staying in dc on a weekend is usually inexpensive for a 4 star hotel in or near dupont circle but i was pretty surprised at my low rate for the donovan house...a new hotel by the thompson group who are pretty much in line with W Hotels for style in the boutique hotel space. paid $102 a night and was upgraded upon arrival to a suite so to speak. the room was nice and spacious...a one bedroom i guess. the pros are the location...safe and pretty central albeit not as central as dupont circle. the room is ultra modern and stylish and comfortable. the staff were very professional and accomodating. the pool was small but very nice to relax in. the price cannot be beat. the negatives were the lack of parking due to the amount of clubs nearby. its not noisy whatsoever in the rooms but it was hard to find a spot on sat night...we opted for the $35/night parking garage next door. the furniture while stylish were pretty uncomfortable. no hbo as well on the tv. the shower was definitely not great. no pressure and sort of awkward. im surprised theyd do it since its a lawsuit waiting to happen. overall, a total steal.

My wife and I stayed 1 night at the Donovan House, the very first night of our southeastern road trip. We arrived a little later than anticipated, but the staff - from the door man all the way to the front desk crew- eased our tensions and could not have been more welcoming. Our room was sweet, we received an upgrade to a king suite, and we relaxed for a bit on one of the comfiest beds I had in a hotel room. The Location was phenomenal, it is so close to everything. We walked to dinner, and then to the major monuments as night fell. we went back to the room and washed up (major cool points for the shower), and fell asleep early. The next day, we needed to be out early, so we went for a swim on the roof, which was as cool as it sounds. Great views, cool breeze, lemon infused water, just perfect. we will definitely be back. we loved it.

We love the decor of the room. The pictures look exaxctly like the room. The bed was very comfortable and the shower was a lot of fun. I really like the turn down service each night, because they leave ice for you and two chocolate candies. We did not get a free continental breakfast only free coffee. And the rooftop pool was not open. Overall the Donovan House was worth the money that we paid.

I stayed at the Donovan House for a week whilst in DC for business. First impressions very positive: good check-in, upgrade from queen to king, chic lobby, nice room with the spiral. The shower itself is a nice design feature, but from an experience perspective it is the same as a standard shower. The bed was comfortable, the free wi-fi fantastic and the iron was also good. All of these things would point towards a 5-point rating. However, the hotel lets itself down with some downsides. The pool closes at 7pm, my TV did not have the on-demand software working, the telephone was blank i.e. you do not know which button to press for housekeeping, concierge, mute, etc. Also, I ordered a meal from the Il Mulino delivery restaurant as the hotel does not have a restaurant at the moment and was told that it would take 30-45 minutes. About 90-120 minutes later the food arrived with no explanation of delay even though I had repeatedly been chasing the front desk. This is not acceptable. For the price I paid $149+tax the hotel was great, and if you are simply staying somewhere for the look of the room, and the design rather than everything already being working, I would recommend it. Thompson Hotels are the masters of progressive launches, so I am expecting some things to improve slowly with time.