As a HQ employee of USPS its impossible for me to be unbiased about this place. You see, I am often here for training and I often feel trapped. But, that's more of a me-thing. The first couple dozen times I came here, I was delighted and that's why they are getting 5-stars. Some great things about the Bolger Center: - The staff! Everyone is INCREDIBLY friendly and accomodating! - The food: it's good, and plentiful...I might even say *too* plentiful - The rooms: they used to be itty-bitty and cramped (and many still are) but they have done a ton of renovations to make things better - Fun theme nights: Wednesday is crab-leg night, Wednesday is also karaoke night at the Pony Express (the bar), Tuesday at the Pony is trivia night, etc. - The costs are very reasonable and competitive Some things that annoy me: - You can't get your own food at the buffet anymore. And sometimes the staff don't have the best English. Usually this is something I do not care about at all, but sometimes there is a language barrier when you're trying to communicate what you want on your salad. - If you are renting this facility to give a training...BEWARE: you will be aggressively nickel-and-dimed if you require any additional help/supplies that are not explicitly in your contract! What I really don't like: - You feel stuck here. Downtown DC is a long ways away and expensive to get here, so you start to feel trapped the more you come here. I wish they had a shuttle into DC proper or something. read more

See all

The staff took a lot of pride in their customer service. Everyone was very friendly. They did an amazing job cleaning my room each day. There was good variety of food each day. The conference room was comfortable and met our needs for our meetings. The gift shop was very affordable. The rooms are dorm like, but they are comfortable and met all of my needs. It appears to be newly renovated. I loved the snacks provided in the lobby area of the Osgood building. The bar area was fun. Drinks were affordable and the pool tables helped entertain my group. I loved karaoke night. I had so much fun! Can't wait to visit again. read more

See all

I was here back in April for a week long course and we all had a great time. The food was great and the staff was extremely kind and helpful. The heating and cooling is on one system, so we ended up asking for fans since they had not switched to AC yet. The fans helped a lot. I was bummed that the pool no longer existed, but the gym was nice and the hiking trail was also nice. The amenities were top notch given the type of course I was there for and the staff went out of their way to be helpful. When I arrived they helped me figure out options to get items delivered to the hotel that I forgot and where I could find a local pharmacy to fill a prescription I forgot. I hope I have the opportunity to take a class here again. read more

See all

The facility is wonderful. The upgraded rooms, also wonderful. Mess hall meals are a respectable 4/5 (some 5/5, depending on the day). With the renovations (which make the small rooms exponentially better) , they did not update the water heat/cooling system. It is not the standard nat. gas heat and condensor/evap cooling. So in spring/fall, you get which ever is still in use. Currently it is 85* outside, as is my room... with the window and main door blocked open. Also with a fan (I purchased) trying to suck fresh air in. It's a shared plumbing system between the boilers and chillers. One or the other. The facility, custodial, and mess hall chefs/staff are 11/10. Everyone that is an employee, are the kindest folks you will ever meet! The facility, as a whole, just needs to bring the HVAC up to standards. read more

Since my review is being questioned by the staff let me elaborate. I watched an employee get fired for cleaning up! They cleaned up food that someone dropped on the floor, and the manager accused them of stealing the food. Literally treating staff like animals. Disgusting. This happened at The Bolger Center, where you're trying to pass dorm rooms off as hotel rooms. read more

I organized my work user meeting conference with this facility. They are one really busy conference center! We toured the place twice and yes although it is quite isolated and surrounded by multi million dollar homes, I really like the grounds and quite peaceful. They offer free parking and it can be a challenge to find parking close to the buildings. Hence you may have to park way out in the front parking lots. The hotel rooms I will say are tiny. The single rooms fits a double bed and that's about it. At lease it has a desk, tv, and private bathroom. This place was originally built as a convent for nuns, so I can see why the rooms are small. Nice fitness room inside the Franklin building with an indoor pool too. Dining options are just two: Osgood restaurant that serves buffet style breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've eaten the lunch buffet and they have at least three stations for hot food, that makes the line go fast. Make sure to grab your table first, then get your food. It gets crowded! Don't forget their great dessert buffet. You can easily put on the pounds here. The other is Pony Express Bar and Grill. It's a huge place. Last call for food is 10:30 and has pool tables and shuffleboard. For conferences, they also have snack rooms that are well stocked for both AM and PM snacks. I haven't used the hotel shuttle but I know you have to make reservations to use it. It starts after 5, as this place is aimed at conference guests, not leisure guests. I wouldn't hesitate at all in booking my venue here again. For the money and value, you can't beat it. read more

