Washington DC (Sept 29-Oct 2)

I had to make a quick trip to Washington DC for work. On one of the nights, there was a reception and dinner for us at the Smithsonian Castle. Since I had never been to the Castle before, it was a welcome change from a convention dinner at the hotel. During the post-dinner presentation, we also learned quite a bit about the history of the Smithsonian Institution.

Inside the castle....

I stayed at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza. For the most part, I was pleased with this hotel. The first night, I was rather grossed out when I pulled the comforter back and discovered this blanket on the bed.
I wasn't certain if this was a set-in stain or fresh (and had no plans to find out). I called housekeeping and asked them to send somebody up to give me new blankets. I guess I should have been more specific, because they just brought a new blanket. I'm sorry, but with something on the bed that looks that disgusting, I expect the entire bed to be stripped and made fresh. The woman from housekeeping had to make a second trip to get everything to completely make the bed from scratch. At least she was very polite about it.


Also, the in-room internet did not work reliably. You can go to the front desk for a signal booster, but they have limited quantities of those (they had already run out when I requested one). So, they got my $9.95 for internet, and I got a whopping 30 minutes (total - across multiple attempts within 24 hours) of connection. It's already a pet peeve of mine when $200+/night hotels charge for internet, but it's inexcusable when they charge and then can't deliver reliable service.