HotelChatter

Besides tending to powerful individuals, the Marriott Wardman still finds a way to take care of its neighbors. It's one of a handful (or so it seems) hotels around the country that offer a neighborhood rate. Here's how it works at the Marriott Wardman: The person making the reservation must either live in the neighborhood or be visiting someone in the neighborhood. The hotel's definition of neighborhood is vague. It's not clear how far a net it casts here.

You can check availability based on specific dates or, if your dates are flexible, ask the reservationist to run a code search. The code here is NEIA. When we checked this week, we found several dates for stays throughout the summer, including over the Fourth of July.

The neighborhood rate was $119 for a standard double, versus the $189 standard rate. The hotel doesn't try to stick it to you in the form of prepayment or stringent cancellation policies. The same cancellation policy holds for the neighborhood rate: up until 6 P.M. the day of check-in. As for documenting your neighbor status, the hotel says it doesn't ask for proof of residency. Best to honor the honor system, wouldn't you say? You never know what might trigger the hotel's security system.

A word of caution: At 1,300-plus rooms, the hotel is huge -- at least by non-Las Vegas standards. The Marriott Wardman remains the largest hotel property in the D.C. area. It is easy to get lost in its hallways, despite signage aimed at preventing this very thing. This hotel maven once spent an hour and change trying to find a friend's room. Recent guests posting on TripAdvisor have lost their way, too. If you get lost, you can always call security!

And if the older wing of the Marriott Wardman rings a visual bell, that's because it was modeled after The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia.

[Photo: DruhScoff]

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