We have just returned from a three night stay at the Park Hyatt Washington. I took my family to D.C. to celebrate the Fourth of July. All four of us left D.C. suitably impressed with the PHW.

When the four of us travel together we always book two connecting rooms. Sometimes this works out smoothly and sometimes it doesn't. We arrived at the hotel at 9:15 am having asked for early check-in but not really expecting anything that early in the day. The front desk explained that our children's room was ready but apologized that our room, we had booked a Park Deluxe King, was still occupied. No problem! We were happy to have a room to put our luggage into rather than just leave it in storage. The four of us piled into the kids' room, a Park Twin (with two twin beds), at 9:30 am and then proceeded out of the hotel to explore the city. When we arrived back at the hotel later that afternoon we were told that our second room was ready. Did I say room? What I meant to say was suite! My husband and I had been upgraded to a Park Suite which connected to our children's room. This suite was amazing! It was over 1,000 square feet and had a living room, a study, a bedroom, and two bathrooms! This combination of suite and connecting room is now our gold standard in family travel. It will be hard to beat.

Location, Location, Location! On our last family trip to D.C. we stayed at the St. Regis and were rather disappointed in the location. Yes, it is close to the White House and the Metro but at night that area was pretty dead and there weren't many choices when it came to restaurants, except for Olives, which is excellent. We decided that on our next visit we would stay in or near Georgetown, which has a fun vibe and doesn't close down after six p.m. We picked the Park Hyatt Washington because we are familiar with the Park Hyatt brand, it is very close to Georgetown (which is two blocks away), and has easy access to the Metro (Foggy Bottom-GWU) about four-five blocks away. We chose the PHW over the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton Georgetown because these two hotels have no close access to the Metro and the PHW had the best deals of all three. We were very happy with our decision. The Metro station was less than a ten minute walk, all of it through a pleasant residential/hotel area. Georgetown is also about a ten to twenty minute walk, depending of your destination. Our kids love Pizzeria Paradiso, and I am a big fan of Dean & Deluca, both took about fifteen minutes to walk to from the PHW. The bellmen/doormen at the hotel are particularly helpful and welcoming. They provided us with bottles of water when we returned after a long day of walking around the Mall and also had plenty of umbrellas available when it looked like rain was a possibility.

We were fortunate that our hotel rate included breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast menu was varied and had something for everyone. The continental breakfast had a nice layout of pastries, (the cherry coffee cake with cardamom streusel is something that all four of us are going through withdrawal from this morning), fruit, cereal, and the like. The staff in the restaurant were all very helpful and the service was excellent. The four of us celebrated the Fourth of July with dinner at the Blue Duck Tavern, the Park Hyatt Washington's acclaimed restaurant. I was a bit trepidatious because not all hotel restaurants live up to their hype. I can think of a few Park Hyatt hotel restaurants that have been a disappointment in the past. Needless to say our meal at the Blue Duck Tavern was delicious. We ordered a number of entrees and side dishes for all four of us to share. Our dessert plates were almost licked clean. Before I forget, talking about food got me thinking about the PHW concierge. This hotel's concierge service is impeccable. They were able to get us reservations and any other information that we requested in a timely manner. If anything needed extra research or time they were quick to give me a call as soon as the information was obtained.

All in all, we would highly recommend the Park Hyatt Washington to everyone, be they leisure or business travelers. The hotel itself, its staff, its restaurant, and its location are all unbeatable if you are traveling to D.C. We will be staying there next time we are in D.C.