Waldorf Astoria DC Review

Stepping outside the Waldorf Astoria DC, you find yourself a block away from the National Mall and a couple of blocks from the White House. Down Pennsylvania Avenue, you can see the Capitol building (not a far walk on a nice day). This is when you realize that if your goal was to visit the main sights in Washington, you hit the bull's eye. Located in the beautiful Old Post Office building, the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC retains a lot of the character of the Old Post Office while still delivering a modern and elegant atmosphere. I had first published this Waldorf Astoria DC review after my first stay in 2022, when the hotel had just reopened after changing ownership and joining the Hilton portfolio. I returned for a second stay recently, so I have updated the review to reflect my most recent stay as well.

Booking Cost

Standard rooms at the Waldorf Astoria DC go for 110,000 Hilton Honors points per night. Despite being a new property offering fantastic value for points, standard room availability has been (and remains) easy to find at this hotel. The cash rate for my two-night stay was $1,588 per night. This made redeeming 220,000 Hilton points for this stay a no-brainer. I ended up getting 1.4 cents per point in value, which is an excellent value for Hilton points.

For my recent stay, I redeemed an expiring Hilton free night certificate, which is valid for standard rooms at over 99% of Hilton's properties around the world.

Hilton points are easy to earn with Hilton's portfolio of co-branded American Express cards. Hilton is also a transfer partner of American Express. While we usually do not recommend transferring Amex points to Hilton, there can be instances where it makes sense to do so.

Waldorf Astoria DC Review: Location

The Waldorf Astoria DC is in a fantastic location. The hotel is just steps from the National Mall, across the street from a Metro stop, and close to downtown DC. This puts you close to some of the city's best restaurants. You're also within walking distance of Capital One Arena, where you can catch hockey and basketball games. An Uber or Lyft ride from Reagan National Airport costs less than $30 without traffic.

The Waldorf is better located than any of DC's other luxury hotels. The only comparable hotel in terms of location is the Willard InterContinental, just up the street. The Park Hyatt is too far from any of the tourist attractions and not close enough to downtown for business travelers. The Conrad's location isn't too bad, but it's still farther from the monuments and museums compared to the Waldorf Astoria. The St. Regis is close to the White House and to downtown but not much else.

Check-In

Despite the Old Post Office building's grandiose front, the entrance is tucked away on the side of the hotel. From the driveway, you have a short but steep set of stairs to access the entrance. The bellhops and valet drivers were all very willing to help guests with their bags up the stairs. I noticed all the employees in the area greeting guests warmly as they stepped out of their cars, which made for a great first impression.

The lobby and check-in desk are located in a massive atrium in the heart of the building. This massive space also houses the Peacock Alley bar and Bazar, a José Andrés restaurant. The atrium opens to the hallways where all the guest rooms are located. This allows guests to peak over into the lobby as soon as they step out of their rooms. The lobby features many different lounge areas with ample seating for guests to enjoy some cocktails. Breakfast is also served here.

The check-in desk is near the main entrance to the lobby and easy to find. I waited for a couple of minutes while the front desk staff assisted other guests. Once it was my turn, the front desk representative was pleasant and polite. She offered me a bottle of water while looking up my reservation. As soon as I handed her my driver's license, the representative began addressing me by my last name. She also thanked me for being a Hilton Diamond member, which I earned by having the Hilton Aspire card.

The representative apologized that my room wasn't ready and offered to store my luggage. I said I had no rush to get to my room since I had a busy day ahead. I also asked whether any suites were available and that I would be willing to wait as long needed for suite. The representative said she was still in training and asked the front desk manager to assist. The manager showed her how to look up suites and explained to her that she should look to upgrade Hilton Diamond members to suites when checking them in. (Fingers crossed for future visits!) The manager said they didn't have any suites ready at the moment, but they would text me when my room was ready.

I received a text message at around 5:20 pm saying my room was ready. I was still out and didn't return until a couple of hours later. At that point, the staff at the front desk had changed. I asked again whether any suites were available, and the representative said they did not have any available due to multiple conferences in town. Indeed, the hotel appeared quite full and hotel rates for those nights throughout the city were exorbitant.

Overall the front desk staff was friendly and attentive. I noticed staff members being particularly friendly with young children.

