You can hardly go wrong by choosing to stay at the Embassy Suites Old Town Alexandria. I’m not saying it’s perfect (more on that in a moment), but it’s darn close. To begin, you can’t beat the location. The Embassy Suites sits just across the street from the King Street Metro, the King Street Trolley and Amtrak, making it a breeze to get to all the fun in Old Town or the greater D.C. area. And if that’s not enough door-to-door service for you, simply hop the complimentary Embassy Suites’ shuttle and ask to be taken to any destination within a two-mile range.
The Embassy Suites’ guest rooms boast two large rooms with a kitchenette and two TVs. You heard right: there’s a door between the two rooms, so the kids sleep on a pullout couch in the suite’s living room and the parents snooze in an-honest-to-goodness bedroom. Alone. (If you catch my drift.) The bathroom isn’t huge, but it’s clean and updated. The kitchenette provides counter space, a microwave, a small refrigerator and a sink.
The Embassy Suites’ impressive buffet breakfast that they’re famous for is a traveler’s dream with one caveat: arrive early. My kids and I sauntered down at 9:00 a.m. Turns out so did everyone else. A line of people snaked around the omelet station, another moved at a snail’s pace toward the eggs and potatoes (both surprisingly tasty) and another stood statue-like in front of the juice station. However, my husband, who ducked down around 7:30 a.m. to grab a cup of coffee, said it was quiet and loaded with food. The dining area is large and lovely while patio seating is perfect for enjoying breakfast on an Alexandria spring or fall morning.
Families also dig the Embassy Suites’ Manager’s Reception, which serves a small snack buffet with complimentary chips, salsa and popcorn. My sons were thrilled to see a favorite: small slices of chocolate cake. (Because their life is so lacking.) And grown ups are thrilled to see complimentary wine and beer. Stronger drinks are just $2.
But I’m sad to report (cue flutes playing softly) cheerless news: The indoor pool is pretty silly. The pool and space around it is teeny without a single window looking out of the cell. My boys took one glance, yawned and vanished. I looked longingly at the medium-sized whirlpool but had to search for my kids.
The fitness center was under renovation when I visited, so hard to predict the outcome, but I’m guessing it will be rather small with three or four cardio machines with a TV on each. You will find a laundry room with coin machines and free soap at the front desk. Embassy Suites is charging for the Internet at $10 per day, per unit and the parking isn’t pretty either.
Whole Foods is very close to Embassy Suites (we drove and used the Whole Foods very nice underground parking, but you can easily walk it if you don’t mind crossing a busy street with kids in tow. Not my favorite thing). If you don’t feel like eating out of a grocery bag, climb aboard the free Embassy Suite shuttle and ask to be dropped at Redrocks Pizza which is a total of three minutes away.
Learn more about Embassy Suites.
