Donovan House: Washington D.C. Hotel Review

The Donovan House in Washington D.C., here’s our review.

I am a lucky blogger.

I had the opportunity to do some work with Virgin Mobile and be flown to Washington D.C. for a Lady Gaga concert. Yeah, it was pretty unreal, being as we got to meet her, it was even more surreal.

But what about our hotel? Even though we consistently do concert reviews, (as well as other reviews, such as concerts, music, movies and such) we wanted to review our Washington D.C. hotel, since this isn’t exactly somewhere we usually travel.  So what about the Donovan House in Washington D.C.? How was it? Let me tell you, it was less than expected.

When I had researched the Donovan House on Google, I found a swanky, modern looking website promising a 21st century experience. Very “Mad Men-esque”. What I encountered after check-in though, was a completely different story.

I always hate giving a negative review, and really, that’s not what I am doing here, but let’s just say I left less than satisfied.

The Donovan House lobby was nice and there was a bizarre egg-like swinging chair from the ceiling. First thing I thought was fishbowl party, if you know what I mean. Very 60s art deco, but kind of silly.

The decor in my room also tried to be “art deco” with dark walls and plastic lamps, but it came across as kind of cheesy and my lamp was broken. There is no art on the wall and the colors are bland. And of course, being in Washington D.C., it was quite small.

First thing I did when getting to my room was use the restroom. This is where I made the most shocking discovery. Blood on the exterior of the toilet bowl. Yes, really. It was the first thing I noticed when coming into the bathroom, so I’m not quite sure how a maid could have missed it. But I digress…

The front desk staff of the Donovan House were accommodating and kind. As an out-of-towner with no rental car (I was there on business), it was almost impossible to get a decent hot meal. When I arrived in town after a red-eye flight from the West Coast I was lucky enough to catch breakfast at the Donovan House restaurant (which was empty) after checking in. Two eggs, toast, coffee. $12.

Later in the afternoon after seeing the sights I met some friends in the lobby to get a cocktail. It was 4:00-ish. The restaurant was closed. We asked if we could just get a cocktail (as there was a bartender doing prep work) and we were told no. Eventually, one female was kind enough to oblige and we sipped on our drinks in the lobby. I’m not sure what time the restaurant finally opened but by the time it did we weren’t there.

There is nowhere to eat in the area without a car, at ALL. So be prepared to catch taxis to get food!

Overall, my experience was just average. I would probably never stay here again just because of the food and restaurant situation. For the money, there are much nicer, more conveniently located hotels in the area.

I give the Donovan House in Washington D.C. two-and-a-half stars.