InterContinental The Willard Washington D.C. Reviews
Reviews
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
-
![Jacqueline]()
Jacqueline Sent on 10/02/2025The absolute best!
We had the absolute privilege of hosting our wedding at the Willard, and it was nothing short of perfection from start to finish.
During the planning process, Michael was an absolute book of knowledge—friendly, professional, and so incredibly helpful. He made booking with The Willard the easiest decision we could have made. His responsiveness was unbelievable; it honestly felt like he answered emails before we even hit send.
Our event manager, Shauntel, went above and beyond in every single way. She was kind, thoughtful, and exactly the calming presence you need on what is both the most exciting and most stressful day of your life. One of our favorite moments was when she noticed my husband and I were running out of steam during family photos. Without hesitation, she ran to the bar to grab our signature drinks and even fed me sips in between photos so I wouldn’t spill on my dress. That level of care made it feel like I was working alongside a friend rather than just an event manager.
Every single associate at The Willard radiated warmth and hospitality. From the serving staff to the banquet managers, the service was impeccable. Our guests are still raving about how personalized and genuine everything felt.
We truly cannot thank The Willard team enough for creating such an unforgettable experience. These memories will forever hold a special place in our hearts, and we are endlessly grateful to everyone who played a role in making our wedding day magical. -
![Julianna]()
Julianna Sent on 01/07/2025Perfect Day Thanks to The Willard (& Staff!)
Where do I begin? Michael and his team at The Willard went above and beyond to make our entire wedding process - from planning to wedding day itself - so incredibly wonderful. Working with the Willard was a dream, and our guests cannot stop talking about how spectacular the event was. We had a pretty large wedding (250 guests) but The Willard made sure everything went smoothly and seamlessly while still feeling intimate. Our guests particularly enjoyed being able to enjoy so much of the hotel as part of the event, with Cocktail hour being in The Willard Room and the reception in The Ballroom. We also had a December wedding, so our guests (and us) LOVED the Holiday decorations and carolers.
Working with Michael made planning so easy. He provided us with great vendor recommendations and he went above and beyond to add special touches to our day. He was with us the entire way. He also worked seamlessly with our planner - Patrice Golesorkhi - which made the day truly effortless on our part. Beyond Michael and his team, I also cannot say enough about how the entire Willard staff came together to make us and our guests have the best day. Many of our guests stayed at The Willard and highlighted that the staff was so helpful and accommodating. The Bellman team was incredible in coordinating all of our needs, and Kassandra in special bookings went above and beyond to help us with guest reservations and so much more. Also, the hotel worked so well with all of our vendors -- helping them get where they needed to be with no stress on myself, the groom or anyone in the wedding party. If we were to do it all again we would do it exactly the same. At The Willard. With the same staff. All of it! Truly a wedding to remember, and one that our guests still have not stopped talking about. -
Steph Sent on 07/23/2022
Gorgeous Venue
The Willard was a wonderful wedding venue, and we could not be happier with our choice to have our special day there. Julia was awesome to work with. She was on top of everything, made sure everything ran smoothly, and to our liking. She made sure that my husband and me had time to actually eat, take moments to ourselves, enjoy our favorite drinks, and feel stress free on the day of our wedding. The Crystal ballroom is absolutely gorgeous. The history of the hotel and elegant decor of the ballroom separates this venue from others in DC. Our guests felt this was the best and most historic venue in DC. The Willard exceeded all expectations. We could not be happier. -
-
Jessica Sent on 11/13/2020
My dream - the most beautiful intimate wedding!
We held our small wedding of 25 at the Willard in the Crystal Ballroom. We worked with Eun and she was so accomodating and supportive as our plans changed a few times due to COVID. The evening went so smoothly, the food was delicious (our guests were raving about the scallops!!), room was beautiful and everyone had the most amazing time! The Willard ensured we had the wedding of our dreams in a safe beautiful space! We look forward to having a larger party next year in the same room!
Would highly recommend the Willard for any events, special dinners, or formal occasions. -
-
![Ellie]()
Ellie Sent on 02/10/2020Real Life Fairytale at the Willard
My wedding reception at the Willard was an absolute fairytale. All of our guests have nothing but glowing things to say about the wedding weeks later, which if you know anything about my culture is quite a feat, especially considering the vast majority of our guests had traveled from out of state and some out of country! From the very moment the guests walked into the hotel, they knew they were at an event of a different caliber. The venue is stunning and exudes class, glamour, and a timeless elegance. Long before people walked into the ballroom or cocktail hour space, they were blown away. A large part of the recipe to a great event is great food, great drink and an attention to detail and the Willard has that ALL covered. The staff at the Willard ensured that all the needs and desires of the guests were attended to and that the event flowed seamlessly.
