a little on the high side and that being said I would probably venture elsewhere if I were to stay here again.  One other feature of the hotel worth noting is the rooftop bar and pool "DNV Rooftop".  This was closed due to weather on Friday but open on Saturday.  It was a very enjoyable spot to have a drink while lounging by the pool.

All in all, this was an excellent stay.  I was very very very impressed by the upgrade that we were given as inner circle members.  If that is the norm, I could see myself seeking out Kimpton Hotels in the future.




Dining room table with seating for 8


Couch in living room


Great view of Thomas Circle


King sized bed


Bedroom with entrance to bathroom


Amazing soaking tub


Interesting bath robes


Cheese platter welcome ammenity


Lobby


DNV Rooftop Pool and Bar


Our pet goldfish, see sushi picture below


Zentan


Sushi Platter from Zentan

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