I wish I could give Oakwood Suites a better review. I really wish I could.
The positive: the location is stellar. Steps away from the Dupont Circle Metro, so convenient to everything, and within easy walking distance (heck, stumbling distance) of the shops, restaurant's, etc, that make Dupont Circle one of the hubs of the the downtown DC scene.
The free breakfast (fresh fruit, pastries, microwavable egg, sausage and cheese biscuits, yogurt and cereal, etc), was a welcome surprise.
The negative: the place could use some sprucing up and attention to maintenance details. It's clear the modern wing, where the guests suites are, was built a few years ago, and pretty cheaply built at that. The plumbing *barely* works - we had to call down for a plunger which we needed to use a number of times, and my wife and I, both being small people, are not that hard on the plumbing. The drain plug in the sink wasn't connected properly. The floor is cheaply made engineered vinyl planks, and large gaps are beginning to show up between boards - it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to come in with a flooring tool and close up all the gaps again. The cheap Ikea knock-off furniture is beginning to show signs of wear and tear here and there - nothing that a little attention to detail and some maintenance couldn't fix, but that doesn't seem to be happening.
Our worst experience came one morning when we got up, went for early morning run, and came back sweaty and in need of a shower. Midway through my shower the water was turned off. A call to the front desk informed us that the "water was scheduled to be turned off from 9 AM to 3 PM today, and we warned everyone about it." No, you emphatically did NOT warn us there would be no water all day. No one mentioned it when we checked in the night before, and there were no signs posted in the elevators, common spaces, or anywhere else. Believe me, if we had known, we would have got back from our run in time to shower.
That said, the front desk was nice enough to call the maintenance folks, and they agreed to delay the water shutoff until 10 AM to give us time to shower. Kudos for that. But getting out of the shower dripping wet and soapy to call the front desk to beg them to turn the water back on isn't exactly what 5 star reviews are made of.