See all

No rating, here, but can you please advise if and when your facility will reopen to the public? Call to your reervation number go unanswered. read more

We came here for my husband's work convention. They had a spouse/family night for us last night. They provided the good which was very good. We didn't have dinner at the bar/restaurant here. We were told it's very expensive.and I read about it online as well. We went ahead and tried breakfast. It's a buffet. Not to expensive. The food was really good. Lots of choices. The staff was very nice. And they accommodated is well. The room is very small. Lol. We aren't used to small rooms when we go out of town. But the bed was very comfortable. The shower worked great. The a/c kept us very comfortable ( we like cold rooms). We have no complaints. We got a good price for our room because of the postal service. (my hubby's work) read more

See all

The Bolger is everything that the National Training Center would ever wish to be. Located in Potomac MD, it is well landcaped, almost luxurious, and it engenders more of a retreat and study feeling than a stark bootcamp like it's western competitor. The rooms at the Bolger, although small, are very well appointed and useful. They are located in the vicinity of the Main Building, an art-deco looking large classroom building that also houses the dining area. Near the lodging facilities, a bar and pool table serves to pass the time. There is also a complete gym facility with an olympic pool and weight rooms in the North Building. A mile-and-a-half running track compliments the expansive, well kept grounds. There are a myriad of break stations, constantly restocked with snacks, fruit, coffee, juices and yogurt. And oh yes, the dining area also has a Lavazza espresso stand. An optimum place for a retreat or a conference. read more

See all

So I really want to like staying here. They do have a mile and a half jogging trail, a good gym with both cardio and weights, and a indoor pool which I appreciate. However, the customer service has been atrocious and just downright rude which appears to be because the center is still run by the Postal Service, a federal agency. So I believe they're not treating us like normal hotel guests but victims of government contracts. I miss IHG hotels. I always got the feeling they wanted us happy even though we were obviously government employees. And I will say the buffets at Osgood's restaurant have been fabulous. Lots of great diversity and food quality however they are very strict in between meal times. There is a business center Open 7 AM to 5 PM I have not used yet and my colleagues said they're often randomly closed as has been the pool. I need to ship some books home so I'll give it a try later and change my rating if the customer service improves. I'll be staying here three weeks for work. My main issue has been with using your shuttle service. There's a free shuttle that goes between the center and the mall and CVS and in the metro from 5 PM to 10 PM on weekdays and 10 AM to? On weekends. I was told originally it was good till 10 PM on the weekends but now the staffTold me it ends earlier without giving me a stated time. The history lessons are pretty cool as nuns used to live and study here. Afterwords postal service employees train here similar to a college experience. I like the history. The rooms are shockingly small however it makes sense for when the nuns used to live there. I can put up with that if customer service was better. There are ice machines and washers and dryer's at the end of most hallways that are a dollar in quarters. There is a small shoppette at by the front desk. There are tennis courts and basketball hoops in the corner next to the jogging trail. Let me be specific. I've only had issues with the front desk staff. The staff in the dining rooms and housekeeping have been excellent. And the property is quite beautiful and in the famous expensive neighborhood of Potomac which apparently is one of the wealthiest in the country. I hope the stay gets better & more predictable. The bar with games has been closed & being remodeled. read more

See all

The William F. Bolger Center is a "hidden gem" of a venue in Potomac, MD. On 43 acres of gorgeous grounds, there is a beautiful area for an outdoor wedding, as well as two halls for indoor weddings/receptions. In May, 2022, we used the "Stained Glass Hall" for the wedding and the reception, and it was fantastic. This venue worked especially well because we had quite a few out of town guests. The Bolger has over 400 comfortable rooms that can be put into a discounted block for wedding guests on the wedding weekend. The cafeteria has much variety. The buildings are a bit old fashioned (somewhat like the older hotels in the big national parks), and very well maintained which adds to the charm. It feels like stepping back to the 50's or 60's and is a lot of fun. The reception food is fantastic! We could give our guests a choice of three entrees which were all delicious. Vegetarian options were available for hors d'oeuvres and entrees. Bolger allowed us to pay for beer and wine ordered by guests (many family members are non-drinkers) after the wedding, which was more economical. Staff were helpful and the wedding/reception went smoothly. Sarah Curiale, the onsite coordinator, answered questions quickly and professionally and contributed a lot to "making the trains run on time". She interacted with family members and friends doing various tasks in a helpful and professional manner. Compared to other venues in the area, we got a lot of value for our money. And, after two months we are still happily together! read more

