The Ven at Embassy Row

We stayed at The Ven the first week of April 2024. It was clean and the staff was efficient. We were upgraded (due to an upgrade request - THANK YOU!) to a DuPont room in the 5th floor. The room added just a few feet from a normal room. This looked out onto Massachusetts Ave and the Portuguese Embassy. The hotel itself is situated in a great area. Only a block or so from the convenient and cheap Metro subway to get around DC. There is also a CVS a block away for any essentials. We dined at a few good restaurants locally (Zorba’s had excellent Greek food). The staff was great, the housekeeping came every day and were exceptional. We decided against the 60 bucks a day for valet parking and paid the 20 dollar day rate a block away at the PNC bank. Overall I highly recommend The Ven. It’s great and in a safe neighborhood! The Metro being so close is key - just a 10min ride from Metro Center and all the sites. Read less

The Ven was a major disappointment and not up to the standards I would expect in a Marriott property. Rooms are small and dated. I would not stay here again. The lobby is small and unimpressive. We were given a room on the second floor with ZERO privacy and terrible noise. It faced the street and car arrival area so unless we had the blackout curtains pulled closed the whole time, people could see directly into our room at all times. You could hear people talking outside the entire time. When we checked in, the staff excitedly told our children there was a game room. Of course, that was the first thing they wanted to do. Game room is an overstatement and nothing worked. There was a ping pong table with one ball. There was a foosball table with no ball. There was a PONG console but it would not power on. We asked several staff members who passed through the space if they could help and they shrugged. The first night there were guests next door who were up late partying, laughing and screaming. None of us could sleep. We assumed this was a business/family friendly hotel given its location in DC and website description but we were proved wrong. There is no real restaurant at the hotel. There is a counter you can order mediocre food from. There was just one server taking orders and a line a mile long. Both mornings of our stay there was a sign at the counter saying no specialty coffee drinks would be made because the machine was broken. The only thing available was barely drinkable drip coffee. They were out of croissants. Bacon was soggy. There was no staff clearing tables after guest left their dishes. I bussed a few tables myself to make space for our family. We had a hard time charging devices in the room as multiple outlets were not working. The room had two double beds, not queen, which was not ideal for a family of 4. Pillows were lumpy poly fill; no down feathers. The bathroom was so small you could barely move inside. Multiple areas of the room had peeling paint. It was cold for March so we turned the heating unit on at night but it was SO loud we couldn't sleep with it on, so we stayed cold. There was very light bedding and no extra linens in the closet. The morning of our check out, we stepped out for breakfast at a restaurant and when we came back to the room, housekeeping was cleaning even though we were checking out that day. We tried to explain she did not need to clean but she was insistent and waived a paper in our face saying our room was on the list. We finally got her to leave, packed our things, and left. Read less

Great location in DuPont circle just beside the metro . Lots of great places nearby to eat. Hotel itself is great. The beds are very comfortable and more than enough space for 4 people. Great shower and yes the bathroom is small but that does not create any issues. It has everything you need . The rooms were cleaned so well and it was very welcomed on a return from a busy day. Helpful staff too. A great place to stay! Read less

This is the second time to stay in this Marriott Brand, Tribute Portfolio. They seem to be interesting properties. This was in a fantastic location on Embassy Row and a walkable distance to the subway. The lobby was fun, the rooms were interesting. During our visit we were told by a long time DC resident that the roof top bar is quite popular, but it was closed during the Spring time. Definitely would stay here again. Read less