The Westin Alexandria Old Town

I stayed here for a conference that was at the hotel. There are a lot of nice little touches, such as a nighttime lavender oil by the bedside (pictured), a cozy robe, and nice toiletries. The front desk and housekeeping staff go above and beyond. And it is a nice, walkable neighborhood that is close to the restaurants, coffee, and the train.

This hotel provided some of the worst customer service I’ve experienced. After accidentally leaving my wallet in the room, I called that same evening and was told the hotel would investigate and follow up. Instead, I had to call daily and speak with different front desk employees, who repeatedly said housekeeping had found nothing. On the fourth day, the housekeeping manager finally called to say the wallet could not be found. When I asked them to check again, the response was defensive and rude: “We couldn’t find anything, ma’am.” I understand the hotel cannot guarantee recovery of a lost item, but I expected better communication, urgency, and professionalism. Having to repeatedly follow up myself and wait four days for a definitive response was extremely disappointing

The service employees (including restaurant and bar) were excellent - friendly, efficient and effective. The same cannot be said of front desk employees. All three dealt with were somewhat curt and not "friendly". They were just "present". This attitude is not a good representation of the hotel and does a disservice to the Marriott brand. Based solely on this, I would not return; however, the location, facility and service personnel help make up for the front desk shortcomings.

I love Westin properties because they have such comfortable beds. This hotel is very nicely appointed. They have a great breakfast in the cafe (although no buffet). My room was very clean. The reason for the 4 stars is that the hallway and my room smelled of mildew. They sprayed a ton of deodorizer to mask the odor.