We stayed here for three nights...and it was ok...not great, but ok...the beds were comfy..I had to pay an additional $30.00 a night for two beds..I had my grandson with me..The bathroom was ok..nice shower and great shampoos and such..The people were nice...BUT DO NOT under any circumstances eat at their cafe.It cost me $50.00 for two sandwichs and fries...AND it took over 45 minutes to get it to the table,..UNREAL!!@! Bottom line is...it ok...just ok...the location is ok...but it sure could use some medium priced restraurants around it...My grandson could care less about where and what he ate, so $50.00 for a meal was a bit much...Next time I will find some place surrounded more with shopping and dining options...

My wife and I met her brother and wife from the mid-west at the Sofitel DC in April for 4 nights. We pre-purchased our room on the Sofitel website--which was an excellent rate. We had a wonderful stay in Washington DC. The room was very nice, although it faced an inner courtyard. We were happy with the room because the rate was so reasonable. The room was very clean and the hotel was in a great location. We ate in the hotel and got recs. from the hotel on nearby restaurants--all were exceptional. We took a cab to Georgetown to sample that area and ate at a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Again--great!. The subway stop was just around the corner and the Whitehouse and monuments were within walking distance if you are in reasonable shape. Our first night--we walked to the monuments--highly recommended to see them at night and in the daylight. I left my sunglasses in he room after checkout and the hotel did an exceptional job of helping me replace them. All in all --I would highly recommend this hotel to all --- couple from Washington State

Stayed at this hotel for 4 nights. Fantastic views (we were on the top floor) and absolutely quiet. Room was spacious, well appointed and good options - including DVD, CD, etc. The lobby area is small with options for fine dining or bistro. Bistro food is good but the staff are a little inconsistent (good and bad ones). The fine dining is good, simple and well staffed. As is the front desk staff. Overall, enjoyable hotel, easy access to everything (and walking to most sites and locations as well), subway stop about 5 minute walk away, and well located slightly north of the Whitehouse.

Maybe our expectations were heightened having read all the rave reviews before we left. Or maybe we were just a bit fussy having come directly from more "American" style hotels where the service is slightly slicker. But we couldn't help feeling mildly disappointed with the Sofitel.

Don't get me wrong - the rooms are excellent and are really well equipped. Our room was also very quiet, which given the central location was a real achievement. The bed was comfortable and the aircon worked brilliantly - essential in July/August.

We really liked the bar which was very funky and the food/drinks were really good there. The location can't be beaten as it is right in the centre of everything and only one block from a metro station so you can get everywhere really easily.

The thing we felt let it down slightly was the service. All the staff were really willing but we felt the place was a bit under-staffed by US standards. For example we had lunch in the bar twice. The first time the staff were great but the second (when it was busier but by no means full) we had to ask for menus, then ask to place our order, then ask to pay the bill and left before our table had been cleared - you get the picture...

Breakfast was a similar experience - there didn't really seem to be a system with the result that despite a half empty dining room we had to wait for a table to be cleared both times. This was accomplished by removing items from other tables - explains why we had several items missing from ours.

Tables remained uncleared for extended periods and seemed only to be attended to when someone else arrived and needed to be seated. Again, lots of waiting around for menus, orders to be taken etc. In a word I'd say the service was quite European - a bit laid back and not as slick as you come to expect in the US

I have to say on the plus side the food was always excellent.

We also had a continual problem with the keycards which kept having to be re-cut by reception. Apparently the metal detectors (at practically every attraction in DC) can affect them - although we are regular visitors to DC and haven't had this problem with any other hotel keycards.

I am perhaps being a little over-critical because we got a very good rate and so it worked out excellent value for money. Would I stay there again? Possibly.