The planning process was also reflective of this attention to detail and you truly get the sense that with every event that the Willard takes on they genuinely want you the host and the guests to have an amazing time which shows how serious they are about their dedication to service and quality.
You could say our event coordinator Eun Kim was my fairy godmother! She went above and beyond to address any concern I had and came up with creative solutions to things that I was ultimately needlessly worried about. She was patient with my constant back and forth when it came to making decisions on various aspects. In the end everything was truly a dream come true and I cannot say enough words to describe how fantastic of a day I had at the Willard. As we entered a our suite for the night all our personal items were collected for us and a sweet surprise was waiting for us! It was just a beautiful way to cap off a beautiful night. If you want a celebration that embodies, elegance, glamour, and sophistication look no further! -
![Wen]()
Wen X. Sent on 02/10/2020Most beautiful venue ever
I honestly get emotional writing about my wedding at the Willard because it was more beautiful and elegant than I had hoped and imagined it to be and I'm so grateful to the people there for giving me and my husband the most wonderful memories of our lives. From the moment we became their clients, they treated us like honored guests, with so much grace at all steps along the planning process. They were receptive, responsive, very amenable to changes and willing to work with our coordinator with everything from banquet options to to little itty bitty changes on our timeline. On the day of our wedding, my husband and I felt like royalty. Everyone - from the people who greeted us at the door to the wait and catering staff - was so wonderful to us, constantly checking up on us throughout the stay and asking if we needed anything. At the end of the night, the catering staff sent up sandwiches, popcorn, chocolate covered strawberries and a tiny wedding cake that was SO CUTE. I miss going to this place to check out my wedding venue - the Willard is so special to me now. -
![Alison]()
Alison Sent on 01/23/2020Phenomenal
my experience was wonderful. Their venue is magnificent, their service team is A+, our day of coordinator Eun was great and the experience the day of was seamless. This was the best decision I made in planning my wedding. -
![Eleni]()
Eleni Sent on 10/15/2019World-Class Service and Ambiance!
Our wedding reception was held in the Grand Ballroom with 200 guests, the most elegant reception ballroom in DC, in our opinion! My husband and I stayed in the Calvin Coolidge (bridal) suite, which we thought was beautiful, spacious and spectacular! Our cocktail hour was held right outside the ballroom and it was just perfect. Our event coordinator, Eun Kim, worked until the wedding reception was complete. She is very result orientated. She is self-motivated and strives to complete all wedding reception tasks on time. She answered every single one of our questions and is a big-picture thinker. She continually seeks to meet all of your expectations for your big day! She worked tirelessly with our families at the initial tasting and trial-run for the dinner menu, until she finalized the complex menu and cake flavor/design. She was PATIENT and GRACIOUS with us - such a pleasure to work with the entire process! Even when I changed the seating arrangements and room configuration the week before the wedding, she didn't hesitate and was on it. From start to finish, the Willard ambiance, the hotel staff, the chefs, the valet, audio-visual team, banquet staff, etc. were accommodating and a pleasure to work with. Trust us and request to work with Eun Kim and your wedding vision will be achieved. Our guests felt this was the best and most historic venue in DC. Glorious room with world-class views, impeccable food, exceptional service! Eun is the absolute best! She replied to all of my emails within one day, she remained organized throughout the process, kept us ahead of schedule and was so thorough and engaged in the process! She puts in the care and attention of a family member and a member of your wedding party! At one point during the reception, she even located and brought me a little bag I had with my ballerina flats, so I could change my heels! The Willard is the best venue and customer service and all my guests were thrilled with their experience! Thank you to The Willard and Eun Kim for our perfect day!
-
![Aniesha]()
Aniesha Sent on 09/10/2013Choosing to have our wedding at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel was probably the best decision we made during the planning process. When we initially visited the Willard, we never imagined being able to have our wedding in a place with so much grandeur and history, while staying within our budget. However, Steele Stevenson, the Director of Catering, worked with us and helped us select a room for the ceremony and reception (the Crystal Room) and menu proposal within our budget.
After the initial meeting, we were then assigned a wedding specialist, Jennifer (Jenny). Jenny was absolutely AMAZING!! We did not have a day-of coordinator, but working with Jenny, we did not need one! She helped us create the wedding day timeline, including creating a timeline for the reception. She contacted all vendors leading up to the wedding, ensuring that they had everything that they needed and knew where to go. She organized the wedding party during rehearsal and the morning of. She was simply AMAZING!!