Our high school reunion was at the Bolger Center. I live not far from the Center so we didn't stay in the hotel, but I didn't hear any complaints from friends who did. The Center is in Potomac but not far from Bethesda and Montgomery Mall. It is a nice environment with plenty of plant, ponds, and walking paths. It's hard to separate the venue from the planning committee. The Friday night welcome reception was a ridiculous table of cheese, grapes and potato chips. Potato chips? And the Saturday nigh dinner was a "Hot Shoppes" mess of meat and grease. That might have been okay when we were 17, but this was a class reunion of way over 17 year olds. The "event bar tenders" were hot and cold, but the "open bar tender" in the lobby before the "event" was delightful, plus her drinks were cheaper. We would have been very crowded in the Saturday night event venue, but fortunately it was a beautiful October evening and we were able to use the patio for overflow. The convenience of the hotel to the venue was a major plus. And there were amenities we didn't use (in-door pool?). Overall not bad for a reunion/conference type event. read more

We were at this place for a meeting. The place is far from the airport but it's a good place for meetings. The staff were nice and accommodating ... the best part of it was the food...delicious and the service is good...the menu was different every night for dinner.....only thing is don't expect for a big room...it's only good for one person only or a long stay for training ....but definitely a nice place for business meeting but not for leisurely visit for Washington... read more

This is a long-owed review for our wedding at the Bolger Center in October 2019. We were very pleased with our experience and everything turned out well. Special kudos to our sales manager Ricky who was our point of contact and he coordinated with his event management team and the catering team to deliver a great event! Ricky was friendly, patient, accommodating, and professional from our first visit till even after our wedding. He was very responsive to my enquirers and always trying to help and address our concerns and anxieties. He was proactive and polite when he was trying to remind us of different action items throughout the planning stage. He carefully took notes and accommodated to our tastes and requests during the tasting session with my parents, which happened the day after my birthday, and he was so courteous that he even prepared a small gift for me. From two weeks before the big day, we made several trips to drop off things and equipment, walk through the venue, test the lighting, audio and projector in the Stained Glass Hall, and go through with Ricky as well as my day of coordinator about the set up at the reception and cocktail areas. Given my work schedule, I was only able to come afterwork (after 6pm), and Ricky was willing to stay late at work to accommodate my visits. He even helped us (and our helper friends) to unload the heavy equipments and took them into the venue. I can go on and on praising about Ricky. The property and venue are spectacular, we had the cocktail outdoor and right outside of the Oswald building, and dinner reception in the Stained Glass Hall. We're so pleased with the amount of space that were given and the Stained Glass Hall is so beautiful (love the high-ceilings and the lighting with the color of our choice). Ricky also accommodated our request to give us a private lounge outside of the overland room (with a couch) to hold our Chinese Tea Ceremony. We were most pleased with the food (both the selections of hor'd oeuvres during the cocktail hour and the three-courses dinner). We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our guests! Catering staff were attentive and professional. Hotel staff and security were friendly and courteous. You may wonder what took off one star from my review? Two things: first, we expressed very high interest after my initial visit but my fiance back then was out of town so I wanted to wait for him to come back and take a look before we sign the contract, so we told Ricky to place a soft hold for us and check with us before he release it. However, there seemed to be some miscommunication among different sales manager that another sales manager rented out the Stained Glass Hall until late in the afternoon (like 5:45pm), we were devastated at first as we love the property! Deciding between looking for another venue just 6 months before our wedding and pushing for a late dinner reception to 7pm (glad that we had our wedding ceremony else where earlier), we chose the later. At the end, we were so glad that the flipping of the room from the previous event to our dinner reception was seamless and well-managed. However, it caused us a lot of anxiety! The other thing that let us down was the billing department. The accounting supervisor was kind of intimidating which gave me a feeling of collecting agency. First, I received a bill of the first deposit (almost a quarter of the total) to be paid even before we signed the contract. Then when they needed the security code of my credit card to process the payment, they left a voicemail and emailed me that "the deposit is due today". It happened that I was traveling and was on a 17 hours flight and didn't see the email or got the voicemail in time. Which made me so panic as I've never missed any payment my entire life! So, upon my arrival with jetlag I couldn't rest but had to call long-distance and email immediately to explain the circumstance and process the payment. Why didn't they contact me earlier for the complete payment information and give me more lead time to respond? Nevertheless, these glitches were tempered by the beautiful venue and the good food, together with the professionalism of Ricky, who was so pleasant to work with, overall, we had a memorable wedding reception at Bolger Center. We're glad that we decided to go with Bolger to celebrate the most important day of our life! read more

