This is a good choice for a stay in central D.C. Clean and comfortable, and the staff is very helpful and friendly. Location and price are really the strong points. Located two blocks from two metro stops and four blocks from the White House, in the direction of Georgetown. As for the price, it's not cheap, but for a decent hotel in central D.C., it is most reasonable. The property is a little on the idiosyncratic side... for example, the elevator is an antique relic with a human operator and the room has a little alcove that apparently was once a kitchen, but all that adds to the charm. If you plan to spend much time in the room, choose wisely: The rooms in the back have zero view (they look out into an office building about 20 feet away, and you can't even see the sky). The front, however, overlooks Penn. Avenue, two lovely parks and a redeveloped street of row houses, converted to shopping and restaurants. There is a cozy lounge in the back and the restaurant is fairly good, and you'll find a bunch of local eating options in all price ranges in the neighborhood, too. The only real criticism: The carpet (in my room at least) badly needs replacing. It's clean enough, but really past it's lifespan. Nevertheless, if I get the chance I would happily stay here again.

My husband and I just returned from a week-long vacation in DC and we stayed at the Hotel Lombardy. We were on a budget and got a great package deal with our flight that included this hotel. I was a little worried given the great rate we received and some of the reviews here, but as others have said -- there was absolutely no need to worry.

The hotel staff was excellent. Someone was always available to help with our bags, open doors, get a taxi or give directions. The manually-operatated elevator was actually very fun and the operators were very nice. It was definitely my husband's favorite part of the hotel!

Our room was fairly small and a little cramped, but a friend of ours who stayed in a nearby room had a much bigger room. The difference was "the view." We had a view of a courtyard and he had a close-up view of the neighboring building. We did learn that the only rooms in the hotel with a "view" are the suites. We were not staying in any suites. (I did not take any pictures of our room, but the pictures already posted are pretty much exactly what our room was like -- except we had one king-sized bed.)

My only real complaints about the hotel are the beds (very hard and I had a neck cramp most of the vacation) and the bathroom had no ventilation, except a window which was not helpful. The hotel bar was very nice, but very expensive -- and I am from Vegas!

All in all, the hotel was very charming. The cafe served good food. And it was very close to the Metro and the White House/Mall. I definitely recommend this hotel to anyone considering a trip to DC who wants a reasonably affordable hotel with a good location.

I was staying in the hotel for one week at the end of April and beginning of May. The room is good, it really has a little kitchen area, nice light bathroom. The beds are very comfortable and I slept well. One also has a free internet access inside the room for the laptop. The view was horrible, though. I saw opposite offices windows from my windows. I also heard some machinery noise all the time. One day my room was not cleaned up (only after my call). Another day my toilet did not work (it was repaired very quickly, though). Compare to nicely looking rooms the common areas are quite shaby. I know it is a historical hotel, but I think the manual lift is really not a must today. :o) Good location close to a metro station, close to many interesting places, close to Circular bus stop to Georgetown. The room rate is quite high, but I would generally say that DC is not good value for money when talking about hotels.

We stayed at the Hotel Lombardy over a weekend stay in DC. It was my wife and I plus her sister and husband. We each booked a deluxe room with a king sized bed. My wife and I loved our room and it even included a little kitchen area that contained a mini fridge and a small table with a couple of chairs. Her sister's room did not have the kitchen area. Their room felt a bit smaller overall. Our windows had wooden blinds plus drapery while their room only had the blinds.

Overall, the room was very nice and the bed was very comfortable. After walking around DC all day long, I needed a comfortable bed. The bathroom is small but it was very clean. My wife loved the water pressure in the hotel along with the bath and body works soaps and lotions. Just about every light in the room was on a dimmer switch and the room had a ceiling fan.

The TV in the room came with lots of channels but the signal was not the best. Many of the stations came in wavy or had lines running through it. Not a big deal for us as we had very little time to watch TV.

The room was quiet although you could hear the person upstairs when they were walking around their room. It wasn't that big of a deal.

Service in the hotel was excellent. We never waited more than a minute for the elevator. There was always someone at the front door to open it for us. Although street parking is free on the weekend, we couldn't find a spot near the hotel, so we would up using valet at $35/nt. I had no problem with the valet service and the service was quick.

We liked the hotel location as there was a metro station within a 5 minute walk of the hotel plus lots of restaurants including TGIF, Au Bon Pain, Starbucks, Corner Bakery, Bertuccis, and many others. The White House was about a 20 minute walk away. We all felt very safe walking around the hotel area at night.

We would definitely stay at this hotel again the next time we visit DC.