Comfort Inn Ballston

"Had to attend weekend classes at American University. Thank you for having free parking, great rates, breakfast, and convenient location. I will definitely book and stay here again. It also has a rental car company on site."

"Let's start with the good. It was within budget for a company event and close to where I needed to be. The breakfast area was stocked and hot foods were hot. Upon entering the room, it looked on the newer side and didn't smell horrible. The Internet worked. The TV worked. The fridge was clean. The microwave was clean. It was a good size room and worked good enough for my four night stay. I did not experience the daily housekeeping service that was offered as I put my "do not disturb" sign out and it was respected. Parking was easy to find and was free which is why I cancelled the previous place I booked because after parking it would not be within the travel budget set by my company. The water was hot, the toilet flushed, and the ac/heat wall unit worked as expected. All good things I appreciate in life. Now for the not so great....it was dirty. From the appearance of not being vacuumed by the beds to not being swept (see picture of giant hairball in the bathroom), to the back of the toilet needing a good wipe down, and soiled/stained towels with long back hairs falling from them when I grabbed one after a shower, it was disappointing. The first thing I noticed was the little shampoo was not full. I believe if they are trying to save the environment and get the most out of the mini bottles, they should mount some on the walls they can lock down and refill as needed because being offered used amenities in my opinion is gross. The good news is the front desk agent was able to get me two fresh bottles. As you can see in the picture, the one that was there to welcome me was not full when compared to one straight from the front desk. The bathroom was small but the overall room size was great. The closet is right there when you first walked in and was nice. I could see its benefit to provide privacy to the rest of the room and liked the design to break up the room a little. The side of the tub was also not so much dirty as just old and stained. I didn't try to scrub it but it could use a good scrub and hopefully that would get rid of some discoloration and the dirty appearance. I also thought the tile looked funny under the vanity but when I looked closer, I realized it was a bunch of hair that wasn't mine. It was from a light colored and long haired head. The mirror was also not spot free but it was large and I didn't need to look through the dirty spot to see myself. This location is a little more noisy than I expected but I also don't live in a city so it's possible the noise was as expected for others. I usually sleep like a rock but instead felt like I was sleeping on one and couldn't find the right pillow to avoid tossing and turning through the night. I did not sleep well in the bed but that was my preference and others may like it. I will say when I checked in I was greeted when I walked through the door. I never saw her again and it seemed the other front desk agents would look away and try to avoid people walking in which is fine with me. I don't need to be greeted each time I pass the front desk but it didn't allow me to say the service was anything special or that people were jumping up and down to give wonderful service to guests. I would say my stay was below average which is the reason for the two stars but I may try it again to see if it was just that room or is an overall issue with the property. I saw a woman with a clipboard talking to the cleaning crew so it seemed official and like things were getting done but maybe they missed the final inspection of my room."

"Booked a block of rooms for a wedding - ALL the guests were extremely happy. The manager was way easier to book a block of rooms with than any of the other hotels in the area I tried, and the price could not be beat. Every staff member that I had contact with was excellent, and I would DEFINITELY recommend this hotel to anyone."

"The room was very spacious and well insulated from the noise of traffic. The personnel were very helpful. The shuttle service to the Metro Station was very good. The breakfast was average and could have been better if they had their guests better under control: some took a pile of bacon (half of which they left on their plate) and/or fresh fruit for two days with the result that nothing was left for late comers. The restaurants nearby were horribly overpriced for the quality."

"Travelled for a conference so wasn’t at the room much. It was clean and had all the conveniences needed like fridge and microwave. Breakfast was standard for this type of hotel - lots of bagels and sugary cereal. I wasn’t a fan of all the single use plates and cutlery but seems to be the norm in the US. The room wasn’t ready at checkin but they let me store my bags. Free shuttle to the metro station"