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MVC at the Mayflower question and review

ljmiii

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First the question. Does anyone here know if Rooms 777 and/or 778 are Junior or Executive Suites. Alternatively, does anyone know how many Junior Suites there are at the MVC Mayflower (the others are Rooms 701, 735, 750, and 787).

We recently stayed at the Mayflower and the hotel was its usual wonderful self. Good service at the bell and front desks and fabulous location close to great restaurants and the Metro, and easily walkable to the usual tourist attractions. But something awful has happened to the rooms.

One of the reasons we loved the MVC at the Mayflower is that the suites had the same furniture as the hotel. Big comfy couches and chairs, nice beds, ample drawer space, beautiful bathrooms with both a tub and stand alone shower. But in the past year there has been a refurb...and for whatever reason the MVC decided to go with furnishings that look and feel like that of the Courtyard around the corner and nothing like those in the Mayflower hotel. Which also had a refurb that retained the historic, gracious feel (the pictures look beautiful).

There was also a lot of furniture missing. There was no sofa. No coffee table. A desk that was really just a table. The Junior Suite theoretically accommodates four adult guests...but the sum total of the furnishings in the living room area was one side table and two chair beds looking forlorn in a big empty space. And if anything the bedroom was worse. There was no dresser and no drawers aside from a tiny one in each of the nightstands...we had to live out of our suitcases. And in a first for us at a MVC resort, the bed was uncomfortable (though the linens and pillows were nice).

To top it off, in one bathroom they added sharp little nubbies to the bottom of the tub making it uncomfortable to sit and/or lie in. In the other bathroom, the mixer on the shower was defective (you had to hold it still to keep gravity from pulling the long end of the lever down) and the shower door misinstalled (it hung open about an inch and there was about a 1/2 inch gap between the bottom of the door and the tile sill) so water spewed out.

In short, for us there is now a huge disincentive to staying on the MVC floor. Particularly since the hotel no longer has an Elite lounge and no longer comps breakfast at Edgar for MVC Elite guests.

That said, DC was also its usual wonderful self. We had great dinners at Iron Gate, Old Ebbitt Grill, and Boqueria, walked around and saw the sights including snippets of Latin American Fiesta DC 2024, and picked up some of our favorite chocolates at Chocolate Chocolate across the street.
 

Fasttr

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We stayed in 701 a couple years ago, which I can confirm was a Junior Suite.

The MVC room makeover sounds like a disaster.
 

ljmiii

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We stayed in 701 a couple years ago, which I can confirm was a Junior Suite.
Yup...we've stayed in 701 as well. This year we were in 787. The little map on the door is pretty clear about all the suites except 777 and 778 (the ones by the mid elevator bank). One kind of looks like it has a tiny powder and the other seems to have a space for a second bathroom but shows no fixtures.
 

dioxide45

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Perhaps when MVC took over those rooms for Vacation Club occupancy, they didn't really do too much too them. So it was the same stuff that was in the hotel rooms before. Now that MVC is in charge of renovations and interior design, they are going the route they are with some of their more recent renovations to other vacation club properties?
 

Fasttr

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WildBigPaw

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I do not remember the room number I was assigned earlier this year; it was a suite, in the corner of the building I recall.

However, I did not like it. Just as you said, the new furnishing looked cheap and more importantly, smelled irritatingly, as if they imported some cheap materials that do not pass chemical content regulation.
 

Superchief

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Did they ever reopen the concierge lounge? If so, is it available to Platinum+ staying at MVC like it was previously?
 

ljmiii

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Did they ever reopen the concierge lounge? If so, is it available to Platinum+ staying at MVC like it was previously?
Sadly, no. I was told they converted the space to other uses...but have no independent confirmation. But for a time, MVC guests that were Platinum or above were given a $27 per person (up to 2 people) breakfast credit at Edgar...but that is now limited to hotel guests and not MVC.

There is a continental breakfast service in the MVC lobby which consists of a variety of mediocre saran wrapped pastries, muffins, and croissants and a machine that dispenses coffee and decaf but no espresso based beverages.
 

ljmiii

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The pics online look pretty nice….. perhaps they didn’t get all of the furniture in yet....
Sadly, the pictures are of the pre-renovated suites. They still have the signatures on the walls, the nice old desk, the comfy divan in the bedroom, the dresser with drawers, the sofa in the living room, etc., etc.

And wall to wall carpet. I understand that some people don't like it, but one thing I didn't mention is that all the carpet has been ripped out and replaced with cheap looking fake hardwood. Which would be fine...except that they didn't put in area rugs so the living room was something of an echo chamber as well as hard on the feet.
 

Mlvnsmly

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If you search for the DC Pulse on TripAdvisor, there are some pictures from April of this year showing what I'm guessing is being discussed here.
 

DanCali

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I rarely use our Bonvoy points and have accumulated quite a bit. I found Washington DC is a great place to use Bonvoy points for hotel stays. That said, on our recent trip we paid cash at the Pentagon City Ritz and used the Ritz card certificates to upgrade to club level (allows 2 guests). The cost after taxes was about $400/night (after 20% discount promo on Marriott gift cards) and the cost in points for a double bed room during the same period would have been around 400 points per night. Seems like a non-brainer, to go for the Ritz under these circumstances.

The Mayflower is certainly an option, but I advise checking stays with free nights (remember 5th night is free) and even cash stays before booking MVC DC.
 

Big Matt

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I rarely use our Bonvoy points and have accumulated quite a bit. I found Washington DC is a great place to use Bonvoy points for hotel stays. That said, on our recent trip we paid cash at the Pentagon City Ritz and used the Ritz card certificates to upgrade to club level (allows 2 guests). The cost after taxes was about $400/night (after 20% discount promo on Marriott gift cards) and the cost in points for a double bed room during the same period would have been around 400 points per night. Seems like a non-brainer, to go for the Ritz under these circumstances.

The Mayflower is certainly an option, but I advise checking stays with free nights (remember 5th night is free) and even cash stays before booking MVC DC.
Great observation. There are great hotel bargains along the metro in places like Alexandria, Tysons Corner and Arlington in Virginia along with places like Bethesda, Maryland.
 

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We are going in a couple weeks to the DC pulse, for 4 nights, Sunday through Thursday stay. It was 1800 MVC points, we got the executive suite for 4. When I compared the cash rate for the same room when I booked, it was over $900/night for the same room (current rate today is around $1500/night). I look at the cash rate vs the MVC point rate whenever I do an MVC point exchange for a Pulse property. Sometimes the cash rate better, and sometimes the points rate is better.
I am a little concerned over the uncomfortable new furniture, will report back out experience.

addendum: to truly compare apples to apples, I was looking at the cash rate for the hotel (even though the room amenities are similar). In comparing the DC pulse cash rate, it would be about $510/night -> I had to pick a night in January to even see the rate, so not necessarily completely accurate). So the MVC points is still a better deal than the cash rate.
 
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ljmiii

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We are going in a couple weeks to the DC pulse...It was 1800 MVC points, we got the executive suite for 4...
Please do report back, I am very curious to see (or at least read about) the furnishings in the Executive Suite. Over the years we had settled on the Junior over the Executive because the extra bathroom was nice but after our experiences I changed an upcoming reservation from a Junior Suite to an Executive.
 

