The hotels in the city centre of Washington DC are extraordinarily expensive and we were hesitant to choose the outer suburbs of the city as we'd heard varied reports about the safety of certain areas and poor reviews of hotels that were in safer areas, so we had to decide between staying in Alexandria in Virgina, which has a metro train running to Washington DC and is apparently a very nice area to stay in or Lanham in Maryland, which is close to New Carrollton metro station which is also serviced by Amtrak. We chose this hotel because then we didn't have to take our luggage all the way through Washington to Alexandria. Unfortunately though, the train station is a 5-10 minute drive (depending upon traffic) from the station. The hotel offers a free shuttle service hourly to and from the train station but if you miss it you have to catch a taxi cab. With regard to location and the fact that we were doing all of our activities in Washington DC, if we went back, we would probably choose somewhere closer to the city because even though the area around the hotels closer to the city can be considered to be in unsafe areas, we didn't go outside this hotel either so it wasn't probably something we should've worried about.
Aside from location, our room had 2 double beds and as we only used one of the beds for sleeping, we had lots of room for our luggage. The room contained a good-size bar fridge, a microwave and had air-conditioning that we could adjust ourselves instead of being centrally-controlled. The bed was comfortable but the pillows were square-shaped and were too firm for me.
Breakfast included: juice (orange, apple), tea, coffee, waffle iron, 3 types of cereal, pastries, muffins, bread and toaster, precooked scrambled eggs, french toast and porridge.
We stayed here for two nights and would stay again if it were close to where we wanted to spend our time.

The staff service was good. But the hotel and rooms are in need of renovations. The first room that was given to me on the 6th floor was located directly across from the elevators. I could hear the elevator doors open and closing every time some one used them. The ceiling above the elevator and next to the room showed water and rust damage and was in need of serious repair. I immediately requested another room and was accommodated. The bathroom was also small when the door opened it almost hit the toilet.

We were totally happy with this hotel and staff. We used the van transportation every day to get to the metro to go into Washington DC. It was very efficient. All of the employees that we encountered were very professional, knowlegeable and nice. We enjoyed the continental breakfast. Our rooms were clean and comfortable.

We almost rebooked based on previous reviews; glad we didn't. The lobby is beautiful and welcoming; it was ideal for a late evening discussion with a foreign family about driving north. Our room was clean and updated; the bathroom was clean and basic. Noise on the floor varied; Wed was very loud until 1 AM but Thurs was very quiet. The breakfast room has seen better days, but the buffet was excellent. The pool is very basic; we agree with the condensation comment. At no time did we encounter any of the smells other reviewers mentioned. The shuttle to the Metro was terrific; front desk staff very helpful.