This hotel was a great location to get to the Legg Mason tennis match held in Rock Creek Park. Two metro stops were close by and in well populated areas. The bellstaff / elevator operators were most friendly and we never had to wait. After reading all the reviews I would have to agree with others that the hotel is older and the view of the office building is not great but this property is historical and a nice change from the chain hotels.
I was traveling with my 80+ yr old mother.... a former elevator operator herself and she just had a ball at the hotel.The beds were comfortable and the small breakfast/kitchenette we used daily to enjoy pastries purchased from Au Pain bakery in the 2000 Penn building across the park. There are lots of choices for dining nearby reasonably priced. Map quest before you go.
Try the DC circulator bus and stay on to go from hotel to georgetown and union station... can't beat the ride for 1 dollar.
For the weekday vacationing traveler this is a good location and value but the area is quite sparce for dining on the weekends.

Our room was a nice size twin queen bed, with small dressing area and kitchenette. The beds and the pillows we had were comfortable and the room was very clean and well presented. Whilst we were in Washington the weather was incredibly hot and sightseeing was exhausting, therefore, at the end of the day we were ready for bed. The hugest drawback to this hotel (and I did make a verbal complaint to the hotel manager) was the noise in the morning. Our room (510) was located at the side of the building overlooking an office bulidng forecourt. Refuse collections took place early morning the earliest being 4:50am be warned - take earplugs. This collection carried on for a full 30 minutes which woke me up fully and then the noise around what seems to be a busy commerical area only increased, I then had to do a full days sightseeing on top of that. On the upside the staff here were very helpful and pleasant. Our meal at the restaurant was excellent but definately expensive, but cheap compared to the Italian restaurant nearby

Unless you find hand-operated small elevators and traditional (but dark) decor quaint, do not stay here unless you get a deal of $100 or less per night. The location and the price are the hotel's biggest advantages, and rooms do have a small alcove-type kitchen. The negatives: small, old bathrooms with tubs that don't drain, limited TV choices, elevators that only fit a couple of people if they have luggage, no one to help with cabs after business hours, limited and spotty room service (esp for breakfast) and dark, low-ceiling hallways and bar. I would be willing to pay more for modern conveniences and a slightly less desirable location.

The Hotel Lombardy is an adorable older hotel. The front desk staff are from a different planet than the rest of the staff.

The front desk staff weren't very attentive but everyone else went the extra five miles to make me happy and comfortable.

The rooms where clean and roomy if not a little quirky,

The housekeeping is some of the best I've ever seen. I forgot to leave a tip and will send them a check... it was that good.

The bar and the bartender are great not just for a hotel bar, but just as a DC bar.

I stayed a week and was surprised at the great customer service regardless of time of day or day of week.

In spite of being an older building the AC worked great in the middle of a DC heat wave.
This is a great hotel and one that I'll use again in the future.