Phoenix Park Hotel

For the first time my, wife and I stayed at this boutique hotel for 2 nights last weekend and found it to be superb — blocks from the Capitol, quiet, very clean, friendly and helpful staff, very reasonable rates and, as it has been renovated recently, the rooms/​baths are like new. Even the doorman was very accommodating and helpful. We have stayed at numerous hotels in the past and this one rates right up there at the top. When we go back again, this will be our choice without question. In all honesty, I could not find anything to complain about (except the toilet paper roll was on the far left side which made things difficult — but, no big deal).

I really can’t complain about Phoenix Park. We arrived to the valet who gave me the option of parking with him for $ 50, or driving 50ft to the garage and parking for $ 25. Thanks, man!
Walked inside to check in and was shocked at how SMALL their reception area was. Little did I know small was going to be the theme. Anyhoo, the woman who checked us in could not have been more pleasant or helpful. A total breeze.
Got in the tiny elevator, walked down the tiny hall, and arrived to our tiny room, with tiny furniture. Amusingly, the bathroom was almost as big as the room itself.
But. Come on, people. It’s an old hotel. Like, really old. Did you really expect a 500sq ft suite? No, you didn’t. Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a charming building with super comfortable beds, wifi, and clean bathrooms with a BUNCH of towels. They even provide makeup remover wipes with the complimentary toiletries! And finally, it’s DC, not a resort in the Caribbean. You ended up in this hotel because you A) are in town for business or B) are in town as a tourist. The purpose of the room is to sleep, shit, and shower, and the rooms here provide a more than suitable space for that.
The only thing I can complain about is the noise. Maybe we had rowdy neighbors, but we could hear EVERY move they made. Again, old building, I know but, crazy noise. In the end, I’d stay here again for sure

I have to say that the hotel stay was ok and the staff was fairly friendly. The price of the hotel was kind of high for me but it was the best location for the event that we were attending. The bar that it was connected to was great, great staff, great live band… my issue with the Hotel began at check out and the following day. My husband paid for parking which was a bit high 50.00per night, so he paid 100.00… on the receipt it had the 100.00 taken off and the amount that was owed and charged, the next day I look at my account and it was charged twice two different amounts one amount for 535.86 one for 585.36. I then called as soon as I saw the error and they kept telling me that I was wrong. I told them no I am not it two charges and I need it to be fixed or looked at. I have been calling since 9 am and its going on 4pm. I called The a man by the name of Micheal and was very rude to me. After calling back and forth and saying that I would leave a bad review, they called me back and decided to help me. what a nightmare for a beautiful weekend to a bad dream.

Classic, charming and wonderful service throughout. In the heart of DC. Conveniently close to most museums and monuments. The only negative is the breakfast… not the food which is delicious but the lack of music. For the love of God, someone stream a Pandora channel like opera, Lana del Rey or even Irish folk songs… anything! The room was full of elderly folk and it was so quiet I could hear their chewing and knives clanking against the plates. Please bring some soft music in.
Apart from that it’s all good here!

This hotel is right next to the train station, which is really helpful. However, I wouldn’t feel safe walking from the hotel to anywhere else after dark, so in retrospect I would have stayed somewhere else on the red line. The room and the hotel were fine but dated. My toilet seat was dirty, and the toilet paper dispenser fell off of the wall and rolled behind the toilet immediately. Room service was Irish food, and it was poorly done and delivered late, with the room service folks not realizing that the drink wasn’t a twist off and taking another 45 min to deliver a can opener. The staff were very nice, but I wouldn’t stay here again.

I didn’t know what to expect. You know how website photos make rooms look larger and more glamorous than they really are. And I only had time to graze thru the reviews this time. Anyway, I was quite pleased! The staff is super friendly and helpful. The hotel is as clean as can be. The beds are plush and comfortable. The only downside is that the rooms are small, and so I was going to rate it 4 stars, but to be fair, this hotel adjusts its prices due to the room sizes. Fair enough. It is a bit frustrating when I have to wiggle and squeeze to get into the computer desk, b/​c I can only pull the desk chair out a couple of inches before it hits the bed. Oh well. Location is GREAT if you arrived by Amtrak train in Union Square, which we did. It’s literally a four-​minute walk from Union Square to this hotel. You can rent bikes for $ 8 a day across the street. I’ll come here again!

I’ve struggled with how to review my three night stay at Phoenix Park Hotel, a hotel on the list for Historic Hotels of America that is adjacent to the Dubliner pub, two blocks from the U.S. Capitol, and one block from Union Station. In this case, location is definitely the hotel’s biggest perk. It’s a hotel that stresses its Irish heritage quite proudly.
As I was attending a conference at Catholic University of America, I reserved a room at Phoenix Park due to the need for a wheelchair accessible, ADA compliant room. They advertise openly that they offer this option and I specifically noted in my reservation that I am in a wheelchair and that I would be traveling alone and truly needed the accessible option. I received confirmation of my reservation by e-​mail.
Can you feel where this is going?
I arrived via SuperShuttle, my preferred way of going from airport to hotel. The doorman greeted the shuttle and carried my bag in the door (I will admit that I would have preferred to have been asked). As it is an older hotel, the front glass doors are a wee bit heavy. There are some security options at the door utilized primarily at late night.
The front desk staff were hospitable, though more in a «professional» sense than in a «We’re glad to have you here sense.» I immediately found myself looking around at the rather warm, wooded décor and thinking ‘This is Irish?” I also couldn’t help but notice there wasn’t an Irish employee to be found other than inside Dubliners. The employees were friendly, but why emphasize Irish if your décor is simply historic Euro-​American and none of your employees radiate that Irish feeling or presence?
I was placed originally in room 822 on the 8^th floor of a 9-​floor building. I’ll admit this is unusual for someone in a wheelchair, but I found it refreshing. I was also quickly informed that one of their two incredibly small elevators was down for renovation until late Summer. I kid you not when I say I barely fit in the elevator — they do have a service elevator that was used once, as well. While they posted a notice acknowledging that elevator waits would be longer, it was pretty amazing how much longer it was at times.
The problems began with arriving in a non-​ADA, not even close to accessible Room 822. The bed was too high, the bathroom was too small and nothing in the room was accessible.
So, yeah, after about 15 seconds of thinking «I’ll deal with it,» I remembered I was attending a social justice conference and thought maybe I should speak up for my rights. The housekeeper was actually on the floor and immediately expressed concern, as well. She showed me another room that was better — Room 802, that offered some access options but still wasn’t truly accessible. It seemed like the rooms I looked at either had high beds or small bathrooms or no adaptive equipment. Nothing offered true access. After multiple tries, I relented to accepting a room with a low-​bed but inaccessible bathroom. The next morning, I sent an e-​mail to the hotel responding to my original e-​mail confirmation. It was a polite and respectful e-​mail that expressed concerns about my accommodations and encouraging them to not advertise accessible rooms as their rooms were clearly not accessible — I offered my explanation of this conclusion. I also stressed that I had no concerns with employees.
I received an e-​mail response while I was at the conference offering to move me into an accessible room (Um, why didn’t I get it originally with my weeks in advance reservation?). I was informed that a call center employee had failed to note my comments about disability and, as such, it wasn’t reserved. I was told it hadn’t been available, but was now. Rather than dealing with it at 10pm post-​conference, I spent the cash over lunch to return to the hotel and change things out. They also comped me two breakfasts at the Dubliner, though I would later learn from others in the hotel they were doing this with others so I have a hard time feeling like it was truly an effort to make amends for giving me a room where I couldn’t use the bathroom.
The problem with the new room? While it was BY FAR the most accessible room I had, it was not ADA compliant. The bed was way too high. The bathroom was much better and actually offered a bench in the shower. It’s room 302 for future reference. Quite honestly, I decided not to express concern again because I didn’t want to miss the conference and figured I could deal with the high bed and narrow areas.
However, I ultimately paid a «conference» rate of $ 189 a night for a room that didn’t meet my needs.
The only other problem occurred when I checked out and a bottled water showed up on my bill (at $ 4 for Evian). I hadn’t used a bottled water, stated so, and it was removed without any problems.
Usually, «I won’t go back» adds up to a 2-​star rating for me. I give credit for efforts to fix problems, but for folks with disabilities there are better options in D.C.

