Sofitel Lafayette Square Washington DC - Washington, USA 

If you want an overall excellent experience while at the nation's Capitol, then the Sofitel is your place! I checked in on a Sunday evening (the first snowfall of the year) and was taken care of by a very friendly and knowledgeable front desk attendant. Upon settling into my room, I realized that I felt my cell phone in the car I had just dropped off to the valet. I went back downstairs, and told this to the same attendant that I had just checked in with. He immediately walked outside, in the 22 degree cold, snowy weather, walked 3 blocks to a parking garage and retreived my phone for me. This is excellent customer service that you won't find at most places! The room was large, the bed was very comfortable and the door staff, valet, housekeeping, restaurant staff etc...were all very polite, friendly and professional. They truly made you feel like they appreciated you staying at their property (normally you feel like you're bothering the employees by staying at their hotel.) Yes, it's expensive (although I got a great off-season rate,) and the extras are expensive (valet, restaurant, room service) but those are all optional. All in all, I have nothing but good things to say about the Sofitel, and look forward to staying here again.

The Sofitel was in a great location, only a couple blocks from the White House; 10-15 min walk to many restaurants, China Town, monuments, and the National Mall. The rooms were small, but clean (and I am fussy!). Small imperfections in the room, such as a small hole in the carpet, a sheet missing from the bed, etc-but the bed was so comfortable! I paid $160/night stayed in room 1006 (which has an awful view of the construction on the office building next door). I am happy with the price in relation to what I got (most important to me is location and cleanliness). I would not spend more than $160. The breakfast on New Years Day was ok: $20/person and had the typical American buffet; it was nothing special and next time I think I would go somewhere else for breakfast. We tried to get a drink in the hotels bar but, after not being served for a few minutes decided to leave (the $13 martinis persuaded us as well...restaurants in the area had $9-$10 martinis. A piece of advice about DC: unless you like to go to a bar or club to celebrate, their NYE was pretty lame-no fireworks or anything provided by the city. Also, make reservations at restaurants for dinner. Overall, I am happy with my stay at the Sofitel!