Omni Shoreham Hotel - Washington, USA     

Checking into the hotel took about 30 minutes due to some priceline issues. Not sure what the issue, but it was our problem. Due to this issue they said they gave us a better room, but I am not sure what the difference was though compared to the other rooms. I am guessing the only difference was the nice view. The free Internet was great, though I think all hotels should have this. President Bush visited the hotel for an event on one of the days that we stayed, so the Secret Service had things locked down quite a bit for about 90 minutes. The hotel placed notices under all of our doors the night before to give us warning. The bathroom was very small, but it worked out OK. There wasn't any counter space. The bathtub was nice and comfortable though. The location was fantastic. Close to some great restaurants, the National Zoo and a Metro station. The hotel was definitely older, but it was kind of nice seeing all the historical stuff that happened over the century!

Our family stayed only one night at the Omni. It was free for us as we used our Membership Rewards points through American Express. I was nervous reading the negative reviews, but thought since it's free I'll suffer through. We used the check-in from home link emailed to us. We walked right past the line at the front desk and picked up our key at 1pm. Room was ready and parking a breeze! Valet charge $28, but we were able to keep our car parked until 4pm the next day even though we were checked out. That saved parking fees at the garage in the city, and the metro is a breeze to use! The room itself seemed clean and comfy. The bathroom counter is very small, no room for cosmetic bags, but for the single night we stayed, not using amenities or room service, we had a great time.