Taking a break from writing about my epic trip to the Maldives & Rome, I’m going to write some other fun trips I’ve done since then. Back in February, I had the privilege of attending Frequent Traveler University in DC. This was my first ever points & miles conference, so I was really excited to get back into the nerd-aspect of it, as well as to meet some new people in the DC area who have now quickly become good friends.
I currently live in the suburbs of Maryland, and Frequent Traveler University was in downtown DC. My wife and I are a one car family, so any kind of special event, particularly on the weekend, can be difficult for us, as it requires a degree of coordination. Additionally, with the event being on a Saturday, and with me wanting to attend the pizza social on Friday night to meet new people, we figured it would just be worth it for me to stay in DC on Friday night, making it easier for everyone.1
Obviously, being the Hyatt fan that I am, I looked at Hyatt’s website to see what kind of award availability there was. I really wasn’t too keen on most of the Hyatt’s in the area. I would have stayed at the Park Hyatt DC, but I didn’t really feel like dropping 30k points without my wife to enjoy it with me. Additionally, I also wouldn’t have been able to really enjoy breakfast at The Blue Duck Tavern.
Booking & Price
I saw that there was a well-priced night on the waterfront at the Thompson, Washington, D.C. I have always liked Thompson’s (with my stay at the Thompson Madrid being a top 5 stay for me personally), so this worked out great.
For my one night stay, I paid $201.32. This is a category 4 hotel, and it would have cost me 18,000 Hyatt points. Paying cash was a better value in my mind.
Note that there is a $30 destination fee per day at this hotel. This is waived for Globalists and anyone making a points stay. You can find inclusions here. However, you don’t really get anything of value that justifies a full $30 per day. Note that you don’t get anything telling you the daily destination fee entails when checking in (at least, I didn’t). I missed out on a Capital Bikeshare day pass, which I would have used when I biked to Frequent Traveler University!
Location
The Thompson, Washington, D.C., is located in the Navy Yard District of D.C. More specifically, you can find the Thompson, Washington, D.C., caddy-cornered between the US Department of Transportation (planes!) and the Washington Nationals baseball stadium, making it a great hotel to stay at if going to a game. Additionally, it’s about a 15 minute walk to the National Mall, or you can take the Green line back towards the city to get off at the Smithsonian metro stop. For a bit more context, you’re about a 1/2 mile directly south of the Capitol-Library of Congress-Supreme Court complex.2
For my purposes, when it was time to go to the Thompson, D.C., I hoped on the Metro and took the Red line to the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop, where I transferred to the Green line headed toward Branch Avenue. Note that if you’re coming from Reagan National Airport (the airport closest to the National Mall), you’ll take the Yellow line to L’Enfant Plaza and then hop onto the Green line heading toward Branch Avenue.
From there, I got off the train at the Navy Yard-Ball Park metro stop. I then followed the signs toward the US Department of Transportation on the east end of the platform. Once I exited the station, I turned right and walked two blocks. You’ll see the Thompson then!
Check-in at the Thompson, Washington, D.C.
Upon walking through the door, check-in was to the right, with the lobby bar to the left. I was quickly helped by someone and thanked for being a Globalist. I was told that I had been upgraded to a King Bed Balcony room and given 2 bottles of water.
Back towards the lobby and behind reception, you’ll find the elevators. It is one of those elevators where you indicate what floor you want to go, and it tells you which elevator to get on. Note that only one elevator can access the gym, which is in the basement.
At that point, I made my way up to the 4th floor to drop my luggage off in my room before I headed to the pizza social.
King Bed Balcony Room
Upon exiting the elevator, I turned and made a left down the hallway, which had a cool Thompson-esque carpet. I was specifically in room 403.
Upon entering, the bathroom was to my left with the main part of the room straight ahead. Directly to my right was a full-length mirror to look at yourself before you head out.
Once you reach the main part of the room, directly to the left was the full closet. In it was two robes, an ironing board, a luggage rack, a safe, some hangars, and some drawers. There was also a steamer if you want to steam your clothes instead of using an iron. Admittedly, I did not check to see if there was an actual iron in one of the drawers.