See all

We just had our twin girls' mitzvah celebration at the Bolger center. It's been a few years in the making... postponed from last year due to covid, we weren't sure it was going to happen at all. The day finally came and we couldn't have been happier with the accommodations, the food, the event planner, and the Osgood Restaurant. The Franklin Ballroom was spacious and perfect... allowing our guests ample room to spread out. The bartenders were generous and funny, the wait staff were professional and efficient, and our personal event planner Sarah Curiale could not have been more attentive, patient, accommodating, or kind. We're two years out for our youngest and we want to book this for him already. thank you to Sarah Curiale and the Bolger center for making what seemed impossible into a beautiful affair. read more

We stayed at the Bolger Center for a wedding that was happening on site, so we figured we'd use that room block as home base. The Bolger Center is very convenient when you have activities happening on site. It is significantly less convenient when you have to venture out. The shuttles run infrequently to the metro and to the mall. Otherwise, it's a $15 Lyft. Directions aren't very clear either so you may spend some time wandering around with your Lyft driver trying to find hotel check in. While the food in the dining room and in the Pony Express were both fine, there aren't any places at the Bolger Center that served lunch while we were there due to pre-booked events. This makes for a pretty hard eating situation when you're weighing whether you should spend $30 round trip to eat lunch or if you should just aim to get out for the day. I wouldn't recommend staying at the Bolger Center unless you had something on site - the hotel rooms were just fine, and the distance makes the location pretty inconvenient. read more

I attended a conference here. The rooms were small, but the food was good. Honestly they had some of the best macaroons I've had (I know, right!? I was surprised too!). Their food is pricey, but it was very tasty and kind of worth the price. The staff were attentive and friendly to our needs. Their av equipment went out during a presentation, but they did help to fix it once someone tracked them down. P read more

Horrible experience overall & incompetent staff. The front desk staff are not helpful, incredibly rude & act like they HATE their jobs. I've never seen such unprofessionalism in a hospitality establishment. I'd never recommend this place to anyone based on my customer service experience. Due to widespread power outages recently, I checked in & was immediately told there was an issue with the reservation made online through a 3rd party. The lady was unapologetic & despite having getting lost on the property & walking around in the 95+ degree heat, she was not the least bit sensitive. Many people in the area have been displaced as a result of the power outages that resulted from a recent storm that hit the DC area & the staff here definitely could have made a little effort to show some empathy and accomodate guests. I had a conversation with the General Manager who provided me with his contact information in case I needed anything which eased my mind a little. Aside from the horrific front desk staff, the overall service isn't great. They don't offer room service (except pizza).. And, the food is served buffet style at a flat rate per person. A la carte isn't an option & the prices are $20 a head. As someone who is semi-vegetarian, there weren't a lot of veggie menu options... so I helped myself to salads & fruits. I showed up for lunch today (a few minutes after the kitchen opened), paid my $20 and aside from salad, soup & several (meat) menu options, the rest of the food hadn't been set out yet. Overall, the food selection is great for those that eat meat, but they need to offer more healthy options. I'd never ever come back here, despite the beautiful property & other wonderful services they offer (corporate/team outings, etc.). read more