I was traveling to DC with my wife Cynthiana for a trip just to get away from the Iowa farm lands. Upon check in I was greeted by a friendly valet and checked in seamlessly. I got to my room and I felt like I was checking in a second class Titanic room with the same amenities. The wallpaper was hideous and the drapes made me want jump off the covered bridge back in Madison County into a pool of thorns.
I wanted to plug my phone in and had to rearrange the entire room to get power. The bed was comfy I guess. I had a great view of a creepy roof alley or something. Overall a average experience, this 1950s room needs updated. Also be aware of the elevator from The Tower of Terror. It’s slow and sketchy. Use the stairs so you don’t die.

Small rooms with elegant furnishings this hotel is built like a classic. Free wifi but not room Fridge. Well situated for touring the Capitol, this is a well known DC hotel. Union station and surrounding areas offer many dining options. Parking is not included but not many in the city accommodate cars for free.

My husband and I stayed here four nights around Christmas, as a present to each other, a vacation before going to see family. The next 2 nights Christmas Eve and Christmas we stayed at a hotel near family in Richmond VA, at a 4 star hotel, and with a huge room but we both agreed we slept much better and enjoyed our time at the Phoenix more.
It was a short walk to and from the train station. The staff was was friendly and helpful. The Dubliner had a great menu with yummy food and fair prices and so we opted to eat there 3 of the nights. There was a Corner Bakery nearby for a less expensive breakfast. The wifi was free, a great feature. The décor was sweet and charming. Walking to museums was easy from this location. I booked 6 months out and found prices I was pleased with. The Postal Museum across the street was a really good and worth going into, especially if you have a few hours before your train. The bell man will hold your bags for you after you check out so you can site see.
The bed was the best! The bed is the most important thing about a hotel stay. The bed was tall, with down comforter, down pillows, great mattress and restful content sleep. We both were crazy about the bed.
There were just a few small negatives. I wanted to put some drinks in the fridge and found it was not cold and seemed to have mold. There was a slight mildew like smell in the room. My husband felt the small size of the room was hard to pack & unpack in. There was no chocolate mints or Bailies on the pillow like previous commenters mentioned. I wished there was an included breakfast, but there was a continual on Christmas Eve.

Stayed here on a 5 day trip for business. I had expected more from prior reviews but was unexpectedly disappointed. While the bed and pillows were soft and firm, my bed was made up with a flat sheet on the bottom for all five nights which was strange. During the night the bottom sheet was constantly moving around and very annoying. There was no type of protective cover on the mattress either.
The next problem was that the room appears to have only been surfaced cleaned for the last year. (see pics) A layer of dust was visible under every piece of furniture in my room. The wallpaper in the bathroom was peeling everywhere. And on top of that on the very first day I moved the tray with the coffee maker revealing a huge patch of dust on the desk, and yes that patch remained all five nights even after I left a larger tip one night hoping for better cleanliness.
After arriving in my room after leaving a larger than normal housekeeping tip I also found that I had no toilet paper on the roll (weird since a half roll had been there when I left in the morning) and two tissues left with no extra box.
Other than the fact that this hotel is convenient to Union Station, I cannot think of any reason I would stay here again.

