We have just returned from three days/two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn. What a pleasant experience we had!
We arrived early than check-in time and were giving a room immediately. The room was slightly small but clean, with microwave, refrigerator, flat screen TV, no noise, comfortable beds with more than enough pillows.
The hotel staff was friendly and helpful (provided map, gave an extra key card after checked out because we left something in the room).
The pool is not big, but with warm water and close to the elevators. My daughter and I used it every night.
We haven’t had any meal in the hotel. The cookies every night was a nice touch especially for children.
The location is great! Close to the metro, White House Visitor Center, White House, some Monuments, restaurants, Starbucks, pharmacy…
Overall, for the price we paid (first I booked $179 per night on hotel’s website and after checking that the price went down I was giving a lower rate of $159) we had an exceptional value. We would definitely return to this hotel any day.

My family of three (mother and two school age children) recently stayed at this property for a ten day visit to Wasington DC. Due to it being "Cherry Blossom Festival" the rate was over $300 per night (including sales/room/DC city taxes). Our rate also included a "free" breakfast (which the Hilton charges a ridiculous $15/per person). I choose this hotel based on reviews on this site, proximity to a Metro stop (the McPherson stop is literally across the street) and its relative close location to the Mall (its actually not that close at all!) Our first room was on the street side, on the 6th floor. The noise/traffic from the street was too much too bear, even with a noise machine (that I brought from home). After two sleepless nights, I asked to be moved to another room, due to the fact that we were guests of the hotel for a total of ten nights. The hotel did accomodate me and moved me to a "quiet" room. It was located off a wind tunnel across from an office building. It was a terrible view, and although there was a lot of noise at 6:00 am from the trash dumpster being emptied, it beat the noise of the street side room. This room was also considerably smaller than the first room. And again, the beds are SMALL. Two double beds in a cramped room for over $300 a night? It was and is ridiculous.
With the exception of one individual who worked the front desk, we found the overall staff of this hotel to be almost down right rude and absolutely indifferent. The wait staff in the restaurant were often "missing in action" and could seem to care less about us let alone getting us our requested coffee/juice in the am (or replenishing the supply of food in the buffet - they often ran out of food and didn't bother to refill). As far as getting directions/assistance with sightseeing, we knew more about the area then they did (and we are from Michigan!). We were given incorrect directions and incorrect information on several occasions. For over $300/night this hotel should be offering a whole lot more insofar as service, not to mention the size of the beds. The best thing this hotel has going for it is the Metro stop across the street. But there has to be a dozen hotels that offer close proximity to a metro stop with a better price, larger beds and better service than this place.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Franklin Square for eight nights for sightseeing and visiting family. I can't say enough good about this hotel; for a mid-level business hotel, the service was exceptional. It was my first time to try a Hilton Garden Inn, but based on this stay, it won't be my last.

The location is terrific for sightseeing. You're just a few blocks from the White House and a short Metro ride from the Mall and Capitol Hill, as well as other tourist spots. The Metro stop is right across the street.

The price, based on the extensive search for a variety of brand names in this same quality range, was a bit below market, while the experience was definitely above.

Not that we didn't have glitches; there were a few things in our room that never quite worked such as the MP3 player function on the radio, but they were too minor to bother us. The one thing that was major was taken care of as soon as we reported it.

The staff was exceptionally attentive and friendly. Everyone from maids to front desk to maintenance men greeted us with a smile in the halls, or when we came and went.

Requests were tended to promptly, and the evening desk staff greeted us by name and chatted us up whenever we went in or out (as they did other guests.) Those niceties are part of what made us enjoy our long stay. They also served as concierges with restaurant recommendations and directions as needed.

We only ate breakfasts in the hotel; the buffet was good, if expensive (but not by D.C. standards.) A cheap alternative for lunch or dinner was the Cosi on the corner, which has delicious food. It's a chain you'll find throughout the DC area.

The room was decently sized, we had a refrigerator and microwave, and the bed was one of the most comfortable I've found at a mid-range hotel. The bathroom was a little bit small, but it worked for the two of us. And the room was quiet, even though the hotel was almost always full.

I highly recommend this hotel, and we would definitely stay here again.

Restaurants we visited that were exceptional and merit recommending:
Central (a little too "see and be seen" but the food was good)
Jaleo (my fave, the most divine tapas)
Oyamel (also tapas, and by the same chef as Jaleo)
The Oval Room (elegant and delicious)

We stayed here because we wanted to cash in some HHonors points and this seems like the least offensive Hilton in the area. Our other night came in at a whopping $235 plus tax, not including breakfast.
The location of this hotel is it's main asset, across the street from a Metro stop which is only a few stops from Reagan airport, and a few blocks from the Mall and all it's surrounding museums. There are also buses running outside, and the tour buses go from just a few blocks away. There is also a Cosi next door, and a few other 'fast food' options nearby, and a few shops including a Macys in the area.
But the hotel itself is a bit of a letdown. If you get a room at $80 or $90 a night, then you are getting what you pay for. But when you are paying upwards of $200 a night, a bed which is larger than a full shouldn't be too much to ask. We booked a two-bed room which was rather cramped, despite both beds being only full-size rather than queen. There was a decent enough flatscreen tv, with a good number of channels. The bathroom had that usual problem of only providing kid size towels. Our room also overlooked an office building which was fine on the weekend but we had to dress with the curtains closed on the Monday!
I used both the gym and the pool. Both were fine, the pool was actually heated which was nice, but lacked any real changing facilities.
We didn't eat breakfast here as our Hilton Honors Silver membership didn't get us free breakfast and I'm not about to pay $50 for 3 people to eat toast. But due to the lack of child-friendly restaurants in the area we did eat dinner there one night. They did have a kids menu which was nice, but at $9 for a kids burger I felt it was expensive. The service was also fairly slow as the staff seemed to be too busy taking care of room service.
We were also charged for valet parking despite not having a car, and when we went to have it removed from the bill other guests were making the same complaint.
The maids were also out in force at 7.30am on the Monday morning trying to get their rooms cleaned. No tip for ours that day.
All in all we had a good time in Washington, and if the price was under $100 we'd probably stay here again. But if I'm going to shell out the kind of money they usually charge, I expect to get my money's worth.