A assessment of The Morrow, a Curio Assortment by Hilton lodge in Washington, DC

Between two new Cover lodges, the Conrad Washington, D.C., the Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C. and The Morrow Resort, a Curio Assortment property — all opening throughout the previous 5 years — Hilton means enterprise in the case of the Washington, D.C. lodge scene.

Specifically, The Morrow represents a brand new foray for Hilton within the metropolis, opening as a part of the third Avenue District improvement challenge within the up-and-coming Union Station/NoMa neighborhood, which is brimming with new house buildings, eating places and grocery shops.

It additionally simply occurs to be a high-end lodge at an amazing worth (in money or factors) for anybody paying a go to to the nation’s capital. Here is what it is advisable to learn about The Morrow in Washington, D.C.

Opened in November 2022, The Morrow has 203 rooms and suites designed by the worldwide structure and inside design group Rottet Studio. Their spectacular checklist of previous design initiatives consists of The Surrey in New York, The 4 Seasons Chicago and the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles.

Stepping inside its castle-like double doorways, company are greeted by a light-filled, open foyer. The reception is in the back of the foyer, and there is ample seating with loads of sofas and armchairs.

Many company, myself included, have been fascinated by the Moët & Chandon Champagne merchandising machine tucked off to the facet. At $35 for a half-bottle, it is no discount, however a number of of us gathered round, ready to observe the machine in motion as one other visitor partook.

One other spotlight of the lodge is Le Clou, one in every of celeb chef Nicholas Stefanelli’s eating places. He is constructed a reputation with different D.C. eateries, together with Philotimo, Officina and the Michelin one-star Masseria.

Le Clou is a vibrant, welcoming brasserie-style restaurant. The menu options conventional staples like French onion soup ($14), duck confit ($32) and escargot ($21). The restaurant can also be identified for its “petite” (half a Maine lobster, a half-dozen oysters, 4 North Carolina shrimp and scallop al citronette for $88) and grand (complete Maine lobster, ceviche, a dozen oysters, crab royal, six North Carolina shrimp and scallop al citronette for $215) seafood towers.

To see what is going on on throughout your keep, discuss with the lodge’s calendar of occasions. Most weekends, the lodge holds festivities like cookie adorning, watercolor portray and yoga lessons. Not too long ago, the lodge hosted a rooftop Kentucky Derby celebration with mint juleps and Kentucky-themed cocktails.

Many of those occasions are complimentary for company.

I had reserved an ordinary king room, however the lodge upgraded me to a premium room as a Hilton Honors Diamond member. Premium rooms are about 150 sq. toes bigger than customary rooms. Most of that additional area is within the rest room, however you will additionally discover somewhat bit extra room to maneuver across the foot of the mattress.

Strolling into the room, the sunshine tan hardwood flooring, the trendy furnishings and the temper lighting created an upscale environment. Partially positioned on prime of a cream-colored rug with wavy blue patterning, the king mattress was wearing 300 thread-count linens with a luxurious cover. The pillows, with combine of soppy and agency variations, rested towards the winged headboard with light, horizontal lighting rising from its prime. On each side of the headboard have been half-globe lamps with USB and AC energy shops. Your entire room felt recent, and there was even that new lodge scent.

My view by way of the floor-to-ceiling window was of a residential view of some neighboring house buildings.

Contained in the closet have been a couple of dozen hangers, an iron and ironing board, a protected, a pair of slippers and plentiful drawer area.

Simply to the left of the closet have been a Lavazza espresso and low maker and loads of glassware.

The minibar (extra value), which was amongst essentially the most expansive I’ve seen, got here stocked with a number of manufacturers of wine, spirits and soda. It additionally featured three sorts of native beers. When you’re feeling peckish, dry snacks included sweets, blended nuts and different snacks.

One of the best a part of the room was the lavatory. The massive window, chevron-style stone flooring, glazed tile and round self-importance mirror with mild round its perimeter made this area glow.

There was an inviting soaking tub and a separate bathe. Beside the sink was a small make-up mirror and tub amenity field with a bathe cap, cotton pads and Q-tips.

The Morrow outfitted the lavatory with two journey units of Le Labo Santal 33 tub merchandise (every of which retail for $90), giving it a very high-end observe.

