DC Marriott Gateway Crystal City

[Penelope2004]

We just returned from our trip, and had a wonderful time at the Crystal Gateway Marriott (or Marriott Crystal Gateway) :) . I posted my review on TripAdvisor. The one odd thing, every other site lists the Crystal Gateway as being a four star hotel, however Priceline definitely gave it a three star rating (I have a pdf of my accepted bid listing this as well as the amenities .) This is absolutely, positively a four star hotel, given all of the amenities, as well as how all other sites rate it. On Priceline, I had not even been given a "four star" choice to bid on in Crystal City/Arlington.

We had a wonderful, wonderful time; I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to a suite, the person who checked us in looked into if there were any available, and comped us an upgrade to a GORGEOUS suite :) for the two nights that we were in town. It was easy to convince my DH to eat on site there, as we had saved so much on Priceline. We will definitely be recommending this hotel to our friends. Also, I highly recommend the Crystal City area as excellent for families visiting DC. We had great access to the Metro, we felt very safe, we didn't have to drive inside DC, yet could easily drive to Arlington National Cemetery, and we drove to eat out with friends in Old Town Alexandria. We then easily parked back at the hotel, and could have our teens talking/playing a game/watching the TV while we and our friends shared a drink in the lounge area. Phone reception was excellent so we could reach each other. I guess I really see the benefit of Priceline for the hotels now. They fill otherwise empty rooms, and the bid winners may spend more money on site. Between one round of drinks, a delicious breakfast and coffee, we spent over $100 on site at this hotel.

It was beautiful, lovely, attached to the underground mall which led to the Metro, was non-smoking, and every staff person we met was just marvelous. We are Marriott converts. I realize that we can never guarantee a hotel choice, but in the future I definitely will only bid in areas that have Marriott brand hotels as choices.

Thanks for all your advice on bidding here. :o