Loved this hotel. Convenient location to Capitol Hill & Union Station. Beautiful rooms, friendly service and a really nice atmoshpere.
Comfortable beds and relatively quiet rooms. Plenty to do and see around the area and you are spoilt for evening entertainment options in the local area.
Look no further…

We arranged a room block for our out of town wedding guests at The Phoenix Park Hotel. From the start, Tracy Zahn was on top of things. She worked with me to secure the right amount of rooms at an amazing room rate, and coordinated with our guests directly on special requests. The hotel was ideally located for our Capitol Hill wedding and provided guests with easy access to many of the city’s nearby sights. The location couldn’t have been more perfect.
As we neared our wedding date, Tracy was in almost daily contact with me to see if there was anything they could do to make our day even better. They delivered welcome bags to each of our guests upon check-​in, which we heard from friends and family that this a smooth process. We also received positive feedback from guests regarding the dining options provided through The Dubliner.
We were able to utilize two of their bi-​level suites as «get ready» rooms and they provided access to their upstairs bar area and grand stair case as the staging of our «first look.» Tracy also coordinated with several of our vendors as well (florist dropping of bouquets, transportation services, etc.) We stayed in their Penthouse Suite the night of our wedding and were surprised with a bottle of champagne and sweet note of congrats from Tracy.
On a separate note from our wedding activities, I lost my Aggie ring (college ring) during the chaos of the wedding day. My Aggie ring is something I’ve worn every day since receiving it 17 years ago. I was crushed when we realized it was missing. I assumed it was gone forever — we searched everywhere for it. I emailed Tracy to see if by chance it had been found. While we were on our honeymoon, her team never stopped looking. In fact, 10 days after our wedding, the ring was found and returned. I was (still am) so appreciative of the entire staff for keeping up the search.
So, I highly recommend The Phoenix Park for any stay in DC! Their team is a class act.

In ancient times, businessmen, traveling salesmen and lobbyists used to take the train from city center to city center, and walk to the nearest station hotel to spend the night. Phoenix Park Hotel, by virtue of its location, is a classic station hotel, though maybe not intended as such. Just walk out of Union Station, turn to the right, and it’s there – you can see it, a short 2 block walk away. I used it to break up a long distance train trip that aside from being long was running 6 hours late. It was perfect. Arriving after midnight, the room I had reserved was ready & waiting – a cozy, smallish double. The nice part was that I had requested as always a «high floor, quiet location» room and Phoenix Park hotel (unlike so many others!!) complied exactly — top floor, facing a courtyard, no street or hotel noise. I was asleep 20 minutes after I got off the train, which was the whole point of this visit.
I only regret that I had to leave early the next morning to continue my trip & didn’t have time to check out some of the hotel’s other amenities, like the Irish pub on the ground floor. If you ever decide to travel like it’s the 19^th century (Amtrak) instead of the 21^st (airline), don’t hesitate to include the PPH in your itinerary.

The Phoenix Park Hotel has a quaint little Irish charm to it. When I say little, I mean little, and when I way quaint, I mean little.
First, the service in the hotel was just fine. The front desk was courteous both over the phone and in person. There were no issues with billing or with the room or housekeeping. All in all, the service level at this hotel was adequate.
Now the hotel itself, well, as one who has stayed in many hotels in his lifetime, it can be easily said that this place is a tad on the small side, in all respects. The elevator is small, the hallways are small, the rooms… yes, they’re deceivingly small. I would NOT recommend having more than 2 people in a standard room at a time, as the room layout really doesn’t allow for more than that. The rooms ARE nice and have a pleasant charm to them, but they’re small. If that doesn’t bug you, then you’ll have no issues at all.
Another big plus is that you’ve got a GREAT view of the Capitol building just outside the hotel. Second, you are spitting distance from Union Station, so going anywhere by train or even the Metro (the red line stops there) will make getting around VERY easy.
Oh, and if you drove here, get ready for EXPENSIVE parking. Valet service is a steep $ 50/​day. If you don’t mind the short walk, park at union station, where it’s only $ 22/​day.

