Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square

Dupont Circle and Embassy Row, Washington DC

Superior Room
Deluxe Luxury Room
Superior Room
Superior Room
Deluxe Luxury Room
Superior Room

The hotel

Featuring a certain sense of pizazz throughout as well as numerous contemporary comforts and state-of-the-art facilities, the Sofitel Washington on Lafayette Square provides all the answers to your shopping, sightseeing and entertainment dreams. Head to the Opaline Bar & Brasserie for French-inspired cuisine and a specialty cocktail. All in all this is one Washington postcode that's worthy of your attention and not just because of the White House, the Washington Monument and the National Theatre which are all within a well-aimed stone's throw from the Sofitel's front door.

Amenities

  • Bar
  • Spa
  • Room Service
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Laundry Service
  • Internet Access
  • Close to City Centre
  • Restaurant

Where is it

Situated on the corner of Lafayette Square bordering the White House and close to numerous downtown sites including Smithsonian museums, war memorials and vast green parks. Transfer time from Dulles International Airport: 35 minutes.

Hotel information

237 rooms and suites on 12 floors. All with air-conditioning, 55” HDTV, Bose© sound system, mini-bar*, coffee maker, separate bath and rain shower, hairdryer and iron and board. Superior Rooms are 370-400 sq ft and have 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. 

Deluxe Luxury Rooms are 400-450 sq ft and have 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Junior Suites are 426-475 sq ft and have a separate living area with additional TV, with 1 king-size bed in the bedroom and pullout sofa bed in the living area, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 1 child. 

Opaline Bar & Brasserie (classic French food, seasonal dishes and cocktails, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner). Fitness centre. In-room spa services*. Concierge. Laundry/dry-cleaning and ironing service*. Complimentary WiFi.

*Denotes local charge.

Please note: one person must be aged 21 years and over in each room at check-in.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (2502)
  • Very good (947)
  • Average (209)
  • Poor (91)
  • Terrible (38)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Sadly Disappointing

Oct 13, 2021 Atlanticroamer

I rarely write reviews but my disappointment with my stay at this hotel has persuaded me to do so. I have stayed at numerous Sofitels and enjoyed the luxury they provide. The Washington hotel does the Sofitel brand reputation no good. While appreciating the challenges posed by COVID, everything seemed a little tired. One of the two telephones… Read more
I rarely write reviews but my disappointment with my stay at this hotel has persuaded me to do so. I have stayed at numerous Sofitels and enjoyed the luxury they provide. The Washington hotel does the Sofitel brand reputation no good. While appreciating the challenges posed by COVID, everything seemed a little tired. One of the two telephones in my room did not work, the sink plug was stuck and the fridge door was broken. Having asked for it to be fixed, the fridge did not work at all. I looked behind the desk it was mounted as part of to check it was plugged in and found rubbish including old water bottles that had clearly been there for some time. I had to ask for bathrobes, usually a standard provision. Service in the restaurant was slow, albeit the staff were very pleasant. Overall the hotel needs some love and care. If it wasn’t for the location my rating would have been 2 rather than 3. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Mostly Good.

Oct 12, 2021 Tvlplb Tel Aviv, Israel

My wife & I have stayed at Sofitel many times when visiting family. It has always been top notch, yet it has suffered the fortunes that all hospitality has during Covid. Minimal overall staff, housekeeping, grounds maintenance, etc. Missed not having the canvas laundry bag. Yet it still feels mostly comfortable, especially this last visit.… Read more
My wife & I have stayed at Sofitel many times when visiting family. It has always been top notch, yet it has suffered the fortunes that all hospitality has during Covid. Minimal overall staff, housekeeping, grounds maintenance, etc. Missed not having the canvas laundry bag. Yet it still feels mostly comfortable, especially this last visit. Management delivered a very much appreciated large bottle of sparkling water and a small variety of snacks. The 2 standouts were AHMED & CHRIS. We were warmly remembered & greeted by Ahmed at Valet, who remained friendly during our stay, even when we did not require his services to retrieve our car. Chris the restaurant Maitre'd likewise remembered us as returning guests and cared for us professionally. The breakfasts (served indoor and outside on sidewalk patio), seemed minimalist, but OK. We do miss the roving croissants and pastries of years past. Keeping the lobby coffee urn for us early risers is a solid. Check-in could have been friendlier with maybe a welcome back acknowledgement, but you can't have everything. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating For the cost, they are not living up to the Sofitel Brand

