Throughout my years living in Washington, DC and booking Washington, DC repeatedly, I must admit that I had very little exposure to this boutique hotel located on Pennsylvania Avenue between Washington DC’s elite neighborhoods of Foggy Bottom, the West End, and Georgetown. After a remodel of its public space and amidst a rather significant room renovation, this lesser known hotel is making a wonderful new name for itself as it reinvents itself in the upper upscale marketplace.Its location is superior. Right on the main thoroughfare from downtown Washington to Georgetown, the hotel is easily accessed by the metro and is a quick shot to highways leading to the airport and the interstates. It’s also exceedingly proximate to a myriad of dining choices including the brand new infrastructure built at George Washington University.
The first thing one notices when entering the Melrose is that for a smaller hotel, the lobby is quite massive. Not massive in the way a convention hotel might be, but a deep lobby that reaches the entire depth of the hotel and with a number of great little pockets which small groups could potentially use for casual convening. They are adorned in modern gray tones and furnished as a small library. The walls are literally smattered with books for guests to peruse as they people watch in the handsome lobby space. The bar also neatly works into these seating areas as does the restaurant, tucked away on the right as one enters. The elevators are just up three stairs from the lobby and meeting rooms are located on the floor below, for the most part. The space here is much more significant than one would assume from its façade on Pennsylvania Avenue and the space is quite versatile.
The rooms are well appointed, particularly on the floor I stayed. This is a renovated floor and its big contrast from the others. Décor has modernized tremendously. I had the luxury of peeking into three of my neighboring rooms as the hotel was set for a site tour and all the doors were ajar when I checked in. Lucky me! I got to see some truly massive suites and was pleased even with my quiet interior facing double double. The staff did a nice job and recognized me with a lovely cheese amenity as well.
Overall very pleasantly surprised by this gem near Georgetown. Great for small to medium sized meetings, it’s always nice to share the wealth with hotels which don’t benefit from large scale national branding.