DC The Madison Loews Dupont Circle-Embassy Row

[zinka]

Review of The Madison - a Loews Hotel

The hotel is listed as a boutique hotel but does not at all feel like a boutique hotel; it feels more like a classic, semi-glamorous hotel that has perhaps fallen on some (relatively) hard times. The service was excellent (doormen, concierges and front desk staff were all friendly and helpful). The room was outfitted with dark wood and white walls and a plush carpet that was wearing thin in places. The bath products were reasonably high-end, and there was a minibar but for some reason they didn't give me the key to it. The bed was comfortable. The room was not very soundproof; I had a bit of elevator noise, and about 20 minutes of quite loud and rather intimate noises coming from the couple in the room next door.

This hotel is in the Dupont Circle - Embassy Row zone on Hotwire, but it isn't really in Dupont Circle (though it's a short walk). It's in a very boring neighborhood (15th & M) with bland, boxy commercial buildings and very few stores or restaurants right nearby. The streets near the hotel are desolate at night; I would be somewhat uncomfortable walking alone after about 8pm. Dupont Circle (which is lively at night) is about a 10-minute walk. The nearest Metro station is McPherson Square, which is about a 5-minute walk. The White House is a 15-minute walk. It's also reasonable walking distance to the relatively hip (and edgy) areas of 14th Street and U Street.

Internet access (non-wireless) is $10.99 per night. I didn't try it. The Caribou Coffee right across the street has free wireless and delicious muffins.

On the whole, I found the hotel acceptable at $89 a night (during a slow period in town), but it wasn't really my style. I would have been a lot happier with a true boutique hotel like one of the Kimpton hotels (Madera or Helix).