Oct 12, 2021 Rebecca G Austin, Texas

I've stayed at Sofitel hotels all over the world and I must say this one was very disappointing. I know that everyone is short staffed but they should not be charging the high rates they are charging if they are really not ready to provide the services that should go with them. I'll start by saying that I've rated this 3 stars because the… Read more
I've stayed at Sofitel hotels all over the world and I must say this one was very disappointing. I know that everyone is short staffed but they should not be charging the high rates they are charging if they are really not ready to provide the services that should go with them. I'll start by saying that I've rated this 3 stars because the location couldn't be better. Five minute walk to the White House. Its beautiful and many restaurants nearby. However, the hotel was a problem. We had two rooms, neither was cleaned during any of the days we were there. It was clean when we got the room so they must be only cleaning the rooms between guests. The toilet was broken in one room and the door stuck in the other. I was able to get service for the toilet after calling downstairs, which was easier said than done because the phones ring and ring and ring with no one picking them up. (15 minutes before I hung up one time.) Everything seems to be sent through the front desk right now. They are being asked to handle everything, including breakfast, which you have to order the night before and pick up from the front desk. This worked fine the first day but the second day they'd forgotten to put in my order and we didn't get our breakfast. (Thank goodness Starbucks is around the corner.) The mini-bars are not stocked. Again, you have to go to the front desk to buy anything that might have been in the minibar. Except for alcohol, which you can only buy from the bar, which is only open very limited hours. No bathrobes in the rooms and without housekeeping bringing new towels, its frustrating. I know that everywhere is understaffed right now. I am sure they are trying really hard. But, if they are going to charge luxury rates, they need to provide some kinds of luxury services or lower the cost to what is appropriate for so little. I would recommend either waiting until they re-staff or skipping this Sofitel altogether. I'm thinking of canceling the reservation we have at another one coming up soon and booking at a different hotel chain. Again, I don't mind not having services if I haven't paid to have them. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Too over-rated

Oct 6, 2021 Catalina3101 Miami, Florida

We (4 persons) stayed here for five days, we chosen a great hotel brand as Sofitel but after this trip we wouldn´t choose it again. We've been advised about the pick-up breakfast and others "covid protocols" but this we felted like a joke.. it's a very expensive hotel and the breakfast is expensive as if you consumed it in the restaurant, but… Read more
We (4 persons) stayed here for five days, we chosen a great hotel brand as Sofitel but after this trip we wouldn´t choose it again. We've been advised about the pick-up breakfast and others "covid protocols" but this we felted like a joke.. it's a very expensive hotel and the breakfast is expensive as if you consumed it in the restaurant, but no! They don't have housekeeping services either, only change the towels if you ask about it but don't remove the old towels. We can't believe the level of dirty, we stayed there for five days and they never changed the bed sheets!!!! I asked several times to change the bed sheet at least but the response was always the same "covid protocols". I understand all about covid but this is more than that, it's a little bit of respect for the guest. The mattress was very uncomfortable and the beds are very small. The attention was ok. It's undeniable that the location is amazing and the restaurante is pretty cool. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Concierge could care less about us

Sep 26, 2021 chrisc431 PA

I went inside to check in and barely made it to the desk when my husband came in said he was told that he would need to move our the vehicle or else he would get ticketed. We had literally just pulled up. So our visit wasn’t starting off on a good foot. Upon arriving to our room it was clean and neat. I requested a refrigerator prior to our… Read more
I went inside to check in and barely made it to the desk when my husband came in said he was told that he would need to move our the vehicle or else he would get ticketed. We had literally just pulled up. So our visit wasn’t starting off on a good foot. Upon arriving to our room it was clean and neat. I requested a refrigerator prior to our arrival. It was in the room. As noted by another commentator we also missed having housekeeping. You spend so much money for a hotel and would have been nice to come back to a room that had been straightened up and having the trash removed. They were very quick about delivering towels upon request. Odd thing about the beds there was no top sheet on our bed just a duvet. We requested to have a top sheet which they delivered quickly. We used the valet service for one night and valets were very helpful pleasant friendly and chatty. My biggest complaint with our stay was the lack of follow through and interest in us as guests. When we checked in I asked the concierge if they did anything special if a guest was celebrating a special occasion. He asked what we were celebrating (our anniversary ) and said he would look into it and let me know. He also said that because it was later in the day, if they would do anything it wouldn’t take place until the next day. I said that was fine. On day two we were gone all day but when we returned to our room there was nothing placed in our room not a note or a phone message nothing at all. On day three we still had not received anything. I went back to the concierge desk and spoke with Messi. I told him the conversation that I had on arrival with the concierge who checked us in. There was nothing noted for our room. He said because of Covid he wasn’t sure if there was anything big that they could do but he would look into it. I watched him write down our room number and our name and he said he would need to speak with Jimmy. Within a few minutes Jimmy approaches the concierge desk and Messi asks him if they are doing anything if guests are celebrating a special occasion. Jimmy says he wasn’t sure but he will take care of it as he walked away. The next day still nothing. On our last day as we are checking out Messi asks how was our stay I said it could have been better his response was oh and processed my bill. Please don’t get me wrong I was not looking for an extravagant token to help us celebrate our special occasion. A voucher for a piece of cake or a drink from the bar or a can of $7 Pringles or even a note or message saying they can’t do anything but Happy Anniversary, would have been appreciated. After three attempts it was very disappointing that so little interest was shown as in us as guests. I’m not sure if it was because they were lazy , disinterested or if we are not the type of guests they would put in the extra effort for. If you’re celebrating a special occasion don’t go here because they could care less. Read less