For my second visit, the hotel looked much emptier. I asked about a suite upgrade at check-in and was told no suites were available and that the hotel was fully booked. The Hilton app on my phone showed otherwise. One junior suite was available for my stay and there were lots of standard rooms available.

Deluxe King Bed Guestroom

Although I didn't score a suite upgrade, I did receive an upgrade to a deluxe king room. This is one level above a standard room. Overall, the room was great and I had no complaints.

The layout of the room is a bit unusual due to the age of the building, which was not built as a hotel. As soon as you enter the room, you have a closet on either side of a long hallway that leads to the bedroom itself. Further down the hallway is the bathroom and a third closet.

The spacious room was elegant and classic without being too opulent. The room featured a nice writing desk with different charging options, a dresser, and a cabinet with a fridge, minibar, and Nespresso machine. Meanwhile, the bed was extremely comfortable.

The bathroom was elegant, featuring a large tub, a shower, and a double vanity with plenty of Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries.

Premium Two Queen Beds Guestroom

For my most recent stay, I actually redeemed an expiring free night certificate for a Deluxe King Room (as opposed to a standard king room). I received an upgrade to a premium two queen beds guestroom.

For the most part, the premium room was a much larger version of the deluxe room I had stayed in for my first visit. The high ceiling was the most striking feature in this premium room, making the room appear even more sizeable.

The room featured the same amenities as the deluxe room–an elegant writing desk with multiple charging options, a separate cabinet with a minifridge and minibar, Nespresso machine, etc. Instead of having closets near the entry way, the closets were near the bathroom.

The turndown service stood out in particular in this latest stay, going beyond the made up bed and a piece of chocolate. Housekeeping closed the bedroom curtains, partially rolled out the comforter, placed slippers next to the bed and a folded bathroom at the foot of the bed, and left a couple of fresh bottles of water by the bedside. They also rolled out bath mat along the bathroom vanity.

The bathroom was much larger than that of the deluxe room. On this return visit, I was disappointed to no longer see Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries, which have been replaced with Aesop. This Waldorf property has also adopted the growing trend of bulk toiletries. Oddly, I did not see any soap bars in the bathroom, whether on the vanity or in the shower.

Waldorf Astoria DC Review: Breakfast

Peacock Alley is the hotel's main bar and lounge and is located in the atrium. The bar takes up an entire wall and guests have access to ample seating throughout the lobby. In the evenings, Peacock Alley was vibrant with plenty of guests enjoying cocktails and bar bites. This is also where breakfast is served in the mornings. The hotel also features the Michelin-starred Sushi Nakazawa, and Bazaar by José Andrés.

I had breakfast at Peacock Alley during both my stays and was thoroughly underwhelmed. Service was extremely lackluster despite the restaurant not being full during any of my visits. A little over half of the tables had guests at them. I noticed several guests having to chase down servers to ask about how to order food, where should they go to settle their check, etc. because servers rarely came by. Oddly enough, there were plenty of servers to be seen, but they just weren't interacting with guests! It took someone 10 minutes to greet me when I sat down on my first visit.

Breakfast dishes took a long time to come as well. I heard one guest trying to cancel his order because it had been so long.

For my most recent stay, service was slightly better but still not good. To her credit, the manager saw me looking around for my server so I could order food and she quickly approached me offering to help.

The breakfast menu was very expensive, even for a luxury hotel. Hilton Diamond members receive a $25 food & beverage credit per guest for up to 2 guests per day. Yet most dishes cost more than $25, without including tax or tip. I ordered an avocado toast and didn't have any coffee or juice. After tax and tip, my bill came to $36. The food was adequate.

Given the time, I would rather use the Diamond food and beverage credits at the bar for some drinks in the evening. It's times like these that I enjoy Hilton's flexibility with food and beverage credits.

Waldorf Astoria DC Gym

The hotel also offers a gym and spa The 24-hour gym is very large and features plenty of equipment. It also has a separate space for yoga and stretching. The spa's reception area looked nice but I did not have a chance to check it out.

Waldorf Astoria DC Review: ToP Thoughts

Few–if any–hotels can rival the Waldorf Astoria's location in DC. The rooms are large, elegant, and comfortable. Overall, the staff was pleasant and attentive. Breakfast was the only disappointing part of both my stays. If you're looking to tour the nation's capital while enjoying some classic luxury, then the Waldorf Astoria is definitely worth a look.

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