I guess this classifies as a boutique hotel (though they are not that small) but it does have a unique appeal. Like an old Irish lady — this is still going strong. In many ways this hotel resembles hotels in Europe. Narrow hallways, classic old elevator (which dings and not beeps), and a chute to drop your mail from the higher floors (I don’t think it works — looks great nevertheless). The rooms are, however, bigger than European hotel rooms — but barely. Solid wooden work-​desks and sofa chairs. The best part, according to me, are their beds. Most comfortable hotel beds I have ever slept on!
Walking distance from the Union Station, this place has very friendly staff and great service. The hotel is due some renovation but it still manages to provide a comfy plush feel. Sound proofing can certainly be improved. They have a small but very functional gym in the basement. Also, if you like to run outdoors, the hotel is ideally situated as you can go for a 5 – 6 mile loop around the mall, museums, monuments, and the tidal basin. Their wired Internet connection is solid; WiFi is a hit and miss. The upper floor rooms have newer furnishings, at least the rooms I have stayed in had new fixtures in bathrooms.
And last but not the least, it’s right above the Irish Dubliner pub. And, NO LOYALTY POINTS FOR YOU!

Irish charm, eh? Awesomely comfortable beds and free wifi sure charmed me! Rooms are old-​world style, some quite small. But I’m still a big fan of this hotel.
Staying here made me feel like I was visiting a rich old family friend. My double-​bed room was, uh, cozy is about the right word, crammed with furniture, decorated heavily with wallpaper & pictures. Big tall bed (I was alone, you might fare better) and smallish TV, but lots of HD channels, nice. That tall, tall bed was impossibly comfortable and boasted several king-​size pillows, I slept like a happy drunk Irishman.
The desk was super tall too but the desk chair was short, so if you bring your laptop you’ll be typing ( Unilocaling?) about at armpit level LOL. Free wifi was slow but steady, a good thing bcos the ethernet port in the room didn’t work for squat.
The bathrooms are a bit dated, no huge floor & wall tiles here nor granite counters, instead a classic huge pedestal sink, very old school. Plenty of thick, THICK towels, soaps etc. A scale in the bathroom is a nice touch, are they telling me I’m Unilocaling (like drinking and eating) too much? Well yes, that’s a definite possibility :)
Reasonable size fitness center is tucked into the basement, offering two treadmills, two elliptical machines and plenty of weights.
It’s usually pricey, so I was pleasantly surprised that the Phoenix Park occasionally offers per diem rates, which is the reason I was able to stay here.
If you’re fortunate (booking directly with the hotel instead of another website helps), you’ll get turn-​down service with a robe and a tiny bottle of Bailey’s on your pillow. That is honestly pretty charming too.
I rolled in to Union Station on steel wheels, just a 3 minute walk across two big streets, so didn’t experience the joy of the $ 50 per night parking fee.
Connected to the Dubliner pub so a nightcap is darned easy to arrange. It’s a trivial walk to the various food choices in Union Station. If you’re willing to walk a bit up Mass Ave, dinner in Chinatown is quite doable from here.

Since I had loved my previous stay in Phoenix Park Hotel (I had given it 5 stars) I decided to stay here again this Labor Day Weekend. I also requested for the same room as last time. That room was unavailable so they gave me a room a few floors above it.
Unfortunately, this time around, I will have to give this hotel 1 star because the A/​C in the room would conk out in the middle of the night and I would wake up sweating in a stuffy air less room.
On the first night, I requested that I be transferred to another room but the front desk said that they were fully booked and there was nothing they could do. Their solution? According to them I should crack open the window. Seriously? Horrible nights’ sleep on night No. 1.
After the first night, the lady at the front desk said that she had the A/​C checked and was working fine but it then it conked out in the early hours of the morning and again I woke up covered in sweat but at that point was too exhausted to call the front desk. I literally tried to sleep in an airless stuffy room. Horrible night’s sleep on night no. 2.
I asked the front desk for a discount on my room since the A/​C didn’t work on both nights I was there and I just don’t think it’s fair to pay full price after that terrible ordeal. According to the lady there since its Labor Day, the manager is out and she didn’t have the authority to do so but she says the manager will call me first thing tomorrow.
Lets see how this turns out. Too bad because I really loved my stay at the hotel the first time around.

