This Park Hyatt Washington D.C. Hotel Review is from our recent visit. See our photos and expert review below, our YouTube video, and the advantages of reserving with Hyatt Prive benefits.
Park Hyatt Washington DC Location, Lobby and Check-In
The Park Hyatt Washington D.C. is located at 1201 24th Street NW, about an 8-9 minute walk from the Foggy Bottom Metro Station by George Washington University. It takes about 17-20 minutes on the Metro Blue Line to reach DCA Airport from the station, so allow 30-35 minutes door to door from the airport to the hotel.
You can walk to the Lincoln Memorial or Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 25-30 minutes, and it will be a 15-25 minute drive depending on traffic to the Smithsonian Museums, although if you enjoy walking, you can reach them from the hotel on foot in 40-45 minutes.
The lobby of the hotel is quite striking, thanks to gorgeous cherry tree glass sculptures by Amanda Weil.
We checked in early afternoon, and were able to go directly to our upgraded suite.
TravelSort Clients enjoy these Hyatt Prive perks:
- Welcome amenity
- Complimentary full breakfast for up to 2 in-room guests
- $100 hotel credit
- Priority upgrade: confirmed within 24 hours of TravelSort's request (during high demand periods, upgrade is subject to availability at check-in)
- Priority for connecting room availability and early check-in / late check-out
See our Park Hyatt Washington D.C. YouTube review:
Georgetown Suite
We booked a Park Suite, and with Hyatt Prive, we were upgraded at time of booking to a Park Executive Suite. The hotel generously further upgraded us to a Georgetown Suite when we checked in. Georgetown Suites are corner suites in the southwest corner of the hotel, so they enjoy good natural light in the living and dining area during the day. They're 1022 square feet, whereas the Park Suite we originally booked is 693 square feet, and and the Park Executive Suite is 940 square feet.
There was a balloon, fresh fruit platter, and some tasty cupcakes from local bakery Baked & Wired on the table as a welcome amenity and to recognize the belated birthday we were celebrating.
A really appreciated amenity for my son was this kid's adventure activities book, which he read for much of the afternoon:
The living room is where we set up my son's extra bed for that evening. Conveniently, there's a half bathroom just off of the entrance hallway, that he was able to use. This proved even more helpful than we anticipated, given the events that unfolded overnight (more on this below).
A sliding wooden door separates the living room from the study area and bedroom, so we were able to put our son to bed while I continue to work in the study area. Note, however, that there is no door separating the bedroom from the study, only the door between the living area and study.
The King bed was plusher and more comfortable than other Park Hyatt beds we've slept on, even though I'd forgotten to request an extra mattress pad. I'd have slept very well had my husband been able to sleep better.
The bathroom is good sized and has double sinks, which we always prefer. That said, be aware that the toilet is in an alcove but not its own chamber, so someone wanting bathroom privacy will need the entire bathroom. There's a walk-in closet, but it's part of the bathroom, also somewhat unusual.
There's both a regular showerhead and a rain shower, next to the bathtub.
Bath products are Le Labo Bergamote 22, with an invigorating citrus scent.
Swimming Pool and Whirlpool
Interestingly, the Park Hyatt Washington DC doesn't much promote the fact that it has an indoor saltwater swimming pool whirlpool. It's listed under hotel amenities, but not highlighted on the hotel's Web site photos, at least that I could see.
Surprisingly, there's no note in the elevator that you need to go to the 3rd floor in order to access the pool area; I had to check with the front desk about that. After exiting the elevator on the 3rd floor, turn right and go to the end of the hallway. A sign on the door indicates that you need to go down the stairs to the pool area; there's a card reader, so you'll need your room key to exit the stairwell, and again to enter the pool area (you'll also need your room key in the elevator to access your floor).
I liked the glass atrium that let in natural light above the pool:
Our favorite place, however, was the whirlpool, which was heated to a nice temperature. There's a timer on the wall where you can turn on the whirlpool jets.
Blue Duck Tavern Restaurant, Park Hyatt Washington DC
The Park Hyatt Washington DC's restaurant, the Blue Duck Tavern, is popular among locals, not just hotel guests. In fact, the Obamas celebrated their anniversary dinner at the restaurant in 2009. We were supposed to meet relatives for dinner, so we went for lunch, using our $100 Hyatt Prive credit towards our meal.
Even the lunch menu is quite extensive, so we had a hard time deciding. View the menu in the above YouTube video; there was also a kids' menu that our son ordered from:
My husband chose a Pastrami sandwich, and it was such a large serving he only managed to eat half.
I ordered the Bone Marrow, which is one of the restaurant's signature dishes, to share with my husband. I liked the piquantness of the Short Rib Marmalade and Green Tomato Chow Chow, but I'm not sure I'd order the bone marrow again, as there were so many other delicious sounding choices on the menu.
Similarly, the Roasted Sugar Pumpkin with Crispy Pork Shoulder sounded better on paper than it tasted. I wasn't expecting the sugar pumpkin to still come with the skin on. I'm happy to eat the skin of Japanese kabocha pumpkin, but not the skin of sugar pumpkins, and it wasn't as sweet or as tender as I'd have liked.
The Crispy Brussels Sprouts were tasty, but I do prefer the ones served at another local DC favorite, The Red Hen.
Our son's burger from the kids' menu was as large as the adult version (our server even wryly remarked that students at Georgetown University sometimes ordered from the kids' menu for that reason: it's such a good deal!) She didn't ask how our son wanted it cooked, and it came quite pink, almost raw in the center. It was tasty, but we suspect it may have caused the severe gastrointestinal illness that my husband and son suffered that evening, when both vomited multiple times. They were weak and couldn't eat anything for 24 hours, and both of them had a good amount of the burger. I had a couple bites and was only slightly affected, although we can't be 100% sure that it was the burger.
In the morning, I was the only one who wanted any breakfast, which is included as part of the Hyatt Prive benefits. I enjoyed the Chesapeake Eggs Benedict with crab, hollandaise sauce and tomato. It's also supposed to come with avocado, although what I was initially served was missing the avocado. When I pointed it out to my server, he was happy to bring me some on the side.
I also tried the yogurt parfait, with fresh berries and granola. I liked that it wasn't too sweet, although I'd have preferred Greek yogurt over the regular yogurt that was used.
The cappuccino was excellent; I liked that it was piping hot, since sometimes cappuccinos are served tepid.
The Verdict
While our visit was definitely marred by my husband's and son's severe stomach illness, we can't be certain that it was from our lunch at the Blue Duck Tavern. And had they not been so ill, it would have been a really lovely stay, thanks to the double suite upgrade, thoughtful welcome and celebratory amenities, comfortable bed, relaxing whirlpool in the pool area, and attentive service during our stay.
If you've recently stayed at the Park Hyatt Washington DC, what was your experience?
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We’ve stayed here a number of times with our kids and have never received recognition like you did with the welcome amenities. I’m not sure if this is a new development or because of your status as a travel agent but I hope to see Baked and Wired cupcakes in our future(our favorite in DC)
The cupcakes and balloon most likely were because we were belatedly celebrating a birthday in the family, but if you reserve through us as a TravelSort Client, happy to ensure you enjoy Baked & Wired cupcakes on your next visit 🙂 We also really enjoy the breads and pastries at Baked & Wired and downtown sister restaurant A Baked Joint, thought it was an excellent choice on the hotel’s part.