Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital Reviews

We held a literary event at the Hill Center last weekend. The staff there was very responsive and easy to work with. The venue is a beautiful old building filled with local art. Our caterer reports that the kitchen area was fine to use (though I didn't check myself). The AV was just what we needed. This is the second event we've held at the Hill Center. It will not be our last.

My wife and I have lived in Capitol Hill for several years and pass the Hill Center a few times a week, but never thought of it as a wedding venue until we first toured when searching for our fall wedding. A little background, the Hill Center is a historic building (old naval hospital commissioned by President Lincoln) that has served many purposes of the years but now is a community center serving Capitol Hill. It's a striking building from the outside and has amazing grounds. We fell in love with it instantly. We worked with Lisa Olson as the venue event coordinator. Lisa is flexible, responsive, and supportive. I would work with her again to plan any event.

We reserved the garden for our ceremony and cocktail hour (117 guests) and the second floor for our reception (Lisa was very helpful at coordinating a backup rain plan). We had guests seated in two separate rooms for the reception on the second floor. Other rooms had our bar and photo both. Dancing and DJ was in the biggest ballroom. I liked the separation of activities, so it didn't feel like everything was all crammed in a single room. For decoration, the Hill Center is equip to support uplighting. They also have an AV system that is coordinated between all the rooms for music and announcements. Also, the Hill Center has rotating artists showing works in the room which added a great touch of decoration to the evening.

A few things to note: the Hill Center is a historic building, so they have a list of preferred vendors that they work with (most important for catering and dance floor). This actually helped us narrow down for our caterer (Eat and Smile Catering who was fantastic). Also the Hill Center provides tables and chairs and set up for ceremony and reception which was a huge cost saver.

I can't say enough how happy I was with the Hill Center. It was a perfect venue for us celebrating in a neighborhood that has become our home.

We had a great experience having our wedding at the Hill Center! It is a beautiful location, and Divinity and her team were great! I also loved having our wedding in a historic building so close to the Capitol, which made for beautiful pictures. The price was excellent, and no one in our party had problems with parking! We would highly recommend the Hill Center to someone who wants a venue with more character than a hotel ballroom.

We had our wedding party/reception at the Hill Center in April 2018 and can't say enough good things about it. Lisa is so easy to work with. Our guests couldn't stop raving about how neat the space is, especially the artwork on the walls. We rented the entire second level for about 120 guests and it was a perfect size. The Hill Center staff that helped out at our event were superb. We can't say enough good things about this space and highly recommend it.

My wife and I choose the Hill Center over a few hotels downtown because it was different and right on the hill. They were super responsive and willing to work with us. They had a number of vendors they recommended that we used and loved. My only regret is that the party didn't last longer.

We had a wonderful experience working with the Hill Center for our wedding. We wanted to get married somewhere local (we live on the Hill), and were drawn to the history of the Hill Center, the beauty of the gardens, the friendliness of the staff, and the ability to rent both indoor and outdoor space. We ended up renting the 2nd floor for the reception, the East Garden for the ceremony, and the West Plaza for food trucks. Divinity, Lisa, and all of the staff were extremely accommodating with all of our requests. They were responsive and supportive and there were no hidden charges - which we know can happen at other venues. This was one of the best (and easiest) decisions in our wedding planning process!

For many years we have walked by the Hill Center on our way to/from our house and Barracks Row. We've attended community events and children's birthday parties here, and I've always admired the beautiful garden. When it came time to pick or wedding venue, this neighborhood gem was my first choice. They were very responsive when reaching out to pick a date and begin planning. We went with a outdoors wedding in the garden with only 55 guests, to take advantage of the lush greenery as our natural decor. Divinity helped suggest a tent vendor when we needed to secure our rain/shade plan, and helped advise on the best set up and layout we wanted to achieve. Part way through the planning Divinity went on maternity leave, but Lisa was right there to keep things going! She helped with all of the last minute questions and was very accommodating with the storage of our alcohol and florist items before/after the event. We cant wait to keep attending (and hosting) more events here!

Working with James at the Hill Center was wonderful. He had solutions for every potential problem we could ask, and put us at ease leading up to and during our event. The pricing was so reasonable for all of the attention and service we received. The venue itself it absolutely perfect and our guests commented how lovely the building was, how easy it was to get to, and wonderful the layout of our party was (thanks to James)! We definitely plan to come back to the Hill Center for any other large celebrations and suggest that our friends and family check it out too!!

Macky, James, and the team are INCREDIBLE - they handled everything with perfect grace, and it was a truly gorgeous day. Macky in particular is a gem - she's so calm and knowledgeable, and very responsive. She knew when to assert suggestions and when to let it lie. She also handled the myriad other vendors with total aplomb. On top of all of this, it's also a beautiful venue and a great value!

