Hotel Review: Westin Arlington Gateway
The Westin Arlington Gateway is two blocks from the Ballston metro station, which makes it a great hotel when you want to visit the DC area. I was in town for one night recently and needed a place to stay that was close to the Dulles Airport, and this hotel was just 20 minutes away.
There may have been street parking available nearby but I decided to do overnight valet, which was $29.
Valet was quick and cheery, and soon I was on my way through the door.
I was greeted by candles lighting the path to reception, which was a nice touch.
The lobby was quiet, and had lots of room for working or waiting. A full Starbucks is also located off to the side of the lobby.
Out of 336 rooms, only 13 are suites at this hotel. As an SPG Platinum, I was pleased to receive a large corner room.
Entering the room there were closets immediately to the right, and a small window was in front. The room smelled strongly of Chlorine.
There was a short hallway leading to the bedroom.
The bedroom was laid out well, and was large enough.
The comfortable Westin Heavenly bed was great.
On the desk there was a surprise – an HP Officejet that faxes, copies, and scans.
Bedside there was another unique item – a Homedics sleep sound machine.
Adjusting the dial you could choose sounds like Ocean, Summer Night or Rainforest.
There was a Bose clock radio on the other bedside table.
On the desk opposite the bed, there was a Mr Coffee machine that sputtered and made clunky noises when used. The Starbucks coffee tasted great though. There was a also a complimentary Dasani water.
Down below in the cabinet, there was a cold empty fridge, to put my free Dasani water in.
Even though there were no snacks, sitting on the fridge was a notecard highlighting something called “Sip Snack”
According to the card, anything you wanted from the list could be delivered to you. This probably meant a fresher item that hadn’t been sitting in a minibar for months, but I would be far less likely to call up in the middle of the night to order a Milky Way bar than to just pull one out of the minibar if it was there.
Near the window was a chair with ottoman and table. The window blinds were great at blocking out light when needed.
The thermostat worked well.
The bathroom was a bit small. There was a tub with shower, toilet, and single sink. The drain in the tub didn’t work well during showering, but the plug couldn’t be pulled out so there was about an inch of water by the time the shower was over.
There were the signature Westin white tea & aloe amenities.
The sink worked ok, and there was plenty of counter space.
The workout room was located on the 3rd floor, on the way to the pool.
The pool was large, the water was clear and looked well maintained. There was an door at the far end that I figured led to a sun room.
It actually led to a small roof, which offered a really nice view.
There was no railing. I looked at the door, but there was no sign indicating that entry was for staff only.
Going back inside the pool area was still quiet.
It looked like some maintenance was going on, but there was no one in sight.
I had been walking around for a good 20 minutes, and didn’t see signs or people anywhere. I suspected that a maintenance person had gone to lunch and forgotten to pack up or close the door, so it was a good thing that no kids had come to the pool area in the meantime. Power tools, anyone?
The Westin Arlington Gateway was one of the first hotels to participate in Tangent, their workspace concept.
Bookable by the hour, the quiet room just off the lobby was designed for small groups to hold meetings. Office supplies, ample seating, flexible outlets, and wireless internet is included in the hourly $75 rate.
Ideal for video conferencing, there are TVs, printers, sound systems, and an Xbox 360 for DVDs or games.
Interesting idea if you have people coming from out of town and need a quick meeting
I liked this hotel, and would stay here again. It was close to restaurants, a quick drive to the airport, and the price was decent. I would have given it higher marks had the internet been quicker and the tub drain worked better, but there are renovations scheduled in a few months so maybe those things will be fixed at that time.
Starwood Preferred Guest Category 5. 12,000 to 16,000 Starpoints for a free night.
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