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Visiting Washington D.C. | Omni Shoreham

One of my favorite parts about traveling is exploring new hotels. For me, the perfect hotel is one that is luxurious but not stuffy, and the Omni Shoreham is just that. It has the amenities of a modern hotel along with the charm of an historic landmark that has housed dignitaries and rockstars, and yet they still manage to make it inviting and family friendly. We loved it.

It’s also conveniently located within a mile of the National Zoo, a block away from the Metro, and right across the street from the Trolley pick up. AND there are several good family friendly restaurants within a block of the hotel. It couldn’t be more convenient.

Speaking of restaurants, Robert’s Restaurant, located inside the hotel, looks fabulous and right up my alley with their focus on local ingredients from regional farms, but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to try it.

The hotel decor is elegant with its decorative vaulted ceilings and archways. I tried to get a picture, but it is really hard to capture hotels in photos — especially with an iPhone.

My daughters were enchanted with the crystal chandeliers.

We had a suite, which was perfect for our family of five. The couch in the sitting area had a pull-out bed for my son, in addition to the two queen-size beds in the bedroom area.

The kids tell everyone they see how our room had two TVs. (There was one on each side of the divider wall.) We don’t even have two TVs in our house!!!

The Omni is known for delivering cookies and milk to the room for the kids, but we were surprised to find a lovely bowl of fruit in addition to the milk and cookies.

Another nice touch is the goodie bags they provide for each kid. We actually didn’t get those, for some reason. They mentioned it when we checked in, and then we never received them, but I did get one when I stayed at the Omni Berkshire Place back in February for the Family Travel Conference. It has some little activities to keep the kids busy in the room. It’s a nice touch, especially for a hotel that is so elegant, it just lets you know that families traveling with children are welcome and you needn’t worry that some hoity-toity bellman is going to be looking down his nose at your lively offspring. Not that I’d know anything about that . . .

Before I left for our trip, I signed up for the Omni Select Guest program. It’s free, and it comes with some great perks like free WiFi and a free beverage delivery each morning. I was glad I did because I made good use of the WiFi while I was there.

As is my habit, I woke before the sun and slipped out of the room with my laptop to grab a coffee from the Starbucks located inside the hotel (score another point for the Omni!) and and then spend some time catching up on email and writing posts while my family slept in.

We received a special rate during our stay, but typically the rate for a Classic Suite runs from $199 and $299 a night. Between the convenience of the location and the superb accommodations and friendliness of the staff, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and I highly recommend it whether you are traveling alone or with your family.

A few amenities that we didn’t take the time to enjoy are an outdoor heated pool and a spa and fitness center. I wish we had been there when it was just a bit warmer because the pool area was lovely, and our kids begged to go in. I guess we’ll just have to come back sometime!

If you’re planning a trip to D.C anytime soon, make sure to read all my Visiting Washington D.C. posts. I will be adding more within the next few days.

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4 Responses

  1. We stayed there a few years ago with our then 12 year old daughter and loved it! Pres. Bush even came to the hotel while we were there with several members of his cabinet for the conference my husband was attending – exciting! I loved that it was so close to the metro station and it was also the first time I tried Chipotle!

  2. We just stayed here over the weekend while the hubs ran in the Army 10 Miler. It was a great place to stay and the kids want to go back. The room was so spacious and that was key with kids! The kids even got to swim in OCTOBER! They loved the heated pool, even if they were a bit cold when they got out. And the proximity to restaurants and the Metro were fantastic!
    Thanks for reviewing – it definitely had influence on the hotel that we picked – and the price that we got was great too!

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