NYT Declares DC's Dupont Hotel 'Boutiquey,' Not 'Creaky'
As we busy ourselves heaping hype on the soon-to-open W Washington DC and soon-to-reopen Jefferson, we’ve pretty much ignored the capital’s new Dupont Hotel. Shame on us, we suppose: The hotel is a revamped, posher version of the former Jurys Washington Hotel. It re-opened its doors fairly quietly amid a flurry of cherry blossom excitement back in April.
Deftly coming to our aid is one Fred Bernstein of the New York Times, who apparently checked in during the hotel’s opening week and published a review yesterday. The hotel has undergone a “top-to-bottom renovation,” Bernstein says, and though the hotel will have its official opening at the end of the summer it was “operating nicely” during his April stay, which is always nice to hear.
Highlights: Not that this bit has changed, but it’s the only hotel actually on Dupont Circle, one of DC’s most popular neighborhoods among both tourists and locals, located about a block from the metro. Bernstein’s room was large with a “masculine, clubby décor” (think wood shutters instead of curtains, beige leather headboard, gooseneck reading lights). The top floor will feature 13 suites with “enhanced amenities.” Design “strikes a good balance between openness and privacy.” Wi-fi everywhere (though it’s not clear whether it was free). The bar overlooks prime people-watching perch Dupont Circle with floor-to-ceiling windows and is “cheerfully designed.”
Lowlights: Honestly, this critique has more to do with Bernstein’s description: He says the “gray granite on the floor around the toilet shows every spot (gentlemen!).” Um, TMI! Other criticisms: Room service breakfast took more than 45 minutes, when promised in half an hour, and arrived sans toast. Admittedly, though, Bernstein described his egg-white frittata as “delicious.” As a whole, the restaurant “could use some fine-tuning.” Valet parking costs $32 per night, street parking is scarce.
Bottom line: “In a city with lots of hotels, many of them cookie-cutter, the Dupont fills a niche: boutiquey without being creaky,” Bernstein concludes. Rooms from $189.
[Photo: Susana Raab for The New York Times]
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