cocobinga Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I'm coming to town for a comedy show in March (Lincoln Theatre) and looking to burn my IHG anniversary free night award. Which one would you choose? I probably won't do a lot of sightseeing - mostly dining and taking in the show. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithstg Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Given the focus on dining and the show I'd recommend the Wharf over the Willard, and I haven't even looked at the Wharf yet! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 17 minutes ago, cocobinga said: I'm coming to town for a comedy show in March (Lincoln Theatre) and looking to burn my IHG anniversary free night award. Which one would you choose? I probably won't do a lot of sightseeing - mostly dining and taking in the show. Thanks in advance! I've been inside The Willard's rooms (probably close to 20 years ago), and they were pretty dingy - room service food was as bad as you could possibly imagine. It gets perfect scores on Architecture and Location, but other than that, it was distressingly ordinary at the time. That said, I have no doubt that IHG has renovated everything, probably several times, since then. The best thing about the Willard is that you could walk to the theater if you wanted, and it's right in the heart of things. Funny story: I was there with a couple friends for a wine tasting. We were starving, and ordered room service hamburgers and fries, which took an hour, and all the food was just God-awful, and I mean these were as bad as what you get at Tune Inn. Jon Karl calls down, gives them a spiel, and closes by saying, "... and this just didn't reflect the level of quality and service that we've come to expect from The Willard" (neither of us had ever been). They comped the meal ha ha ha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 The thing about hotel companies is that both hotels have a booking connection to IHG. They are run by two different groups who run and manage the hotels. They both need to follow certain standards as established by IHG. Having said that there is a significant level of leeway on what they do as management groups, whom they hire, how devoted and focused they are as hotel operators. I can't speak to that in the individual cases. The Willard is operated by the Carr Company, or what used to be the Carr Company that was one of the major real estate developers in DC. They operate some restaurants and the hotel outside of their real estate. They have operated the Willard for some decades. I have heard that their focus on the restaurant and hotel properties at various times was a little "less" than optimal. That is of course hearsay: it did come from various managers though. The Willard is within walking distance while the Wharf is the new shining dining entertainment area of the city. I have no idea if the IHG bennies you have extend to the hotel restaurants or not, but if I were at the Willard I'd try and dine at the Occidental if I could use the bennies for dining...and if they would accommodate that switch. Its also operated by Carr. The bar menu has been top notch for a while and the food generally gets good reviews and is better than the restaurants in the Willard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocobinga Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 Thanks all. I think I'll end up at The Wharf. It's a little far away from the hustle and bustle, but only a 10-minute walk from a Metro station (Waterfront). It's a straight shot from there to the U St station. For dining, I think I'll do Seki and Kinship, with the comedy show as an intermezzo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 7 hours ago, cocobinga said: For dining, I think I'll do Seki and Kinship, with the comedy show as an intermezzo. It closed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocobinga Posted February 21, 2019 Author Share Posted February 21, 2019 30 minutes ago, DonRocks said: It closed. What a circus that was! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocobinga Posted February 21, 2019 Author Share Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/20/2019 at 11:21 AM, cocobinga said: Thanks all. I think I'll end up at The Wharf. It's a little far away from the hustle and bustle, but only a 10-minute walk from a Metro station (Waterfront). It's a straight shot from there to the U St station. For dining, I think I'll do Seki and Kinship, with the comedy show as an intermezzo. On second thought, I might try to sneak into Little Serow around 9PM. Kinship seems like an odd choice for a solo diner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 15 minutes ago, cocobinga said: On second thought, I might try to sneak into Little Serow around 9PM. Kinship seems like an odd choice for a solo diner. It isn't - the bar at Kinship is perfect for a solo diner. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocobinga Posted February 21, 2019 Author Share Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/21/2019 at 12:36 PM, DonRocks said: It isn't - the bar at Kinship is perfect for a solo diner. Good to know! I've been salivating over that lobster french toast since its inception. Maybe I can finally cross it off the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Slater Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 7 hours ago, cocobinga said: Good to know! I've been salivating over that lobster french toast since its inception. Maybe I can finally cross it off the list! It is definitely worth it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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