The day of the wedding, everyone was amazed with the hotel, its staff, the ceremony and the reception setup, and the food! Many of our family friends plan to return to the hotel in the future and we will definitely return each year for our anniversary. Everything was PERFECT! If we had to do it over again, we would not change anything.
-
![Brenda]()
Brenda Sent on 08/16/2010We looked at many hotels in the area. You name it; we looked at it. We selected the Willard, because of its history and lovely rooms, and for its food and service. We actually planned to have a small wedding (80 guests), because we love the Crystal Room. They were able to flip the Crystal Room in less than an hour from ceremony to reception, and even though our decor for both were quite detailed (see http://blueskyfilms.com/films/brendaandjonathan/
Laure was our coordinator/catering manager, and we started working with her more than a year before the event. It was amazing how responsive she was via email and how attentive she was to all our needs. The Willard does not have "wedding packages", but we really got into being able to tailor our wedding. We were planned a Filipino-Jewish (Fewish) wedding, and we wanted the food we selected to reflect both cultures. Laure helped us go outside the menu options (e.g. filipino spring rolls, challah bread and rolls, etc.) and tried to keep to a somewhat kosher-style menu. The Willard also provided the wedding cake, and it was quite yummy. When we weren't quite happy with the selection, she was able to source other options for us, and the chefs were very kind and understanding. We think of ourselves as foodies, so our standards were rather high, and we wanted something more than just the average hotel food (and we've been to enough hotel events to judge). The Willard delivered, and the food and service were excellent.
We also had other events which the Willard organized and delivered beautifully. We started our wedding weekend with a Welcome Dessert Party in the Grant Suite. After our ceremony, we went to our bridal suite (the Jenny Lind Suite!) to have the yichud, which in Jewish weddings is a moment the bride and groom have alone and can share their first meal together. We had an afterparty at the Round Robin Bar, then when we wanted to party more, we took the remaining revelers to our bridal suite and were provided with food and beverage to fuel the party to the wee hours! The next day, we had our Farewell Brunch at the Cafe du Parc which had a wonderful buffet brunch for us.
In all of our wedding activities, the Willard excelled in food, service and organization. A couple of weeks later after the wedding, we were at the Willard for another event, and the staff even remembered us and were so kind and attentive, even though it wasn't OUR wedding anymore!
My husband is the most critical person I know, and he was appalled at the amount of time and money one can spend on a wedding. But after our wedding, he now says that he wishes that we could have such a celebratory event at the Willard every year!!!
The prices are on the high side, so maybe my rating for the value for cost should have been less, but because we were rather picky with our options for not only the menu, but the decor, organization of the events, etc., we think we did receive value for the cost. -
![Christine]()
Christine Sent on 07/22/2025Would give 10 stars if I could
The Willard is truly one of the most iconic and breathtaking wedding venues in D.C.—the location is unmatched. Working with Shauntel during the planning process was an absolute pleasure. She was communicative, organized, and professional from day one, which made the entire process smooth and stress-free. The entire Willard staff went above and beyond throughout our wedding weekend—we felt so genuinely cared for from start to finish. So many of our guests mentioned the wedding was out of fairytale and that's exactly how it felt to us. If you're looking for a venue that combines timeless beauty with impeccable service, The Willard is it. We are SO grateful and couldn’t have asked for a better experience! It was beyond what we could have ever dreamed of! -
![Shari]()
Shari Sent on 06/18/2008The Willard Intercontinental Hotel is everything a girl could dream of for her wedding day. The rooms are beautiful, the staff friendly & helpful, & the food magnificent. A bit on the pricey side, but well worth it. -
![MrsBean]()
Chanda Sent on 07/11/2011I loved my wedding at the Willard. The location is just amazing. The decor is fabulous. We had an afternoon wedding and it was wonderful and affordable, at least in comparison to their evening rates. The food is delicious. Our faux cake was perfectly decorated and the actual sheet cake so yummy and exactly what we wanted. Everything was very well coordinated. The service at the wedding was very good. My only advice would be to read your contract and your banquet order of event carefully. Make sure it includes EVERYTHING you want covered so there are no surprise costs, omissions, or errors. Do not assume anything even if previously discussed. Get it in writing. We wanted a simple, elegant, fun event with minimal labor on our part. Having our venue, food, cake, linens, silverware, service, set-up, tear-down, and day of coordinator all wrapped into one vendor made wedding planned a lot easier on this busy bride. I would highly recommend the Willard.
Are you interested?
Are you interested?