Mediocre Hotel. Mediocre Service.
I booked this hotel because it’s convenient and close to the Union Station. It’s not exactly cheap as we paid nearly $ 200 each night (through
). Overall — experience is «mediocre» and I thought it was a bit overpriced for the quality of room and quality of service.
Check in:
Taxi pulled up to the hotel at 11AM. No doorman, No bellman… ok. So we started lugging our luggage into the hotel and the nice bellman finally showed up.
Front desk staff were EMOTIONLESS. There’s no welcome, no thank you’s, no do you need anything, no maps, no directions, no nothing. I was really excited to arrive to the hotel and the front desk staff (gentleman with round glasses) completely killed my mood. He was not rude per se but there’s — just — no emotion!
Towards the end of my check in transaction, I handed my credit card to him to see if he would even acknowledge me or even thank me… nope, nothing. He swiped my card, handed it back to me… I contained my urge to say thank you out of common courtesy… just grabbed the card and he was perfectly ok with it. No interactive words exchanged… «Your room is paid for in full, and here’s your room number and elevator to your left» … … … again, no thank you’s, no welcome. Nothing. Uck!
The Stay:
The stay is ok. Housekeeping staff is attentive and room is clean. No complaints there. This is a «historical» hotel so I expected the room to be smaller (and they are). We did not get a view but I did not expect one either. Not a noisy room and everything is mediocre. Carpet is clean but showing its age a bit. Wallpaper and matching curtains are green and yellow and is very 1920’s.
Check out:
— Again, the same gentleman checked me out without emotion.
— Me: «Check out please, Room Number XXX»
— Front Desk: He glazed at the computer screen for maybe 2 minutes «your room is paid for in full» … … … silent, with no eye contact. He then proceeded to move other paper work around.
— Me: «So, are we all set?»
— Front Desk: «yep» no eye contact, no thank you’s, no transportation offered, nothing!!!
— Me: «okay, thank you!» [kicked myself — why did I say TY???”
— Front Desk: … … … crickets. No acknowledgement or thank yous back from the front office. Argh!
The bellman and doorman were excellent though. They then assisted me with luggage and transportation and thanked me for my stay.
I just felt very brushed aside by the front desk… they couldn’t be bothered. The front desk is supposed to be the first impression of the hotel and should be more warm and welcoming.
Given our experience, we probably won’t be back. There are many other better options in town.

Located just a few blocks North of the Capitol building and one block from Union Station, is the quaint and classy Phoenix Park Hotel. This boutique, 8-​floor hotel is Irish to the core and even has an Irish pub attached to it (which you can access near the elevators or through the front door around the corner).
Our particular room was decorated in old school green paisley wall paper (which actually was quite pretty) and came stocked with toiletries and bathrobes (all made in Ireland, of course).
While the rooms are extremely small, the beds are absolutely heavenly. Easily one of the most comfortable hotel beds I’ve ever slept in. The smallness of the rooms plus the homey early 1920’s décor makes for a very cozy stay. I truly loved it.
Another aspect of the Phoenix Park I was pleased with was the reasonable price for room service. While the price of a sandwich or other entrée wasn’t cheap, the cost was somewhat lower than most other hotels in this price range and star rating. I think I recall seeing a children’s meal for $ 8 and other food in the $ 12 — $ 15 range. Very reasonable.
Lastly, if you’re looking for inexpensive eateries, be sure to head to Union Station where you can grab food till about 10pm. There are at least 30+ fast food places to choose from. If you’re looking for a more substantial meal or need something to hold you over into the night, The Dubliner (the pub/​restaurant downstairs) serves food until 1am. While we didn’t try the food, the traditional Irish eats (fish and chips, chowder, shepards pie, etc) offered looked and smelled amazing.
The bar is loads of fun and offers live entertainment 7 nights a week. The band that was playing on the night of our stay was phenomenal. That plus reasonably priced drinks ($ 7 beers, wines, and shots of Jameson) made for a great evening.
Great hotel. Would give 5 stars if rooms were slightly larger (might be difficult to navigate with big suitcases) and if our room had a mini fridge. Other than that, I would definitely stay here again and recommend it to anyone. Free wifi is a plus too.