If they say 4, I say No.‏

Crowne Plaza, Washington DC-Rockville, is where we stayed when we ventured down for the 4^th of July holiday weekend. As per the stars, it was labeled as 4. Well, I am here to let you know that it was probably about a 3, may 3.1. My wife and I have traveled extensively and stayed in many hotels, suites, etc. For this spot to be labeled 4 stars, I am trying to figure out how. First and foremost, the hotel had one attendant doing everything, i.e., checking folks in/out, answering all calls, scheduling shuttle pick-up to and from train station, you name it, that one person did all the work. In our past experiences, we have seen people in position to accommodate all areas and you wouldn’t have to rely on one person doing everything. Secondly, the room was filled with a lot of furniture which was usable but the space could have been situated differently b/c you felt like everything was close together and in our room, we had a king size bed and that took up quite a bit. Third, I don’t think this particular location knows how handle crowds b/c we waited long to catch the shuttle to the hotel and from the hotel back to the train station which was located about 5 minutes away.

Speaking of the shuttle, they only had one bus and when we got in Saturday either to take the train or coming back from the station it had an unusual smell which was really unbearable, the bus Friday night, didn’t have that smell so it was this particular driver who stunk. Here is the thing, driver’s rotated shifts but the confusion came when we called to have the shuttle pick us up from the train heading back to the hotel. It became confusing when the shuttle arrived and we were trying to figure out if this is ours back to Crowne b/c the bus that took us early on was totally different and we weren’t alerted by the hotel rep of anything differ. We found out when we read the paper sign that was plastered on the door that this shuttle is for us. Apparently, not only did they pick up folks who stayed at Crowne but they did for the completely different hotel next door, now sure how that was assembled and that totally threw us off. The driver’s we had on Saturday weren’t trained properly either b/c they stayed in when we opened the door, didn’t ask to see if anyone need help especially those with bags, we packed the shuttle ourselves, they didn’t look presentable, it seem like they jumped out of bed and just put clothes on. On several occasions, one of the shuttle drivers had her friend in the front seat with her as if they were hanging out, that was so random, never seem that before and they were chatting about information that should have been kept private.

Overall, I give this hotel a 3, far from being a 4 star. We have stayed in 3’s that could have been labeled 4’s and this is far from it. It was a nice hotel from the picture and everything we read seem like peaches n’ cream but once we got there, it was more like oh no, we got just cream. This hotel will not be getting “A Couple of Reviews” stamp of approval from me.

-Husband