My review is based on a work conference experience... I've organized or been a part of too many conferences to count. The Bolger Center offers a somewhat uniquer experience as attending puts you more in isolation. While the idea may sound like a key to successful team building, it may not be received as intended. As such, you may end up with little clicks who head out to find something they like to do as others stay behind in. The pony express is a decent bar, but even it gets tiresome after a few days. The rooms are rather small and could have your group spread out all over a rather large campus. On the positive side, the staff is friendly and ready with recommendations. Maybe the Bolger Center is suited for something other than 3 day work off-sites... read more

Bolger Conference Center Hotel - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

Nice grounds, prompt service, and comfortable meeting spaces. Also provides a free continental breakfast in some halls along with snacks in the afternoon. Lunch is a bit expensive at $20 but the food and selection exceed expectation. Didn't stay on campus so can't speak to the lodging conditions. read more

As owner of an event management firm, working with Sarah was amazing, every step of the way. She was professional, helpful, responsive, flexible and super easy to work with. Our event was amazing. The food was excellent and exceeded our expectations and then some. Our guests are still raving about how excellent the food was and how fabulous the service was from all of the staff. From the chef to the bartender to the servers to the employees that work at the Bolger Center, all were friendly, helpful and a pleasure to work with. I'm already looking into booking our next event there. I highly recommend using the Bolger Center, it's true hidden gem. Sheryl Krauthamer Precon Events read more

Wow, What a great place to have a party....Sarah worked with us to get all the details right with plenty of resources from the AV dept to set up mics for an a cappella group, lists of trusted vendors to use and to a chef that worked with us to get a menu that had a wide range of ages fed and happy (toddlers to retired folks). Attendees gave rave feedback to us saying what an amazing venue it was...totally unexpected for it's location with easy parking, affordable rates and spacious grounds. We only reserved the Stained Glass Hall but after the party a bunch of us stayed late in the lounge area of the Osgood's Restaurant and they were so kind and accommodating. So happy we found out the 'conference center' was a great place to host events. read more

I came here as the spouse of someone speaking at a retreat. I enjoyed my stay and appreciated the little touches of quality such as in the bathroom products and the really nice towels and very comfortable bed and pillows (I loved the pillows!) The room was very pretty and seemed to have been recently updated. It was also very clean. But as others have commented, the room was quite small. You could also hear the loud toilets flushing from your neighbors and could hear through the walls of the rooms. The TV reception wasn't very clear but worked fine and they offer a lot of channels. We were given one water bottle (though there were two of us) in our room and it looked like the label had peeled off so they used scotch tape to put it back on- seemed a little weird. There seemed to be some mistakes that were made by the hotel staff, such as putting us in a smaller room than expected (for one person instead of two) and then charging us for an upgrade when we never changed rooms and my husband having to try to convince the person on the phone that we really were in the same room for both nights. Also, the dining room wasn't open when the retreat people thought it would be, which also led to confusion and frustration, though it seemed like they made some concessions which was nice. The grounds look beautiful- it wasn't spring yet so nothing was growing or blooming but wow, I bet it is amazing to stay here at other times of the year. They also had outdoor seating and places to hang out (including by a fire pit) which looked like it would be comfortable and appealing in better weather. They didn't have shuttles to and from the Metro during the day, only in the evening, so we took one of the cars that were waiting out front, which charged a set price of $25 for one person and $30 for two people to drive you to the Metro, which seemed more expensive than it needed to be. But it was nice it was available. We ate at the Pony Express bar (pretty good) and at Osgood for the breakfast buffet which I loved (but which was included in our retreat so I don't know how much it cost). Overall this seems like it would be a good place to have a retreat or conference. read more

The hotel is old and small. As a coworker described it: you can turn on the tv with your feet if your lying down on the bed! Tiny rooms! Food on campus was good for scheduled meetings. Too far from the Capitol if you want to go sightseeing. read more

I was here for a retreat. The grounds are beautiful and great for admiring fall foliage. I appreciate the endless snacks available, and the restaurant staff was friendly and the food was delicious. However, the complimentary shuttle from the Metro to the Bolger Center was late by almost an hour (I had called ahead to confirm the pick-up time). When I called the Bolger Center when it failed to show up, I was kept on hold for 25 minutes. It is not a big deal, but it made me wonder how the Bolger Center can manage the details of an event if its shuttle operations were so inefficient. read more

