Long Awaited Getaway
Hotels and Resorts, North America, Washington DCFor my first getaway since the pandemic began I headed to National Harbor outside of Washington, DC. A local hotel overlooking the Potomac River was having a grand re-opening after what was said to be millions of dollars in renovations. I was excited to see the changes that had been made since my last stay. I was among the first guests to arrive at the hotel on opening day. 
I must admit the hotel staff was welcoming but overall in my opinion the hotel had issues that should have been addressed before its grand re-opening. Not all the rooms were ready for guests on opening day as a result my room preference could not be accommodated. I noticed that a couple of the restaurants that had previously been open were not open they were boarded up with “Coming Soon†signs. I was able to order lunch at the Harbor Market Place. 
I was most excited to visit the pool area in order to enjoy an afternoon dip in the pool. I was disappointed to find the same layout from my previous stay a couple of years ago. I expected to see the doors opened for an indoor/outdoor pool experience but that was not the case. The water in the indoor pool was cold, the lounge seat cushions were old and had stains on them and the outdoor jacuzzi was filled with dirty water, the bar area was closed and there were dead leaves on the ground in the outdoor lounge area.
The guest rooms were beautifully decorated but I noticed “drill/saw dust†inside the drawers. There were a few cosmetic issues within the bathroom area that needed to be addressed but the biggest issue that I experienced during my stay was the lack of “hot waterâ€. At first I thought that if I allowed the water to run for a while it would eventually become hot but unfortunately it did not work. Of course, I contacted the front desk to notify them of the problem after waiting a half hour or more I tried running the water again to see if the problem had been resolved. To my surprise the water became warmer so I contacted the front desk and maintenance to inform them that the water was now getting warmer.
Afterwards, I went for a late afternoon stroll in National Harbor near the ferris wheel and to dinner. When I returned to the room the water was once again cold. By that time, I was exhausted and decided to tolerate the cold shower water. I expected my stay to be effortless on the first day of a hotel grand re-opening where millions of dollars were supposedly spent but at least it was nice to travel again!
