Georgetown is a top program with great students. However, it's overall reputation is good, but not great. If you check reputation ratings in USNews over the past 10 years, it rarely cracks the top 10 in either category. It's simply not a traditional top ten in the way some other schools are.
(I've never personally heard that it was the "safety school of choice" for people seeking 1-6 programs. You'll need to elaborate on that.)
One main problem with Gtown is it's generally considered to have the worst environment of any top school. It's very large and impersonal, very competitive, and apparently has many students who feel they should really be somewhere else (higher-ranked). With such large class every year, it becomes hard for those on the bottom to get good jobs, and this creates a more competitive, unpleasant environment.
Also, while it's located in a good city, it's actual neighborhood and structure isn't that great. (Very urban, not very inspiring.) I hear it's improving, though.
Finally, their faculty isn't that highly ranked in most surveys, which seems surprising, given the amount of talent that should be in that city.
All in all, I'd say Gtown has traditionally been more of a safety school for people who couldn't get into the top 10, for the reasons noted. However, there's still no question that it's excellent, top program, in the middle of the most important political/legal city on the planet. It may therefore move up in the future, especially if they address some of their outstanding issues.
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