Thompson Markward Hall

This place is awesome! I met so many great friends here and wish I could already go back.
This was the perfect set-​up for someone who is interning or working a temporary job in Washington, D.C. The location is amazing (right up the street from Union Station) or a few blocks up from Capitol South. Coming from someone who rode the Metro everyday, this was a bonus. The neighborhood is great, too. Lots of row homes and Congressional buildings. I always felt safe walking by myself at night due to all of the Capitol Police.
My room was very, very small, but I made due. You get a bed, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a nightstand. The furniture is pretty outdated, but for 10 weeks, I couldn’t complain. Bring your own comforter and sheets. They provide a comforter, but it looks like an old lady– no thanks.
There is a housekeeper that cleans your room once a week, you just need to move your things. She did a good job. For the age of the home, it was very clean. I was especially surprised at the bathrooms. For 120 girls living there, they were clean! Just bring shower shoes.
The food is actually pretty good! It reminds me of dorm food, but they have a great little salad bar and always have vegetarian options as well. The breakfast was my favorite. They also hardly ever serve the same menu item, so you get to try a lot of new things.
Although you can’t have any boys over or drink any alcohol, that doesn’t mean you can’t go out– just don’t bring the party home. We would usually hit the bars on the weekends and since there is no curfew, you can come back whenever.
They have a great little sundeck which is nice for tanning and reading. The laundry room is coin operated, but it works just fine.
This place reminded me of a dorm or a sorority house. The girls were all great and I really met some wonderful people. If you are considering a temporary place in D.C., this is the place to be!

I agree with previous reviewers in terms of the pros of Thompson Markward Hall. I’ve met the loveliest people living there and had a great introduction to the District because of it. The location can’t be beat for sure, either.
My major concern is the housekeeping. It seemed for me that my room was cleaned by two different staff every week, which wasn’t a problem until I found my white gold necklace and ring mangled and smashed on my dresser one night after coming back home from work. No note, no explanation. After an investigation and asking every single office staff person, I was met with indifference and then outright rude responses from the associate director Sara who simply responded to my question «how did this happen?» With «it looks like there was a mix up in the work schedule.» Tmh takes no responsibility for your personal belongings so I simply do not understand why they continue to have house keepers who go into individuals’ rooms.
Just be wary and protect all belongings as much as possible – that’s my two cents to all current and prospective tenants.

This is perhaps the best place for any single woman b/​w ages 18 – 35 to live in Washington DC. Overall, I felt blessed to live there for 1 year and I still keep in contact with the friends I made there.
Pros: affordable (cleaning service, food, rent and utilities all included); nice and safe neighborhood; convenient location (b/​w red and blue/​orange lines); friendly staff and residents; occasional house events with free food and arts/​craft;
Cons: no alcohol, no men allowed beyond the first floor, no smoking, no burning candles

No alcohol and no men = peace. After living by obnoxious human beings for several years in various cities, TMH is a haven of sanity and order. NO, THERE IS NOT A CURFEW, by the way. The front desk is 24-​hours, and you can always get in and out of the building at any hour.
The women here are great to get to know — many very intelligent, successful young women.
PROS:
(1) Cost: It’s around $ 950/​month to live in one of the nicest, SAFEST parts of DC — Capitol Hill (and DC is generally not a nice or safe city) AND that price is all-​inclusive, including meals (breakfast and dinner Monday-​Saturday and brunch on Sunday). You will not find even a split on Capitol Hill for that price.
(2) Privacy: Each woman has her own private room. The rooms are very small, but there is no reason to need any more space — you have a closest, a desk, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a twin bed. It’s plenty. It’s a great environment for working, resting, and sanity. It’s generally very quiet in the house. You can also control your own room’s temperature settings.
(3) Cleaning Service: The bathrooms are cleaned several times a day, and the rooms are cleaned once a week.
(4) Food: The breakfast is very good and dinner is good as well. If you have food allergies, they won’t make a separate dish just for you (there are way too many women in the house to do that), but they would always tell me the ingredients in a dish if I asked.
(5) Community: If you’re moving to DC for the first time or if you don’t know many people in the city, the house is a great place to meet people, ask questions, etc. The location of the House is also close to many networking bars — especially for the Hill.
(6) Staff: The staff are friendly and efficient (absent some of the week-​day food workers who do not go out of their way to be friendly). I really like all of the RAs — they’re kind, laid back, and mature.
(7) Garden/​Deck: TMH looks like an old Victorian house, and the back garden is super beautiful in spring/​summer/​fall. There is also a sunbathing deck that is very relaxing. There is no smoking allowed on the deck, but you may smoke in the back garden. There is no smoking inside the house at all — only outside.
CONS:
(1) Internet: It’s included in your rent, but it can be a bit of a pain some days. USUALLY, it works fine, but some days it just doesn’t work for more than 10 minutes at a time, cuts out, goes slow, etc. Thankfully, there are great coffee shops in the area within walking distance.
(2) Plumbing: It’s an old building, so there are almost daily toilet clogs. It’s not a big deal — the cleaning crew always takes care of it, but you get used to checking each stall to see which ones aren’t clogged at the moment.
OVERALL
TMH is a great place to live — I have really enjoyed living on Capitol Hill in a safe location, having a great breakfast every morning, not having to worry about neighbor noise or activity, and all at a great price for DC. There is a WAITING LIST, so if you’re thinking about living here, go ahead and sign up to be on the list.