The thermostat was here, and it did a good job of regulating the temperature. I did not get overly hot.
The bedside tables are built into the side of the closet (on the left side) and the mini-fridge area (on the right side). I really like the design of Thompson hotels and find them to be super fun. I particularly like the light sconces by each bed that are really like reading lights on each side of the bed.
The bed was quite comfortable, and I slept well. Across from the TV was a bench and the TV. I didn’t turn the TV on, but I am 99% sure they have a Chromecast you can use with your phone. Instructions would be on the TV and, like other Hyatt’s, shouldn’t be too hard to connect to your devices.
To the right of the bed was the mini-fridge area.
There was an individual-size coffee machine, as well as an in-room dining menu. I did not order anything. There was also a mini-fridge with nothing in there. I put my two bottles of water in there to get cold.
Across from the mini-fridge area was a lamp and an old-fashioned pulldown desk that reminds me of the antique desk my grandparents have. I set my laptop up there to check my work Slack in the early evening and work on a blog post that night. The wifi worked well.
On the far end of the room was the access point to the balcony. A brief note about the balcony: like the door on the Overwater Sunset Villa at the Park Hyatt Maldives, you need to push the door in to unlock it and open it up towards the balcony. (That is the end of how these two rooms compare.)
Outside on the balcony, there was a view of the Department of Transportation, as well as a nice looking plaza area. I could see this being a cool place to hang out with a bottle of wine and a friend on a summer evening. Given that it was February, and I was alone, I didn’t spend anytime out there.
On my particular balcony, there were two chairs and a little table. The balcony had bushes on each side to separate it from other balcony rooms. I think it would be quite painful to try and jump over the bushes to get to someone else’s balcony. There is also a lock on the inside of the room so that no one can enter in from your balcony as well.
Back towards the front of the room is the bathroom. I didn’t get pictures, but there was a sliding door covering the bathroom entry. Given the narrowness of the hallway, this was a good decision. The whole bathroom was using different subway tiles, which I always appreciate, as it makes it easier to keep clean.
Directly in front of you was the single sink, which had a neat levitating effect. Lights were on each side of the mirror. You had your typical towels, tissue, glasses, bar soap, and body lotion here.
The shower was to the left. It did not have a door, which I absolutely hate (due to letting in cold air). However, there was a ledge which kept the water inside the door. The handle to turn it on was on the left side of the shower while the shower head was on the right. This was great so you don’t have to stand in the cold water when turning on the shower. Water pressure was good, and it got hot enough for me.
Products were in bulk containers. They were from D.S. & Durga and called “Bowmakers.” The bulk containers were not strapped to the wall, so you could theoretically take them. I do believe you would get charged $25 dollars if you took them (also, gross). They felt high quality to me.
The toilet was to the right. It had a partition like the shower did (for symmetry, I guess). It did not have a door, so it isn’t possible for someone get ready while someone else used the restroom.
Thompson, Washington, D.C., Gym
The gym was located in the basement. As I said earlier, only one elevator gets you down into the basement.
The elevator literally opens up into the gym. There isn’t any door separating the gym from the elevator.
Immediately to the left was a towel station and a water canister with cups.
Directly in front of you is two treadmills, two ellipticals, and a Peloton bike. Weirdly, the bike faces the opposite direction of the other pieces of cardio equipment. It remains to be seen if they’ll get any other Peloton’s with the new Hyatt & Peloton relationship.
Just past the cardio equipment was a rower, some foam rollers, and some mats, as well as some of those giant blocks that I don’t know the name for.
To the right was a TRX Training Zone station that actually looked like you could get a great workout in just from that alone.
There was also some dumbbells with a bench and a Technogym cable machine.
In my opinion, you should have no problem getting a good workout in this gym.
Dining at the Thompson, Washington, D.C.
There are three dining outlets at the Thompson, Washington, D.C. There is the lobby bar, the rooftop bar, and the main restaurant called The Surveyor.
I did not try to use the lobby bar, so I won’t be reviewing it. It’s open daily from 3PM – 10PM, and you can find the menu here. The bar is nice, and there’s a cool little area just off the end of it.
