Shortly before the Trump International Hotel opened inside the Old Post Office building, its principal owner, Donald Trump, told reporters that “we are making the best hotel in Washington.”
According to U.S. News and World Report‘s annual ranking of DC-area hotels, however, the President will have to settle for 37th best. Three dozen hotels scored higher in the magazine’s annual survey, including landmark properties like the the Jefferson and Hay-Adams, which took the top two spots. But many chain hotels, like a Hilton in Tysons, also beat the Trump hotel. The magazine reviewed hotels based on their industry accolades, star ratings, and customer reviews culled from TripAdvisor.
The U.S. News list comes a few weeks after a luxury-travel group bashed the hotel for poor customer service, “garish” décor, and an atmosphere that values quantity over quality.
Although day-to-day operation of the Trump Organization has been handed off to the Trump’s two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, the President is still the majority owner of his family businesses, including about 77 percent of the DC hotel. Congressional Democrats say Trump and the government he now leads are in violation of the lease for the Old Post Office, which stipulates that no federal elected official can be a party to the deal.
The hotel’s regulatory fate remains unclear. In the mean time, here are 36 Washington hotels that rated better than the Trump hotel:
- The Jefferson
- The Hay-Adams
- The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner
- Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC
- Park Hyatt Washington DC
- Mandarin Oriental
- St. Regis, Washington, DC
- Willard InterContinental
- Rosewood Washington, DC
- Ritz-Carlton, Washington DC
- Hotel Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square
- Ritz-Carlton Georgetown
- Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City
- Omni Shoreham Hotel
- Fairmont Washington, DC
- Kimpton Hotel George
- Kimpton Lorien Hotel & Spa
- Kimpton Donovan Hotel
- Mayflower Hotel
- Kimpton Hotel Palomar
- The Dupont Circle Hotel
- Kimpton Hotel Monaco
- Hilton McLean Tysons Corner
- Westin Georgetown
- Loews Madison Hotel
- Kimpton Carlyle Dupont Circle
- Embassy Row Hotel
- The Graham Georgetown
- Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor
- Liaison Capitol Hill
- W Washington D.C.
- The Watergate Hotel
- Kimpton Mason & Rook Hotel
- Kimpton Hotel Madera
- Morrison House, Autograph Collection, Alexandria
- Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
