I actually work in Wilmington and live about a 15 minute drive away. I have been to the Hotel DuPont for many, many events (breakfasts, lectures, charity auctions, etc.) Over the holiday weekend, my significant other and I were out drinking with friends. I was staggering back to my car when I realized that I really shouldn't be driving, so I staggered into the Hotel DuPont instead. I was given the weekend rate (weekends are heavily discounted given that most people come to Wilmington for business rather than pleasure) of $169 for the King Jr. suite (my room looked exactly like DEBarbie's room). I have to say, I was pretty impressed with the service and the accommodations given that they are located here in Wilmington. I actually felt that the Hotel was certainly on par with my stay at the Ritz Carleton in Battery Park in NYC, and better than many other highly rated hotels where I have stayed.
The lady at the front desk got me checked in quickly, didn't blink an eye at my lack of luggage and asked if I needed help to my room. I was overjoyed to learn that they had 24 hour room service (so many places shut down late at night!). The menu was fairly limited (soup, salad and sandwich type stuff), but I was grateful for it. The thing that really surprised me was that the food was actually fairly good. The pizza crust tasted freshly made and the sandwich bread was thickly sliced and also tasted fresh.
I also enjoyed the enormous bathtub, the cotton bathrobes and the nicely scented soaps and shampoos. The bathroom large and had a large counter. The bedroom rug was thick and soft. There was a large flat screen tv that could swivel to face either the full length couch or the bed, which were on opposite ends of the room. I got a kick out of the pamphelet that pouted out the DuPont products used in the room.
I request breakfast room service at 10am but found I was awake and hungry again by 7:30. The Green Room opens early for breakfast, so I decided to go down to eat rather than wait. When I called to cancel the room service, the person who answered cheerfully agreed to cancel my order and asked if everything was ok or if there was anything else he could do for me.
I enjoyed my breakfast in the Green Room. The Hotel DuPont truly has excellent coffee and the waiter was at my elbow with a silver coffeepot every time I drained my cup. My eggs and scrapple were perfectly cooked (I got a kick out of eating scrapple in the french cuisine oriented Green Room) and I reluctantly set off for home after breakfast. I so thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Hotel that I'm trying to figure out how to justify another stay there.
By the way, another commentor recommended the Marriott Courtyard in lieu of the Hotel DuPont, which I find extraordinary. A couple of years ago I managed to lock myself out of my office in the middle of winter. It was freezing outside and the Marriott let me hang out in the warm until our receptionist arrived to open the office. I didn't see the rooms, but the common areas were small, uncomfortable and dingy. We also had some business associates stay at the Marriott and after one night they moved to the Sheraton on Delaware Avenue. I have to agree with them; if you don't want to pay the DuPont rates, the second best bet downtown is probably the Sheraton.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC