Hotels are an important part of a trip. This was the first thing I thought about when I landed in Washington D.C. for my field trip with the school band. When we finished our tour of the United States capital, most of us were ready to take a break in our hotel room since we had spent most of our time either sitting on a plane or sitting on a bus. 

Our band directors booked us a room at the Hilton Arlington National Landing. Even though we were visiting Washington D.C., our hotel was actually located in Arlington, Virginia, which borders Washington D.C.. Built in 1974, Hilton Arlington National Landing is part of a large chain of hotels owned by Hilton Hotels. It allows for many different events and conferences to be held with their 20 large meeting rooms.

When I walked into the hotel, there was a nice blast of cool air compared to the heat outside. The entrance had a small sit down area for when you are waiting for someone or need an area to rest. There was a lot of lighting which made it feel comforting. The lobby included a sit down area where you could relax. It looked like a small restaurant with many chairs and tables included. While I could not order anything from the bar, the hotel staff was very accommodating and got me a glass of cold water. There was also a Starbucks that was open at certain hours. In the middle of the lobby, there were stairs that led to a plaza area with a nice gym and large conference rooms where we rehearsed. There were three elevators, making it efficient for everyone to get their suitcases and instruments into their rooms. Even though there were 12 floors to the hotel, the elevators moved quickly to get everyone to their room.

The room that was booked for me was meant to be shared by four people. The room that was chosen for us was on the fourth floor. When me and my bandmates walked into the room, we found that it was very spacious. There was more than enough room for all of us to put our luggage and instruments down. The closet was large enough to fit some of our clothes and there were many drawers provided. Our room gave us a nice view of our surroundings. I could see the different restaurants around us and there was a lot of nice greenery. We came around the time when the Cherry Blossom Festival was taking place, which made the trees look eye-catching. The air conditioning worked really well and I enjoyed the refreshing breeze. The room provided us with a mini fridge, a safe, and a television that was used often. The beds were extremely soft and did not take up the whole room.

While there are many positives about my hotel room, I felt like it felt short with our bathroom. It was small, barely being able to fit two people. I liked how the hotel provided us with different amenities like soap and shampoo, but some of these products were not the best for my hair. The conditioner did not do much for my hair and it made it rough to brush through. I also felt like the shampoo did not help much and my hair felt greasy at some points of the day. The shower was hard to use since it was difficult to get the water hot. The water pressure was not great either and it took me a while to get my hair wet. 

Our breakfast options also fell short. We got a specific room reserved for our band for breakfast. We were usually served potatoes, sausages, and eggs buffet style for our breakfast. I did not enjoy these options very much as they were usually cold. I also did not think they were seasoned very well. I did enjoy the potatoes, but the sausages and eggs were underwhelming. 

Even though there were some downsides to the hotel, the location made up for it. It was easy to access the many different businesses and sights around the area from our hotel. It only took me and my friends 15 minutes to walk to the Pentagon City Mall. Our hotel was also close to the metro station, allowing our group to get to different monuments and museums easily. When we needed to go to the Navy Memorial and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for our concerts, the bus drives there and back did not take a long time as our hotel was close to both those locations.

Overall, the Hilton Arlington National Landing has its flaws, but a great place to stay if you are looking for somewhere to rest and navigate the city easily.