Smithsonian Institution Tours

Fraudulent billing was the cherry on top of a troubled stay. It started with the AC not functioning normally, then the electricity went out on our floor (leaving the room pitch black while I was mid-shower). The hotel offered 50% off one night because of the disruption — before the situation worsened further — but that discount was never reflected in the final charges. We ended up having to move rooms late night, scrambling to repack everything by the light of our cell phones in a stifling hot room. It felt like a joke of a 4-star hotel, and that’s not even considering the bugs, street noise, and lamps missing bulbs. The charge to my credit card was more than double what I expected, and it took a week with multiple follow-ups to get an itemized receipt from the hotel. Not only was the discount not applied, but we were charged for seemingly every single minibar item. We spent as little time as possible in our room because of the AC and electricity issues, and I never touch the minibar because I’m not a reckless billionaire. There were also three charges from the onsite restaurant we visited once. The hotel has since ignored all emails once it informed them the charges were unauthorized. All of the staff we dealt with in person were lovely - they were the single bright spot of our stay. I’ll update this review if the hotel resolves the billing issues.