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Marriott
Key Bridge Hotel
Arlington/Rosslyn, Virginia Reviewed Wednesday May 19, 2010 by Patrick Killough Title of this review: Visit Washington, D. C. in style from across the Potomac River in Virginia Product Rating: * * * * * Pros: Six minute walk to Rosslyn Metro (subway). Friendly staff service left nothing to be desired. Cons: Walk to Metro station is uphill! Slippery footing in bathroom. In-room internet costs extra. The Bottom Line: For an affordable, run like clockwork, friendly, comfortable hotel within minutes of Washington, DC, rely on the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, VA. Aerobic walking to subway station. Inedible grits! aohcapablanca's Full Review for epinions.com: Marriott Key Bridge Hotel I have just had such a pleasant three-night stay in Arlington, Virginia at the Marriott Key Bridge Hotel that I am minded to write expansively. So please bear with me. Caveat: there is a personal context to my stay that may be largely irrelevant to your plans to visit metro Washington, D. C. I had not set foot in our nation's capital city since late 1991 when I drove to western North Carolina to retire from the U. S. Department of State. Even then I did not care for Washington, D. C.'s congestion and high prices and even less so do I now, going on two decades later. With my wife, our older son and second oldest (of six) grandsons I drove last Thursday to Arlington, Virginia, just a bridge away from D. C., for a beloved niece's wedding on Saturday. Next day we four paid a brief visit to a young family in the process of moving out from a very modest starter home in Arlington County (the onetime Virginia half of the District of Columbia). For we had owned and once lived in that house ourselves, having bought it as an investment in in the late 1970s for $44,000. The lady of the house (mother of three) told us that on a Friday in April 2010 they had put the house on the market asking (as I recall) $666,000. On Monday they received seven written bids and accepted the highest: for $770,000. Four of the bids were higher than the asking price. And here I had thought that the USA was a busted housing market! At first blush you might ask why we did not stay in a hotel in the District of Columbia, since the wedding took place there -- in Saint Patrick's Church; the bride's home (a gift from her parents) was also there, as was her brother's home (site of a Sunday morning brunch which we skipped in the interest of getting an early start driving home). In addition most of the out-of-town guests were staying at one or other of two hotels on Dupont Circle recommended by our nephew. Why didn't we lodge on Dupont Circle?
-- Reason one: cost. Our Key Bridge
Marriott, fewer than four miles away across the Potomac, was nearly
$100 a night less than Dupont Circle.
-- Reason Two: neither Dupont Circle hotel would guarantee us a parking place! Take my word for it: street parking is close to hopeless for strangers in D. C. -- Reason Three: Dupont Circle was easily accessible from a Metro (subway) station an easy walk from our Virginia hotel. DuPont Circle was also a pickup point for once-every-ten-minutes shuttle buses ($1 per rider) that could deliver us in less than an hour back to our hotel. The wedding church was also only a block away from a Metro stop. -- Reason Four: we were thoroughly familiar with the Rosslyn section of Arlington -- at least as it once was. (In fact we found few changes.) I submit his long prolog in the hope that you can see why the Key Bridge Marriott had a lot going for my family even before we reached it. And then things only grew better and better. * * * * *
HOTEL ACCESSIBILITY
Our 480 mile drive from Western North Carolina through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia ended with an hour or so straight line, uncomplicated drive from Strasburg (I-81) along I-66 to the Marriott. With help from our GPS gadget (Tom-Tom) we navigated the only problem, a traffic circle, into the grounds of a tall hotel that had been visible for blocks. PARKING
We soon learned that the Marriott Key Bridge was an excellent choice for ample, convenient parking spaces, covered and uncovered, in front of and behind the hotel. Our room key got us in and out of both. After our various local drives, we always parked outdoors, within 30 yards of the front door. We had understood that we would be charged $11/day for parking but no such charge was on our bill. Perhaps that "gift" was part of our "semi-VIP" status: for which, see more below. DOORMEN
Red-coated doormen were visible, and proved both friendly, pro-active and very helpful when we drove in around 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, taking our bags to our separate rooms (12th floor for my wife and me; 4th for son and grandson). My wife usually (but not always) talked us into going into D.C. by taxi rather than metro train or shuttle bus or on foot (into Georgetown, just below the famous university, where my wife once taught). Doormen were always on duty and quick to rustle up a taxi for us. A very Irish doorman insisted that one West African driver turn on his air conditioner for us! CHECK-IN and SEMI-VIP TREATMENT
