Palomar is the type of place that makes you feel welcome from the moment you drive up. Valet took the car and bags, front lobby has a roaring fire and wine flowing (how is that, a wine tasting EVERY day), front desk gets us into our room in a flash. So far so good.

Executive King room was large and brand new. Big bed, great bathroom, flatscreen tv etc.

Headed down for dinner, to Urbana, one of the best new restaurants in DC and totally fell in love. Apps were delicious, drinks were well made, pizza, oysters, grilled Brussels Sprout. Man, what can I say. Off the charts.

Had breakfast the next day in Urbana again, and it was again a home run. Eggs Benedict, Juice, coffee and a very reasonable bill.

This hotel is in the best neighborhood in DC....walking distance to everything...and really treats their guests right. Loved it and will be back soon.

We absolutely loved our stay here and I am now in the middle of booking our second stay (and third Kimpton hotel) at the moment!

The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful - always smiling and happy to assist with anything we needed :)

We loved our room and especially loved our late night room service. We were incredibly jetlagged and woke up hungry at a crazy hour after sleeping all afternoon.. the staff were so lovely. When we mentioned we had completely slept through dinner we were asked if we missed the evening wine reception - which we had. So we were offered wine with our meal to make up for it.. I was so sleepy and didn't want wine so my partner said "just one glass will be fine".. and they then brought apple juice for me instead, just to be nice! It was so perfect :) The small things make an overall stay simply wonderful.

We loved the food and the atmosphere and you can't beat the location. We were walking distance to great restaurants too. I really can't rave about it enough, our experience was perfect. Will definitely be there again in April :)

I have been a huge fan of Kimpton for a long time, so it saddens me to write that my recent return to the Palomar was a disappointment. The lobby has turned dingy and the first room to which I was shown was a disaster. I paid extra for a "suite". Unfortunately this suite (836 I believe) was one very dark, dank medium sized room cut into two, complete with a view of the garbage out back. Yummy! The bathroom door was some kind of hanging slider that even a Motel 6 would be embarrassed to use. I tend to be somewhat choosey, but let me say that this room was unquestionably one of the worst rooms I've ever encountered. Now to be positive: the staff was very helpful and understanding, especially Suzanne at the front desk and the bell man who showed me to a different room. Both get big kudos. Suzanne found me a double king on the front side of the hotel that was a vast improvement. Back to negative: The hotel looks tired. The dreary early 60's decore no longer looks artsy, merely old and worn out. All in all, I would no longer rate the Palomar #1 in DC.

I think it is hard to overestimate how much an enthusiastic, cheerful greeting can brighten your day and affect your perception of a hotel, maybe even of a city in general. So kudos to the Palomar staff. Every staff person we encountered went out of their way to be pleasant and welcoming to us. The personable attitude even made up for a mattress that could be more comfortable, a very small bathroom and some quirky details like lack of coffee in the room and a too-short hair dryer cord. We try to stay in a different hotel every time we visit DC (which is often since we live fairly close). The Palomar is our favorite so far.