Hotel Nell - Union Market

I visit DC once a month and The Nell always looks after me, and takes really great care. Thankful for this place. Good vibes. Awesome location.

Very unwelcoming for a front desk and not forward thinking. He was chatting with his friends while there was a line of guest waiting to check in, when he came to us, we asked whether a room on the fourth floor was available, he said no. Okay, we got to the room he gave us and the room was not cleaned, it had twin beds in it and seems like a staff quarters room. We walked down to complain and to my behold, he was giving away a room on the fourth floor. As shocked as I was I told him the room was inadequate and he kept us in the lobby waiting while he was playing games on his phone claiming to wait for “someone” to call him ( he was waiting for his shift to end). We missed our dinner reservation and 30 minutes later He then says sorry you have to stay there, there’s no other room. Hard to believe someone telling different stories so we gave back the keys and left.

We started off our stay at Hotel Nell with an incorrectly programmed room key. The receptionist assigned our key card to another room and told us a different room number, he said this was a mistake. This is a serious security & safety concern. On the next day upon returning to our room, the keys did not work, the same receptionist told us he mistakenly registered the keys for only one night. At around 12 after our 2nd night a cleaner knocked on our room to tell us that we had overstayed and needed to be out of the room, she had showed me the cleaning system which said that our room needed to be clean as check out was that day. I told her we booked for 3 nights, the receptionist made a mistake, she said OK. Shortly after this, another lady came and quite harshly said to us ‘late check out is till 12pm, why are you still in the room?”. I assume the other lady of whom we couldn’t quite communicate well with, sought out reinforcement and this lady appeared, we explained that we had booked 3 nights through hotels.com and showed her proof of this, she said well that’s not what our system tells us you need to contact hotels.com, we said.. no, you need to contact hotels.com, if there’s an issue with your system, considering the receptionist confirmed that we were staying for 3 nights. The lady was incredibly annoyed for some reason, and going back and forth with us, very unprofessionally, till she ultimately said she was going to check with hotels.com. Time passed and we did not hear back from her, we reached out to hotels.com who then let us know that the issue was not with them but with the hotel and that ‘Diego’ is aware. The hotel staff did not in any way update us on anything, when returning back from an outing we approached another receptionist (a lady who I believe was one of the managers) she said that doesn’t sound right and she will look into it as-well as the rude lady from earlier, yet just seconds after speaking with her she went back to smiling on her phone and didn’t follow anything up. On the day of check out, we were told we had a $400+ charge to pay, for the restaurant and another room on-top. We were incredibly shocked, but at that point not surprised considering the subpar level of service we’d received thus far. The same receptionist who had already a chain of mistakes then tried to figure it out, calling his manager who did not pick up the phone, when she did she said she was ‘on her way’ yet never appeared, he reached out to another senior staff who was ‘in a meeting’ but couldn’t get to them. We couldn’t hang around to see the end of it as we had a taxi waiting to take us to the train station. The receptionist said we’d have to speak to the manager about it (who never surfaced). The hotel has poor management, the staff will communicate with you in english and then with each other in another language right in-front of you, though I understood what was being said, not everybody will and I see no reason to alienate guests if a common language is spoken amongst you all, unless you are intending to exclude or share private information of which you then excuse yourselves. Whilst all this was happening the receptionist told us that it was his first couple of days on the job, and was visibly flustered. Despite this, I even offered possible reasons for the mistakes that were being made, but he danced around accountability and said it wasn’t all his fault, though I was not trying to assign blame but to help him resolve it all as he was left by himself. The issue lays with management, why leave somebody new by themselves and offer them little support, especially around check out time when issues could arise? Apologies go a long way, careless mistakes were made several times by hotel nell that we handled with grace and patience but did not receive any accountability or at least an apology from hotel nell. The bed is essentially being held up by two toothpicks, dusty room, poor cleaning. Water pressure is laughable, not a single complimentary water bottle - 4 stars? Impossible

Unfortunately, my debit card was double-charged in June 2025. I've contacted the Supervisor multiple times by email and phone to resolve the issue. I was told the charges would be refunded to the card and that I would receive a callback. I have a reservation to stay there next month for the LightReel film festival. Unfortunately, I will be canceling my reservation.

I liked the hotel. It has a different concept. Only the shower water pressure was poor. I don't know if that's the case throughout the entire hotel.

I jus checked my credit card charges and I called them. They said they charged my card for $5 for a soda. I never buy ANYTHING from hotels and I do not drink soda. I buy all my stuff from grocery stores. I will NEVER stay at this fraudulent hotel ever again. And I will fight the $5 charge. Overpriced scam hotel with a 11 am check-out, while the competition all have 12 pm checkouts.

I had a great experience at Hotel Nell, the staff were very warm and inviting, the atmosphere was PEAK, I felt like I could sit in the comfy lobby they have all day. The room was very cute and warm, some people will complain about the rooms being small but I honestly felt like it gave it a more comfy and homey vibe. The only “complaint” I have is there was no mini fridge which is common in hotels, but honestly it wasn’t a problem and I was just as happy without it. I came up to DC for a concert and after I got out of the concert my fiancé and I were very excited to go back to our comfortable room. I can happily say that this is the only hotel I will be choosing on my future trips to DC. Thank you Hotel Nell!

You walk in and you think, wow this is beautiful. The bars are nice. Treehouse is cute. I didnt try any food or drink but everything is initially esthetically pleasing. You're thinking perhaps this was worth $236 a night. You would be wrong. Once I arrived in the room i realized: 1. A variety of hairs were on the bed. Long at the foot, short under the pillows. 2. The bed is only a foot off the floor. 3. The tv doesnt work. 4. The thermostat is weird. 5. And right before we left the bugs decided to make an entrance. 6. When i showed the front desk the picture/video of the bug her response was what is that a lady bug?! It is most definitely not!! Totally blew me off about the bug anf tv.

Friendly staff great service

Having stayed at hotel Nell for a second year in a row this past weekend, while we still adore the fresh, modern and wholesome aesthetic of the place I can’t help but feel a slight. Things to note - Upon arrival, there is no elevator access from the parking garage to the hotel, there is however an elevator that pops out around the block and you’ll have to walk your bags that distance or drop off out front if there’s space. Our keycards seemed to have issues as it took multiple attempts each time to actually unlock the door. While we were previously aware of the small rooms, sink outside the bathroom, and lack of counter space, there were some additional little issues like very low water pressure and hissing faucets. While we love the hotel for its location, it is bound to bring in some party folks. We were awoken at 2 am to a domestic dispute heard through the thin walls, which was handled immediately and graciously by security when I notified the front desk. Most notably, my friend and I returned to Nell for the small curated touches that showed extra care for guests, like a customized room/ lobby fragrance that was once even available for purchase, and custom Nell room keycards with clear care for design, not necessary but once so appreciated especially now that things are no longer curated so carefully. It seems that what was once a truly amazing value for the area is becoming a bit mainstream. We’ll be sure to refit and always have high hopes for Nell!