Hilton Gold and Diamond members obtain an $18 each day meals and beverage credit score per particular person (as much as two company). When checking in, the entrance desk agent requested if I had a companion staying with me to confirm that the meals and beverage credit score could be correctly allotted. Outdoors of the Champagne merchandising machine, you need to use the meals and beverage credit score in any respect the lodge’s eating shops, together with room service.

Breakfast on the Morrow did not disappoint. I invited my colleague, Emily Thompson, for breakfast on the primary day of my keep. I ordered the smoked salmon plate for $24, which was delectable. It got here with applewood-smoked salmon, capers, pink onion, a hard-boiled egg, dill cream cheese and a plain bagel. Emily ordered the Morrow breakfast for $22, with two farm eggs ready to her desire, roasted potatoes, toast and sausage.

The service, however, left room for enchancment. After we sat down, it took round 20 minutes for the server to return to our desk and take our order. It took about 45 minutes from after we ordered till we acquired our meals. Out of time, I approached the server station to settle the invoice as soon as we completed consuming.

Within the hope of discovering a faster possibility the following day, I ordered breakfast to my room. After calling room service, it took about 25 minutes to obtain my order, and the white-tablecloth meal trolley was elegant. The identical server who took my order over the telephone got here to ship the meal, which made me really feel like my order was effectively taken care of. The server greeted me by title and got here out and in rapidly, leaving me with a a lot better impression than my breakfast downstairs.

I had a bowl of berries for $8 and the child’s ache perdu for $18, a brioche-style french toast with an apple compote, caramelized condensed milk, Chantilly cream and walnuts. It was candy, gooey and spectacular. My eating credit score coated a few of the invoice, although I nonetheless ended up on the hook for $19.71 after taxes and a service cost.

Nightly charges at The Morrow are aggressive for DC

For a lodge of this caliber, a nightly fee of 60,000 Hilton Honors factors was cheap. For comparability, customary room charges on the no-frills Hilton Backyard Inn Washington, D.C./U.S. Capitol are additionally 60,000 factors per evening, and there is no query that The Morrow delivers a extra premium keep. Whereas the Hilton Backyard Inn affords a complimentary breakfast to all company, The Morrow is a full-service, refined property.

For different upscale Hilton stays in D.C., you will want extra factors. The Cover by Hilton Washington, D.C. Embassy Row sometimes requires 80,000 factors per evening, whereas the Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C. calls for 110,000 factors per evening and up most dates.

What’s extra, there’s plentiful customary room award availability at The Morrow for 60,000 factors within the upcoming months. As a reminder, Hilton Honors elite members obtain the fifth evening free when utilizing factors for traditional rooms.

Money charges common round $275 for entry-level rooms (however drop to $165 throughout off-peak dates in January), and if you wish to e-book a premium king room just like the one I used to be upgraded to, count on to spend an additional $50 or so extra per evening. Whereas the Morrow would not have a vacation spot payment, all stays underneath 30 nights are topic to the 15.95% D.C. occupancy tax.

TPG values 60,000 Hilton factors at $360, so in case your closing nightly room fee is corresponding to, or costlier than, this quantity, think about using factors. Since I stayed throughout peak cherry blossom season, room charges have been over $500 per evening, so utilizing factors made sense.

Accessibility at The Morrow

The Morrow affords mobility and hearing-accessible rooms. The mobility-accessible rooms both have roll-in showers or accessible bathtubs. Listening to-accessible rooms have visible alarms and notification gadgets for the doorbell and incoming calls. All through the lodge, you will discover braille signage.

On the lodge’s entrance, there are two stairs (with handrails), and off to the facet, there is a ramp. The elevators additionally featured wheelchair-height elevator controls.

The explanation why The Morrow Resort Washington may not be for you

• When you’re coming to D.C. to see the foremost vacationer points of interest, together with varied museums and monuments, this location may really feel out-of-the-way, although there are many new eating places and shops there. It is a four-block stroll to Union Station after which 4 stops on the Shady Grove-bound Purple Line to Farragut North, the metro cease three blocks from the White Home. Funds no less than half-hour in switch time from The Morrow to downtown.
• Rooms do not have a sofabed, and including a rollaway would have been a decent squeeze, so households may need to look elsewhere.
• Breakfast downstairs is not an in-and-out affair. Though there have been loads of empty tables when Emily and I ate, the restaurant felt understaffed. It took round 45 minutes for us to obtain our meals.