jellen613

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Please do report back, I am very curious to see (or at least read about) the furnishings in the Executive Suite. Over the years we had settled on the Junior over the Executive because the extra bathroom was nice but after our experiences I changed an upcoming reservation from a Junior Suite to an Executive.
Hi, we checked in today, we are in an executive (766). There is kind of a lack of some furniture and decorations. I read some trip advisor reviews with the same issues. In the main bedroom there is now a dresser, however it is the quality of a Target "put it together yourself dresser". The other furnishings are all nice, modern. The couch and chairs in the living room are comfortalbe. There is an area rug inlay in each room, however it still echoes some in the room. It is very clean, staff friendly, fresh fruit at the MVC desk on the 7th floor.
We have stayed in Pulse in NYC and Boston, and there is definitely better quality furniture and decor.
If we had 2 other people staying in the living room, it would be difficult as there is not a single drawer out here, and the one shared closet is small. Again, in Boston, there are 2 closets and the shared one is very large.
We do have a large foyer area (at least 10x14) where there is built in cabinet with a fridge (there are actually 2 in the room), along with a sink and the keurig. There definitely could be some sort of armoire or dresser in that large room.
We are still planning on enjoying our time here, so no real complaints, just an update on the furnishings ;)
 

jellen613

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A couple of other updates about the Mayflower, there is a microwave on the MVC 7th floor. It is next to the ice machine, it looks pretty decent. Also, check out is 12 noon. I thought I saw it was 10 am, however it is 12, which is nice.
We did an sales presentation for which we received $400 experience dollars which we used for a couple of meals, an amazing 3 hour evening Monuments tour with USA tours, and we bought gifts at the White House Gift store at the Mayflower, very nice shop with a large selection of the White House Christmas tree decorations and many other neat White House related gifts. We had a great few days there and loved the location and ease of getting on and off the Metro. We went to the National Gallery, the National Archives Museum, a Capitals hockey game, spent an afternoon in Georgetown. On the way out of town, we stored our luggage with the Red Cap at Union Station, and went over to the National Postal Museum (a Smithsonian museum). We got there just in time for a 45 minute guided tour which was very interesting, I would highly recommend.
Also, we were offered an encore, specific to DC, $799 for 3 or 4 nights (depending on season) and the gift is 100k Bonvoy points. For 3-4 nights at the Mayflower that is a good deal.
 

DRH90277

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A question - We stayed at the Mayflower Pulse (for points) a few years ago and I was pretty discouraged with it. It doesn't sound much better even now.

If we want to go back to the Mayflower, wouldn't we be better off to just stay in one of the regular hotel rooms? We couldn't use points, but they might be an upgrade from the old run-down vacation club property. Any insight?
 

ljmiii

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If we want to go back to the Mayflower, wouldn't we be better off to just stay in one of the regular hotel rooms? We couldn't use points, but they might be an upgrade from the old run-down vacation club property. Any insight?
The good news is that both the hotel and timeshare 'sides' of the Mayflower were recently renovated. The bad news is that while the hotel renovation (at least from the photos) looks amazing the MVC floor was redone to look and feel like a Moxy. Plus the MVC 1BR suites are missing a lot of furniture.

Also, if you stay on the hotel side and are Platinum or above you'll get a breakfast credit to use at Edgar ($27/person up to two people when last I checked).
 

DRH90277

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The good news is that both the hotel and timeshare 'sides' of the Mayflower were recently renovated. The bad news is that while the hotel renovation (at least from the photos) looks amazing the MVC floor was redone to look and feel like a Moxy. Plus the MVC 1BR suites are missing a lot of furniture.

Also, if you stay on the hotel side and are Platinum or above you'll get a breakfast credit to use at Edgar ($27/person up to two people when last I checked).
Sorry, but what is a Moxy?
 

DRH90277

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4 Things You Should Know About Moxy, Marriott's New Hotel Brand
Basically, a cheap hotel brand geared toward younger folks
Thank you for bringing me up to date.

"Moxy" is now a very descriptive term to me. It describes well our stay at the Mayflower VAC part about a year after it opened. It was a great disappointment even in our supposed upgrade suite with a barren reception room before a living room and then a bedroom with sparse furnishings. Everything looked old and thrown together, kinda of like a used furniture look.

Well, I don't think the Mayflower VAC part is ready for us yet but I have great hopes. But, the "Moxy" description will need to change.
 

ljmiii

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