Bolger Conference Center Hotel - @ Bolger Center for a retreat - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

Everything was great from the planning to the execution! We really enjoyed working with Sarah and her team. The food was great, the venue was beautiful and the service was top notch, Our guests also enjoyed the rooms and the restaurants which were both excellent values read more

Absolutely loved the Bolger Center!! Our wedding was in the "Stained Glass Hall". The room was beautiful and perfect for our 80 guests (I believe it can fit 150 max). The venue was the most ideal place to have our ceremony and reception. They also provided food, drinks, a day of coordinator (Shout out to Sarah Curiale who was amazing through out the entire process) and lighting. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone looking for a space to host a meeting, throw a party, or get married. read more

Bolger Conference Center Hotel - The stained glass. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

See all

We had our wedding at the Bolger Center during November of 2019 and were very with our experience and how everything turned out: Sales Manager: Sarah, our sales manager at the Bolger Center, was very knowledgeable, experienced, patient and accommodating. During our initial venue visit she was able to answer all of our questions in great detail, and came across as very experienced in event management. She demonstrated that same level of professionalism throughout the entire process. Sarah was also extremely patient with us. During the months leading up to our wedding, she was very accommodating in showing us, our families, and our vendors the space, even if that meant coming in on weekends or in the evenings. Further, on the weekend of our wedding she was patient with us when our rehearsal ran late, and on the wedding day she ensured things were going to plan. She was even present during our post-wedding breakfast, checking in with us to see if we were doing well. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her. Property and Staff: One benefit of having an event at the Bolger Center is that the property has everything you need. Most of our out of town guests stayed on the property during our event weekend. The venue also has a bar (Pony Express), which was a convenient space for us and our guests to grab some food and drink. We found the rooms well-maintained and the public spaces were clean and staffed appropriately. Perhaps what stood out to us most was the staff. Every employee of the Bolger Center that we came across, from the cleaning crew to the security, was very pleasant and always greeted us with a smile. Further, they demonstrated excellent professionalism during our event. As an example, we noticed that when they served dinner during our wedding, they had multiple staff members attend to one table all at once, so that food was served at the same time to each guest in a given table. The benefit of this was that there wasn't anyone waiting for someone else in their table to be served before they could start eating, and therefore food did not get cold. Our Wedding During the last nine months leading up to the wedding, we worked closely with Sarah to make sure our vision for the wedding come to fruition. Everything that Bolger Center provided us from the rehearsal dinner to the post-wedding breakfast was spectacular. The getting-ready rooms for the bridal party were conveniently located in the same building as our event. Our wedding took place in the Stained Glass Hall, which looked absolutely stunning. The lighting in the room was customizable, and it looked perfect during our big day. Since we used the same room for the ceremony and reception, the flip of the room during cocktail hour was seamless. The food tasted excellent and was warm. The staff that attended to our wedding were very experienced and pleasant. Overall, we had an unforgettable wedding at Bolger Center. All our guests spoke highly of this beautiful venue and we would recommend it to anyone planning a wedding in the DMV area. read more

The rooms are tiny, but it was just me so it was perfect. This is an obvious place for conferences and retreats, as well as law enforcement training. The food was fabulous! The entire walking path is cobblestone so heels were no good for me. read more

Not a fan. This hotel is in the middle of nowhere and entails a $15 Lyft to get to the closest metro stop. Poor attention to detail - e.g. stains on the carpeting, no salt in the dining room salt shakers, locking dining guests into the dining room while still eating to prevent anyone else from entering - just enhanced the inconvenient location and feelings of isolation. If considering for booking a conference - remember that the dollars saved will be spent down the line by your participants traveling to this location. They may well leave like me - feeling frustrated, unnecessarily isolated and poorly fed on lukewarm food with no other dining options within walking distance. read more

I stayed here for the first time for a work conference. The hotel itself was a bit outdated and the hallways smelt like mildew. The room in was incredibly tiny but it had the bare necessities which was fine overall. I could not sleep however due to their incredibly old A.C. system which would start up with this loud rattling noise every so often and wake me up. Not the best when you are scheduled for a presentation the next day. As for the conference center, it was well kept (but outdated) and the staff were all very friendly. All in all, if you have to stay here for an event you can manage; however, if you're staying for pleasure, look elsewhere. read more