Rooftop at The Thompson, Washington, D.C.
The rooftop bar is open from 5PM – until close (typically 11 PM or midnight, depending on the night). You can find the menu here.
When I went on Friday night in February, it wasn’t busy (I took photos before the social, but I did visit afterwards as well). However, I can imagine it gets quite busy during the summer, particularly if there’s a baseball game.
It’s a beautiful space, and I love the views. The outdoor area is really well done. The view of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge is particularly nice.
I went there Friday night after the pizza social, as I wasn’t tired. I also wanted to try a cocktail for review purposes. Given that it was hotel pricing, I didn’t feel like paying that much for a drink that night, so I just went to my room and watched TV before going to bed. Sorry if you were hoping for me to judge the cocktail program.
Surveyor at the Thompson, Washington, D.C.
Surveyor is the main restaurant at the Thompson, Washington, D.C., but it only serves breakfast and brunch on the weekends. Hours are from 6:30AM to 11AM everyday. Brunch is from 11AM to 2PM on the weekends.
I would link to the menus, but the website doesn’t exist anymore? You can find pictures of the breakfast menus I took below. Given that it was the weekend, I was able to order from the brunch menu.
As a Globalist, I could order an entree, a coffee, and a juice, with all charges taken off. I did not try to order a specialty coffee. To indicate that you were a Globalist, they gave you a coupon at check-in. As you can see, they clearly laid out what was included. I am thankful that they met Hyatt’s terms of conditions, including with clearly stating that gratuity is included.
Upon being sat down, I was brought a bottle of water. I then ordered a coffee and an orange juice. I appreciate that I was given a lot of cream for my coffee.
For breakfast, I had the chicken and waffles. It came with maple syrup and hot sauce. I thought it was quite delicious. I ate the whole thing. Overall, it was nice meal before I headed to the conference.
Service at the Thompson, Washington, D.C.
To be frank, I didn’t have high expectations for service, as it’s a city hotel in a city where service can be really hit or miss, depending on the person.
Service met my expectations. I think the hard thing was that there were several instances where service wasn’t what it should have been. When given the opportunity to fix it, they fixed it really quickly and adequately some times, but they didn’t at other times.
For example, upon checkout, I looked at my bill, and the destination fee was still there. As a Globalist, I don’t have to pay those. I merely texted the number that was there in the app asking them to take care of it. Less than 5 minutes later, I got a text saying that it would be removed and an updated folio sent to my email. I checked my card a few days later, and I was charged the correct amount. The front desk did a great job the entire time I was there.
My experience at Surveyor was a different experience. I walked in around, and the person getting the restaurant ready told me that they weren’t opening until 6:30AM. However, it was, indeed, 6:40AM. I didn’t really know what to say, so I just left for 15 minutes to get my stuff (I had left it in my room). When I arrived again, the server acted like nothing had ever happened. To be honest, they had one person working there when I arrived. He ended up seating people, waiting tables, making speciality coffees, and manning the to-go pastry station. I don’t know if it was because he was overwhelmed or just in a bad mood. Regardless, my food was delivered quickly, but it was a weird experience.
Conclusion
Overall, I would say that the Thompson is a decent hotel in Washington, D.C. If I needed to stay in the city again, and it was cheap, I would stay there again. However, temper your expectations about some of the service.
I think any individual, couple, or group of adults would enjoy staying here. It’s a cool place in a neat area, but it’s definitely a vibe. I’m not so sure that this is the place to stay with kids (particularly since the Hyatt Place National Mall has a pool).
What do you think about the Thompson, Washington, D.C.? Would you stay here?
- If you live in the DC area, and want to join the area points & miles group, send me an email at professorofpoints@gmail.com, and I’ll get you connected! We meet up every 2 months or so and have an ongoing group chat. ↩︎
- Side note about that area: The National Botanical Garden is just south of the Capitol. When people visit D.C., and they want to see somewhere that most tourists don’t go to, I take them here. We love it there, and I highly recommend a visit if you like looking at pretty plants from around the world year-round. ↩︎
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