I spent a night at the Thompson Washington, DC, a Hyatt property located in the gentrifying Navy Yard. This is a nice hotel with a good breakfast, though I prefer the location of downtown or Georgetown hotel.
Thompson Hotel Washington, DC Review
I booked this Hyatt because it was (by far) the cheapest Hyatt in Washington, DC. I paid $169 which was cheaper than even some of the Hyatt Place properties within the District. The location, I suspect, helps to explain why this hotel is on the cheaper side.
Location
It is located in Navy Yard which was a rough part of town when I lived in the District over a decade ago, but now has gentrified and is an up-and-coming part of DC. There is a Metro station (Navy Yard, green line) but I used Uber to get back and forth to the Metro Center area since I would have had to change trains at L’Enfant Plaza or Gallery Place and the time required was more than double that of driving.
Check-In
At check-in, I was thanked for my Globalist status, reminded of my breakfast benefit (one entree, one juice, one coffee), and offered an apology that no suites were available. Considering I arrived at 9:00 pm and left the following morning, this was not a problem. The lobby has bikes available for rental, including in the $30 destination fee (waived for Globalists).
Destination Fee
Let’s talk about the destination fee. It is a “mandatory” $30 fees and includes:
- Discount at Soothe on-demand massage
- $10 off $100
- $15 off $150
- Discount at Silver Mirror Facial Bar
- $20 Off 50-Minute Facial: Monday – Thursday: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
- $15 Off 50-Minute Facial: All Other Times
- Discounted services at Varnish Lane
- $5 off $50
- $10 off $100
- $15 off $150
- $20 off $200
- $40 off $300 Valid Monday – Thursday any time
- High-speed premium Wi-Fi
- 24-hour access to hotel’s on-site fitness center
- Per’la and Steven Smith Teamaker in room coffee and tea
- Local, long-distance, and toll-free phone calls
- Complimentary Day pass for Capital Bikeshare
- 5%-15% Discount on Nationals Baseball tickets above $100
- 20% off Bike and Segway tours of monuments
- 10% off any hair cut or beard trim at local barber “Bearded Goat”
- “Mah Ze Dahr” –complimentary drip coffee with any pastry order
- Access to pedal assist electric bicycles
- Two Bottles of water per room per day
I think these are scam fees if mandatory and if they provided any real value, they would be optional.
Guest Room
I was assigned room 210, a standard room with a king bed on the second floor. The room included a L-shaped couch, king size bed, and a large desk, and a second flip-down desk.
Thumbs down for the cheap coffee machine in the room.
The bathroom included a walk-in shower (no tub), toilet, and single sink. Shower toiletries were from Bowmakers.
Dining
Breakfast is served in Surveyor, a restaurant described as “classic Americana harmoniously blend[ed] with exciting global flavors.” I started my day early and since the in-room coffee was swill, headed down 7:00 am for a coffee. The coffee was excellent (thanks to the fancy machine) and I appreciated the chance to start my day with a strong flat white.
On the weekends, brunch goes until 2:00 pm. As this was a Saturday, I took my breakfast at noon, ordering steak and poached eggs with another coffee. I was very satisfied with the breakfast and though I prefer the “order whatever you want” approach, the voucher system is fair enough.
There’s also a rooftop bar (open 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm from Sunday – Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday, with the kitchen closed at 10:00 pm) and a lobby bar open daily from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
Room service is also available, though only during the opening hours of Surveyor from 6:30 am to 11:00 am and from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
Fitness
The fitness center is located on the lower level and has a limited selection of equipment from TechnoGym plus a pair of Peloton bikes. It is open 24/7.
There is no pool, spa, or wellness area.
CONCLUSION
I was glad to try this hotel and would return if the price is right, as it was for my stay. Breakfast, particularly the coffee, was excellent. That said, I don’t really like the Navy Yard location and prefer to stay downtown or in Georgetown when visiting Washington, DC.
At the other Thompson locations Nespresso makers are in the room.
That would have been nice.
Really disliked this hotel. No bottle opener or glasses in the room, and getting one was an ordeal. Service was indifferent and lacked warmth. Rooms are sparsely furnished and boring. And the in room coffee is terrible.
Coffee was really horrible – that’s for sure (I tired it at 5:00 am while waiting for the resturnat to open). But I thought the service was fine here.
This property and Seattle are the two weakest in the Thompson brand in my opinion. Both feel cramped, small rooms, crowded and weirdly and laid out public areas. The DC property is at least though fairly reasonably priced for the District…though the SE/Navy Yard is less than ideal unless going to a Nat’s game or working at the Department of Transportation,
You were 3 blocks from my house. 🙂
FWIW, the bath amenities were made by D.S. & Durga, and Bowmaker is the scent name. It’s also the supplier for AA in their amenity kits and in their lounges until the recent change.
Nice write up, Matt. You really explored all the place has to offer. I enjoyed my stay there a couple years ago. I had business on the navy yard and found it really nice to be able to walk a couple blocks to the gate. At the time they had bakery fresh croissants and flaky pastries for all guests in the lobby so I could just grab a couple and a cup of coffee on my way out the door. I didn’t have status with them and found this to be a really nice gesture. Parking was a bit expensive though.
Was this FTU?
Yes. You can see date on receipts! 😉
Nice! I work literally right next door. So I see that place every time I’m at the office. Agree, I would not stay there if visiting dc but navy yard has some good restaurants that make it worth a visit. That said, navy yard, which was ascendant pre Covid as a neighborhood to live in, has had major troubles recently. Still, I like working there and as a long time dc resident it’s neat to see the vision.
Agree- that coffee situation is dire. That said, at the Dallas Thompson there was no cofffee at all in the room, so that sucked too.
Thanks for the review. Confirms my general feeling about Thompson.
Good thing they gentrified the “rough” part of town into a $6 cappuccino type of place so you guys can talk about what brand of bath amenities are offered! Now that’s what I call progress!
$6.60 for a coffee sounds extreme. Is there an expectation to tip on top of that too?
Thompson is supposed to be an upscale Hyatt brand. This looks like a glorified Courtyard or Four Points by Sheraton.
Stayed here in April 24′. The Capital Bike Share pass was unavailable. The front desk offered that I could provide a receipt and they would deduct it from my rate but I was staying on a Cat 1-4 certificate. The pedal assist electric bicycles were great though! They are pretty nice Cannondale models and my kids loved crossing the bridge for a nice ride along the river.