I recently completed a stay at the Thompson in Washington D.C. This hotel is located in the Navy Yard neighborhood of the city with a Metro station close by, allowing easy access to the rest of D.C.
I’m still pretty new to the Thompson brand, but I’ve come to love it after recent stays.
Let’s go over this stay.
Booking
This is a category 4 property. Points bookings will go for 12,000 points during off-peak, 15,000 during standard, and 18,000 during peak periods. In addition, this hotel is an opportunity to utilize a category 1-4 free night award.
Having observed cash rates for this place over the past several months, prices usually seem to be at least $200, sometimes in the high $100s or low $300s. Busy, peak seasons (cherry blossom season, for example) will push prices upwards towards $500.
Related: Best ways to use your Hyatt category 1-4 free night award
Checking In
I got a notification at 13:20 that my room was ready. I didn’t actually get to the hotel for another couple of hours since I was out and about in the city, but it’s always nice to see the room available before the standard check-in time.
Pro tip: I find that aside from busy travel days, there’s a pretty good chance that Hyatt will have a room ready for you before the standard check-in time if you check in online. I’ve had pretty good luck with it so far this year.
There’s a lot of new development going on in the Navy Yard neighborhood, and the Thompson building blends in with the vibe.
The lobby had a lot of natural lighting and had that classic, boutique Thompson hotel design.
When picking up my keys, the front desk agent moved me up to a higher floor, from the 5th to the 10th floor. I believe the 10th was the top floor of this hotel.
The elevator was interesting with a few steps. First, you scan your room key to the sensor below the screen, and then type your floor number in.
Then, it’ll give you instructions on which elevator to get on, and that’ll take you to your floor.
There are no floor buttons inside the elevators. So don’t get on a random elevator because someone else is getting on, cause you won’t be able to reach your floor!
It took me a couple of tries at first, but I got used to it. It mostly worked okay, except for one time when I had to wait a while as the lobby floor was busy.
Room Impressions
I had room 1010.
I had a standard king room. The boutique Thompson design was prevalent, and I could notice a darker theme in this room compared to the room I had at the Thompson Chicago earlier this year.
There wasn’t a ton of natural light, but that could partly be due to the northern facing room I had.
The mattress was fairly firm, and I found it to be comfortable. The pillows were definitely on the softer side, though. I didn’t mind them, but it took a bit to get used to.
A 55 inch TV was wall-mounted across the bed.
An antique fold down table was in the corner of the room. This I guess acts as the “desk” (that’s at least what I used it as). It’s an interesting design, it’s kind of like something you’d see on an airplane or a long distance train.
This curvy design in the furniture was a theme throughout the room. The top of the bedframe had this, as well as in the bathroom, which I’ll get to soon.
A coffee maker and a fridge were on the left side of the bed. This room did not have a minibar, which is something that several other Thompson properties have.
The art in this room was simple. Many other Thompson hotels do more with art and design in their rooms, but this property kept its reserved.
Nothing in the room screamed “Washington D.C.” either. I couldn’t care less if a room has a locally identifying design, but an observation nonetheless.
A closet was to the right of the bed. It had all of the usual necessities, including hangers, a safe, and an ironing board.
This was the clock that was next to the bed. I didn’t try it, but I believe this is actually a functioning radio as well.
The bathroom was nice and gorgeous.
You’ll find the sink in the middle, which is facing you when you enter the bathroom. That same curvy design that we saw in the bedroom can also be found here.
The toilet was to the left, separated by a glass pane.
The shower was to the right of the sink. It’s a doorless shower, just like many other Thompson rooms. I personally don’t mind doorless showers, and I like the openness that comes with them. However, some may be bothered by how it can be a bit chilly without a door during a shower.
The water control was on the opposite end of the shower, which I appreciated. I was able to adjust the water temperature without getting hit by ice cold or super hot water.
Shampoo, conditioner, and body soap were by D.S. & Durga. I’ve had the same at other Thompson hotels.
More of them on the sink, of course.
The overall lighting was undoubtedly on the darker side. It didn’t matter to me since I prefer darker rooms, but it might be something to note for some people.
The AC unit worked great. It did its job maintaining the 70 degrees I had set, and it was easy to adjust and use.
Breakfast at the Surveyor
Breakfast is at the Surveyor, and is open from 6:30 to 11:00. On weekends, it’s open later until 14:00 with a brunch service.
Globalists get a free entrée, coffee, and juice via a voucher.
I started off with some orange juice.
I got the French toast. It came with blueberries and raspberries along with whipped cream. It was delicious.
Other Hotel Amenities
Here are some other things from the hotel, including transportation, complimentary amenities, and destination fee inclusions.
I got two complimentary water bottles from the front desk during check-in. I also got a couple more on the next day as well.
The overall service was fine. The desk agents didn’t go overboard with anything, but they were friendly and attentive when they needed to be.
I do remember when I was typing away on my MacBook in the lobby once when a staff handed me and another person a bottle of water. That was nice small gesture.
The destination fee was honestly a rip-off. There wasn’t much that the regular traveler could use. I guess the Capital Bikeshare codes are nice if you’re exploring the city, but there isn’t much value otherwise.
The hotel is a 2 minute walk from Navy Yard-Ballpark station on the DC Metro’s Green Line. I highly recommend taking the Metro to get around the city; it’s fast, cheap, and easy to figure out. There’s no need to be dishing out $20+ on Ubers on every leg of your trip around the city.
Concluding Thoughts
I enjoyed my time at the Thompson Washington D.C. I think it’s one of the more simpler properties in terms of design, but I still enjoyed the modern, stylish look my room had. The breakfast was fantastic, and the proximity to the Metro Station was great to have. It isn’t necessarily a property that you should go out of your way to stay at, but considering this hotel is a category 4, I think it’s one of the better deals in World of Hyatt.
All photos taken by the author.
I stayed there in November for a night due to flight disruptions. I was on a Prive rate as a Globalist. The room was fine but outside of a couple of bags of chips at the front desk there was nothing to spend my credits on. The staff were kind of bland but pleasant. Since I arrived fairly late I’d hoped for a notable upgrade since it was my first time in a Thompson but no luck. Breakfast was pretty high quality. Overall the hotel didn’t really impress me favorably or unfavorably.