Here's an argument, backed by a personal account as to why The Allen Lee Hotel is the city's creepiest. Have a horror story about staying here or in a different D.C. hotel? Drop us a tip. If we get enough good ones, we'll publish them tomorrow.
The sketchy-looking Allen Lee Hotel is Foggy Bottom's version of a haunted house: GW students and local residents have all heard rumors about what happens inside, but nobody has actually been there.
The hotel, which is really more of a hostel, is a large, four-story white building with peeling paint that doesn't really resemble any other buildings in the city. It looks like it might be a mental institution.
— Andrew Wiseman
The place doesn't fare well on travel sites — on TripAdvisor, almost half the people who stayed there rated the place "terrible" with only a handful saying anything better than average. The reviews have headlines like "Worst place I have ever been," "Would rather sleep in a car," "The worst experience of my life, cockroaches included in your room price" and my favorite: "Taxi driver asked you: really?" Folks mention water leaks, no hot water, slimy showers, dimly lit rooms and hallways, all manner of bugs, and so on. Yelpers are a bit more forgiving, mainly due to the cheap rates (some mention $50 a night) and great location near the Mall.
Two years ago, Abdo Development announced plans to renovate the place, but since then we've heard nothing. Better bring your bug spray.
The one person I know who stayed there only chose to do so after he met some hard-partying Brits who were staying there. "We thought that was hilarious, so we rented a room on the same floor for the weekend. …The weekend was a hazy affair… We lived two blocks away, and I remember feeling like I'd much rather sleep in my own bed. But we wanted to get the whole Allen Lee experience. The place was dark and old. The kind of place where you don't want to die of a heroin overdose."
· The Allen Lee Reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Allen Lee Hotel [Yelp]
Developer plans facelift for century-old Allen Lee Hotel [GW Hatchet]
· The Allen Lee Hotel [Official Site]
· The Allen Lee Hotel Already Anticipating Georgetown Metro [CDC]
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