We received an offer from the L'Efant Hotel to spend a nite from Saturday to Sunday for a good rate. I booked the room, and was shocked to find that there were barely ANY hotel staff working during the weekend. The concierge gets paid by restaurants that he recommends, so when we asked for a close place to eat, he said the nearest was in Chinatown, which is 2 miles away. Philips seafood, a great restaurant, was 2 BLOCKS away. There were over 30 nice restaurants that were recommended by Zagats that were within a 1/2 mile. When I questioned him, he said he would NEVER recommend Philips.

The parking was ABSURD!! But, they do not tell you that until the end, and our bill was 70% above what they quoted.

When we needed directions, the front desk was absolutely LOST, and when we had a question about the room, they became absulutely RUDE that we would have a question. This is a M-F hotel, and any weekend guests are just profit, and treated like garbage.

I spent 4 days at the L'Enfant Hotel ( Jan, 19-23 of this yr. ( 2012). Was fairly disappointed. The lobby was five star and very comfortable. But the room I was in was disappointing. It was spacious and had a good view, but the cold air came right in through the windows . I always felt cold ! Thankfully, there was a thermostat , so I kept turning up the heat. The room was old and very worn. The carpet looked dirty, as did the ceiling air vent and the bathtub ( though the bathroom itself was a good size). The daily buffet breakfast was great ! There are 2-3 restaurants on the main floor, but I found them a bit expensive .Don't count on the restaurants and shops underneath the hotel to be of much help. Everything (except McDonalds) closes down at 6:00 p.m. ! That caught me by surprise ! And, unless you have a car, there are no other restaurants nearby to compensate for this.

This hotel is on top of a metro station that is 2 stops (2 minutes) from the centro station which brings you right out in central washington just round the corner form Ford's Theatre and only 1 stop on the blue line to the Smithsonian museums.

The hotel room itself was great...good size...nice view of the Potomac and Pentagon in the distance, comfortable and clean. The hotel restaurant left a lot to be desired...We were staying here 2 nights extra due to an early evacuation off the Outer Banks, NC due to Hurricane Irene, the new broadcasters were telling everyone in the D.C/West Virginia area to stay at home unless aboslutely necessary so we ate i the restaurant. The food was below average but the price far higher. The night after this we ordered a pizza from the hotel which was of equal standard. All in all...great hotel to stay in, reasonable price, fantatsic location but don't eat or drink here.

(If you get the lift down to the lowest level you will find a food court along where there are plenty of other options for breakfast and lunch...hurricane permitting...venture out for dinner.

I spent 10 nights here on a business trip, the hotel is a bit "old" but staff are friendly and helpful. the location is good, over a Metro and walking distance to Smithsonians. Arcade under has a food court for a quick breakfast on your way to the metro.