Had a fabulous time at a wedding here in early November! The Bolger Center is one of those all-in-one packages. Pretty grounds to hold a wedding ceremony? Check. Hotel accommodations? Check. Lots of spaces for the cocktail hour then reception? Check. And of course, a bar to go to after the reception, right? Still weirds me out that this place is owned by the Postal Service though. There's a great bar (the Pony Express, get it?) that has an expansive inside, and a huge outside (complete with firepit). The food is pretty good, and during happy hour they had $1 hot dogs. The hotel rooms are tiny, but they are serviceable and clean (I think about ($80-90 a night). The best part about the Bolger center is the fabulous breakfast included with your stay. Omelet bar, fresh fruit, hot breakfast, coffee and tea bar, and self serve froyo. Nothing better to end a wedding weekend. read more

I am super highly disappointed. Annette was my sales rep and was very pleasant. The food tasting was superb and she told me all the food requests I had was not an issue. However, during dinner on our wedding day, soup was not given out and dessert was incorrect. Which made most of my guests confused since my menu has stated otherwise. I checked my contract to see if I was crazy but no I am not. I was very detailed and firm about my food order and it came out incorrectly. Food tasted good though. I had an after party and had ordered 6 different passed hor'dourves but only saw 3. Throughout the 3 hour party, I wasn't even offered one. Most of my friends told me they had maybe two to three variety. Pretty confident most of my orders weren't even made. Bolger center was highly rated on theknot so I took my chances here. My parents spent thousands and I tried contacting the sales but no response. My parent told me not to worry about and have a stress free honeymoon. I do not wish any bride having to go through that. I just wished they would have replied back and tell me what happened and give me my money back for the things I was not given. read more

I stayed here as part of a work training. The room I was given was barely wider than the bed. The front desk was not helpful at all upon check-in. I had to ask where to park my car and they said nothing besides the fact that they needed my credit card and license and here was my key. I had to ask which way my room was and the signage is so horrible that after wandering around, had to go back to the front desk and ask the same unhelpful person where my room was again and after some more wandering around I finally found it. The C/D combined building signage definitely needs to be redone. It would be helpful to know where some other things are considering this is the first time I was staying here, but none of the usual information the front desk usually tells you when you check in was offered up, such as where I could eat (evidently I had a meal voucher I could have used that first night, but that information was never communicated to me) or where the fitness facilities were located. I'm not sure what was up with the television channels either. All of the cable channels were fuzzy and didn't have a clear reception. The bed was very uncomfortable and it almost felt as though the springs were coming through it. You could hear the toilets flushing from surrounding rooms which was very loud. The lotion that was in my bathroom had a thick layer of dust on top of it. Also, when I first turned on the shower, lots of brown water came out of the faucet. Even the wireless internet kept dropping out, which is surprising considering this is billed as a business/conference facility. If this was a stand-alone hotel without the meeting and conference center attached to it, I don't think that it would still be in business given the small size of the rooms and the fact that you can hear everything through the walls. Moreover, the front desk staff were not friendly when I checked in. Also, the elevator didn't seem to be in very good shape and I, like others, was nervous about getting stuck in it. Lastly, no one told me when I asked for the shuttle schedule in the morning that the last two shuttles of the night from the Metro back to Bolger would be cancelled. That would be helpful information to know especially when you're relying on that for transportation! I only found out I was on the last shuttle of the night when the shuttle driver told me as I was on the third-to-last of the night shuttle runs that evidently had somehow turned into the last shuttle of the night without any prior notice. Thank goodness I made it on that shuttle because it was below freezing that night and it would not have been a pleasant experience to be standing there all night outside the Metro station waiting for a shuttle that was never coming! read more

Bolger Conference Center Hotel - Standing as far back in the corner of the room in an attempt to try to get a picture of the whole room. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