Check-in was very competently and efficiently done; it might have been a tad faster. For only two (of four) check-in stations were manned in a lobby bursting with vacationers, businessmen and schoolchildren visiting the capital area en masse. But the checkers-in were pleasant and focused. Hovering nearby was the concierge. A very kind Filipina lady, she took us all in tow, and was on call there for us every day. After one night when we returned with our grandson (our son stayed longer at a party in Washington), the concierge talked the latter out of paying $16 for a paid film in his room. "It's 10:00 p.m., time for you to go to sleep, young man." This was music to the ears of Gran and Granddad. And the concierge proved to be "she who must be obeyed." My wife always signs up for special deals and discounts at hotels and motel chains. Nearly 16 years ago, we had stayed at a Marriott Hotel in a city north of Boston for the wedding of this same older son. My wife then acquired a Marriott "REWARDS" card, not used again before last weekend. I am glad that she did. For REWARDS membership got us semi-VIP treatment: starting with a room with a view up the Potomac toward Reagan National Airport on one of the three highest floors. Also all-day long entry into the 12th floor (just down the hall from our room) Concierge Lounge via a room key that worked for all four of us. Comparing our free Lounge repast with a comparable hotel breakfast that we had to pay for on Saturday, that REWARDS perk along saved us nearly $70. We enjoyed at no extra cost a delicious, groaning-table buffet on Friday morning, including salmon, sausage, three styles of eggs, including omelets and on and on. The Concierge Lounge shuts down from after breakfast Friday until breakfast Monday. The lounge was open and a'bustle when we arrived Thursday afternoon, but we only used it once. This Lounge has to be a big attraction for businessmen and women on workdays. MARRIOTT HOTEL STAFF
We never met a Marriott Key Bridge staffer who was not upbeat, eager to help and alert. On our first night around 9:00 p.m. (after we had walked 15 minutes uphill to sup at well and justly remembered Red, Hot and Blue Barbecue Restaurant (Memphis style), came a knock at our door. A delightful young woman from El Salvador brought us chocolates and offered to turn down our bed for the night. And on and on, you name it with staff -- from room maids to dining room, staff with no exceptions left nothing to be desired. OUR ROOMS
The room ($134/night plus less than exorbitant Virginia and Arlington County taxes) was more than adequate, though we have been in both better and worse. Two prints of Virginia landmarks adorned the bedroom, two prints of architectural niceties were on display in the bathroom. We had a king-size bed which my wife found especially easy on her sciatica. Marriott offered a brochure with a dozen or more items in the room which one can buy for home delivery, including bed, mattress, pillows, towels, etc. For two people the room almost felt a tad crowded. I suspect that it was designed for single business people. Our son and grandson had a notably larger but similarly adorned room eight floors down with two double beds -- on the D.C. side of the hallway. They looked down onto a patio surrounding a large indoor-outdoor swimming pool. Our room had two very comfortable chairs suitable for leisurely reading. One was meant primarily for the work table, which had a curious but useful moveable extension forward. The desk was set up for wired internet connectivity. As I recall, from our enquiries before we booked, to use room internet would have cost $12/night. This we knew in advance, so I left my laptop at home. Wi-Fi connectivity was, however, available for free throughout the first floor lobby area and a dedicated work area just off the concierge's desk. Our son used this free Wi-Fi for a day, then switched to the faster paid wire in his room. I suspect that if I had elected to bring my computer and plug it in in our room, we would not have been charged, thanks to our Marriott REWARDS membership. Our worktable contained a fast-working, one-cup coffee maker along with prepackaged bags and plastic inserts for coffee. Maids in the hall were always happy to resupply us with coffee, chocolates, etc. In one instance we had to overcome a language barrier. My Tex-Mex finally proved adequate to our maid's fluent Guatemalan Spanish. I, at age 74, found the tiled surface of the bathroom more slippery than I preferred. Ditto the bathtub/shower. Towels were soft and sufficient in number and size. There was a single sink with the usual assortment of shampoos and related. The TV console and built-in three drawers for clothing seemed a tad dowdy and possibly on the verge of scheduled retirement. The wee fridge did not get as cool as ideal. The room thermostat did a fine albeit not silent job of keeping us comfortable. Six pillows were more than we needed. And the German-style blanket was on the heavy side. But the competent, smiling service, the parking lot, the accessiblity to Washington, D. C. by foot, subway, taxi and shuttle bus more than compensated for any little deficiencies. DEFICIENCIES
We had few problems worth mentioning in connection with our three nights in the Marriott Key Bridge Hotel. -- I have already said that two more people at check-in would have helped. -- The bathroom footing was on the slippery side. -- There are two hotels just up the hill from the Marriott Key Bridge that are closer to the Rosslyn Metro Station, if you mind climbing. -- I had to find out Sunday morning early church service times on my own (at the cost of two $1 local phone calls) when the helpful staffer on the telephone lamented that his usually faithful computer did not come up with the times. -- Finally (I warned you that this review would be idiosyncratically personal) the grits I ate for breakfast in the large hotel restaurant off the entry way were quite possibly the blandest, most blah grits I have ever eaten. Unworthy of The Old Dominion. * * * * *
Thanks for reading this rambling review. If you are looking for a good place to lodge close in to D. C. at a competitive price, try the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel. FYI: my wife and I have to drive to South Carolina next week for that same grandson's Confirmation. I have asked my wife to book us a Marriott! NOTE: For more information of this hotel, simply click either here or on the button marked "View Details" on top of the epinions.com frame of this item. -OOO- Recommended: Yes! http://www.patrickkillough.com/education/marriott_keybridge.html http://www.patrickkillough.com/education/marriott_keybridge.html |