Salamander Washington DC

Everything was good 👍🏻

We really wanted to stay at the Salamander in January 2027 and intended on booking a

Premier Water View One Bedroom Suite and wanted to know how we guarantee our choice of either the Washington Marina or Jefferson Memorial view as it states on the website that both are available.

Given we are coming from the UK we wanted to book early so went to the website on 25th Feb, given that it states a choice of room view we tried to use the website chat, however after waiting 3 hours for a response we then emailed reservations@salamanderdc.com, not recieving a response I followed up with another email on the 27th, and as of 20:30 on the 28th have still not recieved a response.

We understand that hotels expect you to use the website to book rooms but we had a valid question and expected a response from both the website chat and especially the email address.

Given we intend to stay in DC for 7 nights the room cost was just over $12,500 so you would have expected a swift response, but no.

The room looks great, the view amazing, and it has one of our key requirements, an internal swimming pool, however we are now looking for alternative options.

One has to question, if that is how they deal with enquiries, what is the actual hotel service like!!!

Wonderful time! Beds so comfy. Malik the bellman is such a special person. Love him! Everyone was great though! Can’t wait to go back. My new regular hotel in the district.

Beautiful Hotel with exceptional staff! Location is great and close to the airport. I would stay again at this location.

Salamander is a beautiful hotel. Accommodations in room on arrival were not good and we had to be moved to another room. There is some detailing in room and hotel needing attention such as 4th floor hallway carpet by elevator torn and cosmetic issues in the rooms for price and reputation of this hotel. Overall, after issues addressed, stay was good. Would like to have said great, but first impressions mean a lot

Not worth the hype and money. Didn’t feel like a 5 star. Concierge not very friendly. Shower pressure was terrible. Will not recommend or return. The only positive was comfortable bed and fluffy towels.

This was an average stay at a luxury price. The check in had a super long line and only 2 staff working. It took 30 minutes to reach a desk agent. We stayed as part of the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program. Our check in letter indicated the hotel provided a welcome amenity. This never came. At about 9 pm, we called to inquire about the amenity. We were told we could get 2 welcome drinks at the lounge. The lounge said we needed a drink pass from the front desk. The front said they were out of passes and we didn’t need a pass. The lounge did not accept this response. We didn’t feel like waiting in line again…so we gave up on the welcome drinks. Breakfast was a disaster. 30 minute wait to be seated. No à la carte options available…only a buffet. The cream for the coffee had turned sour. My mom found hair in her eggs. $35 per person (plus $12 for a cappuccino) for picked over and limited options. The indoor pool was overrun by kids in the afternoon, evening and next morning. The vitality area of the spa had no access. Overall this was a disappointing stay. I suggest the park Hyatt or Pendry if you want a more luxury experience. This felt like a holiday inn with a much nicer bathroom.

We stayed at Salamander Washington DC from February 13–15 as a family of four, booked through Amex Platinum. Unfortunately, this was one of the most frustrating luxury hotel experiences we’ve had.

Prior to arrival, I had been emailing for weeks requesting adjoining or at least nearby rooms for our travel partners. When we arrived for early check-in, only one room was ready — which we understood, as early check-in is based on availability. We were told the second room would be directly across the hall, which would have been perfectly fine.
However, our travel partners’ room wasn’t ready for several more hours and ultimately ended up on a completely different floor. When we asked to have the rooms closer together, we were told they could accommodate this — but it required us to switch rooms after we had already settled in. We were told the new room would be ready in 30 minutes; it wasn’t ready for over two hours. We nearly missed our dinner reservation, and my husband had to stay behind to continue working through the issue with a manager.

Unfortunately, the room issues didn’t end there:

There was urine in the toilet in our new room upon arrival.

Our travel partners’ room had a visibly dirty bathtub and almost no water pressure.
Our room had no body wash; theirs had no conditioner.

We waited three hours for basic utensils to be sent up, calling three separate times for reminders. By the time they arrived, our food was completely cold.

We spent an inordinate amount of time speaking with management rather than enjoying our trip.

There was also consistent miscommunication among staff. We ordered drinks from Dogon to enjoy in the lobby. Our order was accepted, then a manager came out and said we weren’t allowed to do that — then reversed the decision. It felt disorganized and awkward.

At breakfast, they were unable to split our bill by room, which is a very standard request. We also felt strongly pushed toward the buffet and discouraged from ordering off the menu.

Finally, despite having guaranteed late checkout through our booking, our key cards stopped working hours before our confirmed checkout time.

For a property positioned as luxury — and at this price point — the level of disorganization, lack of cleanliness, and operational inefficiency was extremely disappointing. We spent far too much of our short stay troubleshooting basic service issues.
I would not recommend staying here again.

Title: Looks Luxury. Acts Budget.

The Salamander presents itself as a five-star hotel, but the service feels anything but.

My room was fully prepaid. The only issue at check-in was a small incidental authorization when my card needed a quick call to the bank. Instead of checking me in and letting me resolve it afterward — standard practice at real luxury hotels — I was told I could not go to my room and was invited to “wait in the lobby.” Not hospitality, just policy.

Housekeeping missed basics: there was no soap in the bathroom and it took two days to replace it.

A welcome drink coupon couldn’t be used for a cappuccino — only drip coffee — until I pushed back. A five-star hotel shouldn’t debate a few dollars over guest experience.

Lobby dining? Pleasant staff, but extremely slow service for simple food orders.

This hotel has the décor of luxury but the mindset of cost-control. Everything felt transactional and inflexible.

Five-star pricing, airport-hotel judgment.

Would not return.

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If you'd like, I can also tune the tone to be more surgical (corporate complaint style) or more emotional (traveler frustration style) depending on what impact you want.

Great room. Great location. Great service.

Always excellent facilities and friendly staff at the Salamander. I always enjoy my stay for business. I look forward to my visits every time.

Room size and comfort. Attentive staff.

My company holiday party was held here. From the valet through check in to the party and check out and valet everything was excellent.

Everything was perfect

good location , room clean and nice

The property was very beautiful. I love the location. I really enjoyed the rooms. They were very comfortable.

Rachael Folorunsho in customer care was amazing assisting me with my brothers and sister's 50th birthday celebrations. Her recommendations and attention to detail was terrific! She deserves a bonus!