Alexandria, VA: I Shall Not Tell A Lie ... Mount Vernon Is Overpriced And The Employees Are Rude

George Washington’s 
Mount Vernon

3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy

Alexandria, VA 22121
Phone: (703) 780-2000
Website: mountvernon.org


A bit too commercial and expensive ($20 each) for my taste, and the two employees we managed to talked to were arrogant, speaking down to us like we were morons. 

The first was the guy at Guest Services. Arriving at 3pm (they close at 5pm), I asked "Is two hours going to be enough time to see everything?", to which he replied, "Well, I guess it's going to have to be, isn't it." With no clear indication of where we were supposed to exit the building to visit the site, I then asked where we were supposed to go. Without a word and a look on his face like "isn't it obvious idiot?", he pointed to our right.

The second was a woman by the name of Rachel T. who was controlling the line for the mansion tour. Neither the ticket agent nor the wise guy at Guest Services bothered telling us that there was a time printed on our ticket for entry to the mansion, so when we arrived to get in line she told us "you have to come back at the time on your ticket". I mentioned

that "it would have been nice if someone had told us there were specified times on our tickets so we could have better planned our itinerary and not walked all the way up here for nothing", to which she replied "oh, they told you when you bought your ticket, you probably weren't listening". I spent 20+ years in the Air Force, leading men and women in combat, so I know how to listen and follow orders, but rather than argue with this ignorant, unprofessional witch, I simply replied "whatever" and we walked away.

The iconic mansion is not overly large, but impressive nonetheless, sitting high atop a bluff overlooking the Potomac River about 15 miles south of Washington DC. It was almost the only place that had people there to explain the extensive history. For a $20 entry, I expected quite a bit more service and information.

Most of the exhibits are static. The various outbuildings, with the exception of the tomb and blacksmith shop were staged with furniture, coaches, and farm implements and a board with information to read, but you were left with no other information, not even an audio tour included in the price. There is an education center at the end of the tour with displays, videos, and a museum, but not a single employee in site to explain or answer questions. Very odd.

The grounds are nice and the setting on the Potomac historic, but I was not that impressed with the experience although the Washington's home is definitely worth a visit. Too bad it is managed by a greedy non-profit that tolerates rude behavior by their employees.

CombatCritic Gives George Washington's Mount Vernon 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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Title: I Shall Not Tell A Lie ... Mount Vernon Is Overpriced And The Employees Are Rude

Key Words: Mount Vernon, George Washington, mount, vernon, George, Washington, Virginia, DC, rude, Potomac, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"