We loved having our wedding reception at the Hill Center! We had our cocktail hour and dinner outside in the garden, and then used space inside the historic building for dancing and desserts. Working with James in the Special Events office was wonderful - he was responsive, always quick to answer questions and give advice on the best use of the space, and incredibly easy to work with (especially when it came to creating a rain plan to have the whole event inside). The venue is both beautiful and incredibly flexible - with lovely indoor and outdoor spaces. We found it easy (and affordable) to use them for our table and chair rentals. As a bonus, they have their own liquor license, making it that much easier to sort out alcohol for the event (whether buying from the Hill Center or providing your own). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the venue along with James Simms and the Hill Center Special events team for another event.

Cannot recommend this place enough! The value was incredible, especially relative to other venues in and around DC. Service met and exceeded our expectations. From the very first day we met with James (Sims) at the Hill Center, we knew that he and his team were service-oriented and interested in working with us to make our wedding day special. We were not prepared for the overwhelming attention, accommodations and support we would receive leading up to, during and after the reception date. We had last minute changes due to weather and other issues, but the Hill Center staff was flexible and made arrangements with a "happy-to-serve" attitude reminiscent of a five diamond hotel. We were totally satisfied and our expectations were greatly exceeded! We look forward to making the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital our venue of choice!

My experience with the Hill Center was amazing! Since we were planning on a winter (indoor) wedding, we were looking for a venue that had personality. The building was an old naval hospital commissioned by President Lincoln. It is a big mansion with spacious rooms with events, old wood trims, and really great art in all the rooms (which helped us cut costs for decorations!) We held the wedding ceremony and reception in the second floor of the building. There are multiple rooms, but all sort of interconnected, a catering kitchen, bathrooms, and a service elevator. We had 100 guest and a "loose" structure (buffet rather than a seated dinner, focus on partying & mingling, short unseated ceremony in order to not flip the rooms). It was so much fun!

Working with the Hill Center staff was great. They promptly provided information and estimates. It was a real pleasure working with James; he was super helpful and answered all my questions. He even sent me sample floor plans when I was confused on how to best set up the space. The whole night ended up being awesome... thank you Hill Center!

The Hill Center was in a great location for us, as well as being a beautifully restored building with a special significance to my former Navy husband and historic and artistic appeal for me. The amazing support of the great staff at the Center helped make our wedding reception a wonderful event for our guests and beautiful memory for us.

I used hill center for a bridal shower for 36 ladies and it turned out beautifully! The staff was very responsive and detailed oriented through the whole planning process. They were friendly and helpful the day of and were able to accommodate simple, last minute requests. I felt comfortable seeking them out and asking questions. Everything was set up waiting for us and they would check in from time to time to make sure everything was ok. I would recommend hill center to anyone! Thank you for a wonderful shower experience for me, the MOH, and for my BFF, the bride.

This venue was spectacular. The ambiance was fantastic and endearing, the personnel we worked with were great and the price was better than most we found in the city.

D.C.'s best-kept secret for small-medium, non-cliched, absolutely lovely weddings. A beautiful setting, unknown to many of our guests but not anymore.

Historic but perfectly renovated, with great a.v. and technology, completely ADA accessible, and with lots of rooms for art and food and drink. We loved working with the professional staff, including the great (and passionate) behind the scenes people who make it all look easy.

We knew the art work would rotate but we were confident our guests would be excited about the choices of art everywhere throughout the setting. And the art did turn out to be amazing.

We valued Lisa Olson and her team very much. They were professional and used to working with nervous couples planning a wedding. They helped us problem-solve to make sure that our priorities were met (such as a chuppah, and a "dressing room" for women for and men, and coordinating with another Hill Center group using the space right before the wedding). I never had a problem finding a place to park, including week-days; it is also steps from the metro.

Gorgeous gardens and lights, both day and night. A nice first impression, and great for photographs on the lovely porches.

I think that the Hill Center is a fantastic choice--creative, very D.C., very reasonable, and a very professional staff.

P.S. Cafe on the property just won a Michelin star!

We loved having our wedding at the Hill Center. The space was perfect for our wedding of about 110; we used the garden for the ceremony, the first floor for dinner, and the second floor for dancing/dessert. The price was very reasonable for the location, and all tables and chairs are included (which was so helpful!). The location was very convenient for guests and we had fun taking photos on Pennsylvania Ave.!

The staff at Hill Center was wonderfully professional, friendly and accommodating for our wedding. They were flexible with helping us figure out a layout with our other vendors. I was especially happy with their willingness to accommodate our tendency to DIY some elements of our big day -- dropping things off, various visits, etc! Lisa, the events coordinator, and her staff were a joy to work with. The value is incredible -- and you feel good having your money supporting a non-profit that benefits the local community.

The Hill Center is a really beautiful venue and their staff makes every effort to make the space work for you!