Unless I was coming to a work conference I would probably not come back again. The room was adequate "suite" is not the term I would use for the room I stayed in, again for a conference the setting was very nice. The pool did not open until 5pm so i did not get to take advantage of the pool however am pretty happy about that after reading some of the reviews. This place definitely caters to the conference setting or work schedule. Pool hours are from 5pm - 10pm. No lunch or dinner at the dining hall on Saturday (not sure about Sunday didn't stay past Sunday morning). A living social voucher was used with this stay so an all you can eat breakfast was included. This wasn't too bad there was a variety of different types of food to eat they even had an omelet station for a "custom" made omelet. Part of the problem with this stay was that the shower in the room was broken the front desk was called and told that the piece to turn on the shower was missing and their answer to we need to shower was we will send an engineer. The stay was over Easter weekend and by the time engineering made it to the room everyone had "bathed" in the tub with water being dumped out of the ice bucket from the room. Upon checking out they needed to be reminded that we were suppose to get 2 free $10 Metro passes from the living social coupon and they hardly apologized or even offered any type of compensation for the lack of shower in the room. All in all not the worst place I have had to stay in but definitely not a luxury hotel or a place I will come back to for a vacation. One nice feature I will point out is the grounds that the hotel sits on are beautiful. There is a nice hiking trail and bike path as well as a "fitness and team building" center with different stations for fitness and team building activities. read more

Spent five days here taking a class for my federal government job. Gorgeous campus, polite and helpful staff, very nice meeting facilities. Hotel rooms are very tiny, but this place started out as a convent and transitioned to a boarding school for disabled children so it's easy to understand the room sizes. There are plenty of indoor and outdoor lounge areas to get comfy, meet up with friends, etc. The food is plentiful and delicious, both in the dining hall and in the snack rooms. High quality fare at every meal (NOT institutional food) so it's easy to overeat. One caution: the walkways are all cobblestones, so if you wear spiky high heels you must step carefully. Overall, this facility is outstanding all around and would be a great venue for all kinds of events! read more

We were here for a wedding the weekend of September 19th and were far from impressed from the start. Our family's reservation was for 3 rooms. We called 3 weeks ahead to ask that 1 room reservation be made for Friday in addition to Saturday. I was told that wasn't a problem and that the change had been made. When we called back 2 weeks later to add Friday night to a second room, we were told that no changes had been made to our reservation, the hotel was now completely booked for Friday night and that they wouldn't be able to honor the room block discount rate for Friday night anyway. The woman was downright rude. Enter a competent manager and suddenly they were more than happy to book two additional nights for us. (Guess they were not all booked up....) The room we were originally put in (after driving for 4+hours and arriving at 11:45PM) had one double bed.....for 2 people. Um well that wasn't going to work. Back downstairs and over to the lobby we go. The woman at the front desk was very nice and accommodating. She told us we could go check out a different room. It had two double beds and was far more updated so we graciously accepted it. The grounds are very well maintained which made for a beautiful outdoor 5:30 ceremony. Better make it quick though-there was a ceremony immediately following ours at 6:30! The stained glass room was nice for the reception but the food was lack-luster and nothing to write home about. I'll tell you what though-those bar tenders had a heavy pour which made for a very fun night. Once the reception was over, we stumbled over to the Pony Express and continued drinking. Not sure if shot glasses aren't a thing in MD or not but our "shots" of tequila came in tumblers and had us tumbling out of there at around 2:30AM. It was a great way to end the evening and I seem to remember being pretty bad at shuffle board that night too.... read more

I ate twice here, one in the gill bar, one in a social event. The food from the grill bar was ok, but it took forever (more than one hour) for us to get our food. Second time was for a event, we had around 30 tables, and they obvious don't have enough people to cater a event properly. The food was cold, boring and taste disgusting, and the food quality was way lower than I would expect for 30$/person. read more

I wouldn't recommend this place. It's pricey and outdated. The rooms are very basic. The toiletries are low end. The water is ultra chlorinated. The heating/air system can only handle one or the other at a time so I was given a broken space heater when it was an air system only. It's 51 degrees here right now... so cold. I'm concerned about the fire hazard this broken space heater is creating. The walls are paper thin in the rooms so I got to listen to my neighbor hack her lungs out all night. The facilities we rented were not set up right for what we ordered. We were told we'd get a full time A/V guy... that didn't happen. Also, the check in desk is less than reliable. The food is just ok... like I said, I wouldn't recommend this place. read more

Our event was perfect. Ricky was extremely knowledgeable and professional. Everything was so easy! I highly recommend this spacious, beautiful facility. read more