After my friends and I had another reservation cancelled only five days before we were due to arrive in DC, I decided to give Doulat a shout. Given how stunning his property is I was sure it would be unavailable, but we were in luck as he had also received a cancellation.

We were in town for a wedding, and had a mixed group of 12. We are a loud, rowdy bunch but such was the abundance of space that it was impossible for us to feel cramped. In fact it felt as though there are areas in the house that could be used to create more bedrooms. The 6 bedrooms are all spacious doubles and the 6 bathrooms are well appointed and extremely clean, with towels in effectively unlimited supply. The décor is very tasteful, the furnishings plush and the entire house was the ultimate picture of cleanliness. Given how many of the surfaces are white, this really is quite an achievement. We did not want for comfort or space at any point. The only issue we had was that the rooms were so nice that we fought between ourselves as to who would stay where!

The house is conveniently located in Massachusetts Heights/ Georgetown, which is a lovely area. It actually sits opposite the Russian Embassy and is close to a number of local amenities and within easy reach of the Potomac waterfront, with its cool bars and restaurants. There were absolutely no concerns at all on safety as it’s such a nice neighbourhood, but that fact notwithstanding, the house has a combination lock entry system. Pure genius. For such a large group that made life much easier as people could come and go without being concerned about keys. There is also a functioning security alarm.

Other points of note - there are three kitchens (one on each floor), two laundry rooms each with a separate washer and dryer, three terraces and sufficient off street parking for 5 cars.

Doulat is a consummate professional and unfailingly courteous in all he does. He was responsive and attentive, and even made time to take a few of my friends on a tour of DC after check-out while they were waiting to leave for the airport. He is a very sweet, thoughtful guy and all round just a class act, and I cannot recommend him or his house highly enough.