Thompson Markward Hall is a great spot if you need temporary housing in DC. Temporary is the operative word as there are a number of features that make it unlikely you’ll want to stay more than a few months, but it’s great for interns and others who need a convenient, affordable place for short-​term stays or while searching for long-​term housing.
The pros: affordable, convenient, a great way to meet new people, good food (the contractor changed a few months ago & the food improved!)
The cons: rude & unhelpful front desk staff, barely functioning internet (though there are 3 public computers available, but these are generally full), a creepy, perverted caller frequently phones residents in the middle of the night (this has been going on for months & virtually every resident has experienced it), tiny rooms, no male guests allowed past the lobby (including your father)

I lived here when I was just out of college and spent a few months living in DC. This is a really good place for new residents in the city. It provides the essentials of a furnished place to live without a long-​term lease commitment, a way to meet other people in a new city, AND all your meals for only $ 900 a month. For all that, I thought it was a great deal. Of course it is a bit unusual with no men, no booze, no kitchen access, and no private bathrooms. But it isn’t meant to be a permanent housing solution. Most of my friends at TMH found their own apartments elsewhere in the city within a few months. I met people from major cities, as well as girls real rural America. It isn’t too unlike a freshman dorm in college with a big mix of people thrown together with shared common areas. I certainly think it is a better first DC residence than some flophouse on Craigslist.

Well basically what other reviewers have said is right – this place is fine for a temporary home if, and only if, you’re OK with the rules. There simply is no way to get around them as there’s one way in and one way out.
Most of the staff are helpful and nice. The bathrooms are super clean (I remember reading a review on the web about them being dirty… I never found that to be true at all). If you’ve ever stayed in a college dorm you’ll be well-​prepared. Except I actually found this place to be cleaner and quieter than a dorm because of the rules.
I stayed here for 10 weeks and it was fine. One drawback is that you can’t cook or anything. You can store things in a community fridge and microwave stuff, but no community stove/​oven.
Mid-​way through my stay they changed food services and the food was really good. Soup every night as well as two main entrees-​vegetarian and meat option. Three sides. Salad bar. Two/​three dessert options.
The WORST problem was the INTERNET. The only option is wireless and there are so many girls using it it goes REALLY SLOW. Getting email up was even a problem, much less watching videos.
Great place to feel your way around the city when first moving, or for a temporary stay.

Honestly, TMH isn’t that bad. I stayed here for 5 months during a semester long internship. The location is great especially if working on the Hill! — and the rest of DC is a short walk or metro ride away. Granted, the rules are a little dated — no alcohol or men. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out — just don’t bring the party home… It serves its purpose — provide a safe and reasonably priced place for young women to stay when new to the city. Though, the food sucks. One time they served a concoction of eggs and leftover spaghetti. It was perhaps the most disgusting thing I’ve ever consumed. Forget the hot food, take advantage of the salad bar!
Also, I’m not really sure why your political affiliation matters in a review, I met people from a wide spectrum.
In the end, I met lots of people I still talk to today — 4 years later!

No drinking, no smoking, no men. Welcome to the District’s modern day nunnery, The Young Woman’s Christian Home, also known as Thompson Markward Hall (TMH). This place is a piece of DC history that is a vital, but hidden, part of the Capitol Hill community.
TMH is basically a dorm for women ages 18 – 34 who need temporary (2 weeks to 2 years) housing in DC. Rent is $ 800 a month, with a non refundable $ 100 reservation deposit, and includes an itty bitty furnished bedroom with a huge closet, dorm style shared bathrooms, use of beautifully furnished living rooms, dining room, and library, and breakfast and dinner daily. The 120 women who live here are an interesting mix of international visitors, interns, students, and Hill staffers.
My own stay at TMH was for a 4 month internship with the U.S. Senate. TMH is located across the street from the Hart Senate Building, so the commute was under 5 minutes. It is also 4 blocks from Union Station, which means the entire metro DC area is only a short metro ride away. There are several small coffee shops, cafes, and convenience stores within that four block radius, as well as a little park. The DC institution of Eastern Market is a 15 minute walk away.
However, it’s the people at TMH that I will always remember. The women that I met here will be among my closest friends for years to come. I highly recommend Thompson Markward Hall for anyone, particularly interns, who need short term housing on the Hill.