National 4-H Youth Conference Center

Hi– I really have to say, the way this place was proposed to me was that it was an ok HOTEL (hence the word «hotel»). When we arrived we were told that we wold be staying at the «McCormick Hall» and some of us would be in the «Firestone Hall» when trying to find our rooms, we realized both of these halls had the exact room numbers, the hallways looked the same, and they both are in the same building. The food was okay, a lot of chicken but plenty of options, especially for breakfast. We had two wonderful tour guides take us around DC, and I have to give them credit: they knew a lot of information about DC. However, when we arrived to our rooms, we found old key card openers, old and worn comforters, and non-​renovated bathrooms (the reason I say non-​renovated is because on the website, they show one picture of a renovated and very nice bathroom, when we arrived it was NOT renovated). I heard at the end of my trip that this was a place that kids stay during their school trips. I have to say this to any teachers potentially thinking of this for a possible location to have their students stay… If you plan on having students stay there and you are having parents pay a lot of money for students to go on a trip here, please reconsider a nicer HOTEL. Last thing I have to say: we were told at the end of our stay that ONE of the four hotels was updated; that must have been the picture online. Overall: rooms were dirty, tour guides were nice, food was good, but they really need to do something about the rooms.

I had a great stay here. The rooms were nice for a group of kids, and the food was good. There were many options for at all meals. Though it was a little far from the city, that’s to be expected when you book this place. There was a great rec room and gift shop & the tour guides here were very informative and kind. I enjoyed my stay.

I stayed here with my grade as a class trip to DC. the rooms are average and they do have a tv, however they are dirty. the beds have dust right near your head and the showers have moldy spots and are not clean. the staff is nice though, and will address complaints. the food was better than I expected. overall, I would not have stayed here if I could choose, but the experience was not horrible. it’s good if you just need a place to sleep but not something luxurious. NOT A HOTEL.

Wtf, there’s an 11 pm curfew? Sad. The conference center is decent and the food reminds me of typical school cafeteria food.

I hosted a workshop for my company at the National 4-​H Youth Conference on October 25, 2012. Here’s a breakdown of the rooms we rented:
Lower Level Meeting Spaces:
Ohio Room: 2652 sq ft, 39′ x 68′, 176 Banquet
Minnesota Room: 1512 sq ft, 27′ x 56′, 101 classroom
Luke M. Schruben Board Room: 1400 sq ft, 27′ x 56′, 35 board
John Deere Room, 744 sq ft, 24′ x 31′, 44 classroom
Amanda Abel, the Sales Manager I worked with was extremely friendly and professional. One of the reasons my company decided to host our event here is because we wanted to donate a portion of our proceeds from our INspiring INnovation Event in DC back to the National 4-​H Youth Organization. Amanda went above and beyond to make sure our event was successful. She even took time out of her busy schedule to say a few words about 4-​H and integrated our theme, ‘INspiring INnovation,” throughout her presentation.
Freeman Thompson, our Conference Service Manager was there early to help ensure everything was set up perfectly for our event. The minute, I stepped into the Ohio room, I knew I was in good hands because Freeman had a flip board with a drawing of how the room should be set up. His crew cleaned out a storage room to give us some space to store our 14 pallets. I really appreciate his attention to detail and flexibility. Some of the hotels I’ve worked with in the past nickle and dime us for everything. But Freeman and his crew did whatever they could to help run our event smoothly. One of our presenters wanted to run his presentation on an Apple. I was surprised the 4-​H Center had such a good AV dept to accommodate our requests. They brought us an apple connector within minutes and also ordered a larger projector screen when we requested it onsite.
4 stars review:
*Beautiful 4-​H Conference Center building. The Luke M. Schruben Board Room is gorgeous. I will definitely come back for another meeting.
*Great food and service from the flexible set-​up crew, AV dept and Sales Manager. The catering ladies were not as attentive (had to remind them to refill coffee and plates), but the service from the rest of the staff far surpassed my expectations.
*Free parking in Washington D.C. area.
*No service fees like other venues, only a Maryland sales tax (currently 6%).
–Minus one star because the Ohio room and lower level needs carpet cleaning or an air freshener.
Overall, I am very happy with the 4-​H Conference Center. Our INspiring INnovation Event was a huge success and I was able to save a lot of money since 4-​H offers free parking for guests and did not charge us any additional service fees besides the Maryland sales tax.
Tip: Most of our guests are science professionals so we opted for a room block at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda 2 miles from 4-​H instead of staying in the 4-​H dorms. There is an arcade on the lower level so you’ll want to check with your Sales Manager to make sure there are no conflicting kid related activities during your meeting.

This place is disgusting! I came here for a conference a few weeks ago and was appalled at the condition of our room. Hair and penis graffiti on the bed, bath tub full of mildew, un-​vacuumed floors… I seriously could go on. The second room was better but the tub was still yucky and dust an inch thick on just about every surface.
First hour there I got yelled at by the chief for cutting through the cafeteria to the only elevator in the building. I am aware that it closes after a certain time but please don’t expect me to walk around a big ass building outside in the cold carrying luggage. Nor will I walk 3 flights of stairs with a couple suitcases late at night after traveling for many hours. The chief here is an ass.
Cafeteria style food that was decent but the wait staff was horribly rude! They refused to serve a lady holding a newborn baby because she was 1 minute late to breakfast. They still had the food out (in the warmers behind the counter) and began to eat it in front of her! I of course saw this and confronted them. They were terrified of me telling the conference center manager. So weird! So I instead spoke to the kitchen manager, who of course was apologetic but I’m sure changed nothing at this place or for these very unhappy women.
I will hopefully never have to come here again. If you’re considering this place for a conference look else where! I was awfully embarrassed that the U.S. held an international birth conference here with several world class OB’s and Midwives. Surely they deserve a clean bed.

This place is a dump. Internet is so slow it has taken me an hour to upload this review.

1) Do the words «professional development» send shivers down your spine?
2) Does the idea of a corporate retreat suddenly make you feel like using a sick day?
3) Are you the lucky guy or gal responsible for your office’s continuing education program?
If you answered «yes» to any of the above questions, then the National 4-​H Youth Conference Center (home of the National Science Bowl! *snort snort*) in Chevy Chase is the answer to your corporate prayers!
The 12 acre campus, just north of DC, is home to Classically-​architectured buildings and green, manicured lawns and gardens. There are dorms capable of housing hundreds. A state-​of-​the-​art auditorium with soft, comfy seats. An Internet café for all your computing needs. A modern, updated rec room with free foosball, air hockey, and game consoles. A shop selling Lorna Doone cookies, Cheetos, Twizzlers, Baby Ruths, Barcelona nut mixes, Junior Mints, and all manner of childhood guilty pleasures — plus plush teddies with miniature «Washington» t-​shirts, «I [heart] DC» mugs, cherry blossom snowglobes, and other cheesy, feel-​good souvenirs of our nation’s capital. An enormous cafeteria offering well-​prepared hot foods, an immense soup and salad bar, and a dessert buffet including soft-​serve ice cream — choco-​vanilla swirl! Jimmies and Oreos and gummy bear toppings! The *only* disappointment was not getting to pet a calf or have my picture taken with a prize-​winning sow. Otherwise, tho, professional development never looked so good.
Oh, and I hear they do stuff for kids here, too…