Asking again about Washington DC hotels...

[pjlla]

I asked this question in another thread where someone else was discussing where to stay in DC. Perhaps they thought I was trying to hijack their thread because my requests for information were ignored. Sorry if I stepped on any toes with my "hijacking".... just thought I'd hop on for the ride! Anyhow.... now I am asking on my own, so I cannot be accused of any hijacking or thread killing.

My family of 4 is thinking about a short vacation in DC at the end of April. We are looking for a place to stay near the downtown/ Smithsonian area. We would like to be able to park the car when we arrive and not use it again until we leave. Here is what we are looking at that I found on Expedia and Travelocity....

Harrington Hotel in DC on 11th and E street, Howard Johnson Express on 600 New York Avenue, Comfort Inn Convention Center/Downtown 1201 13th St., and the Travelodge DC Gateway 1917 Bladensburg Rd.

Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of any of these? Or does any one know of any other hotels they can recommend? We would rather not spend more than $100/night, including parking. (Vacation budget is very low from WDW visit this past January!) We would be staying for about 3-4 nights mid-week.

We plan on mostly seeing the Smithsonian museums, with a walk by of the Capital, White House, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and Washington Monument. We are not opposed to taking the Metro, but don't want to stay too far out of DC. Thanks for any help out there!.......................P

 

[Cindy B]

Try priceline!

Seriously!

We knew we wanted to stay at a particular hotel, The Grand Hyatt, but didn't want to pay internet rate for it.

We researched on www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com to find out the best way to do this.

We picked that area, (Convention Center) and picked a certain amount of stars, (three), and we knew we would get one of three hotels. Any of the three we would be happy with, but would personally love the Grand Hyatt better.

Well, we got the Grand Hyatt for a rate of $70 a night. This Grand Hyatt is directly near a Metro station (Metro Center I think), and so all ihave to do is go down an escalator and we are there.

We were looking at the L'Enfant, and that rate was $189 a night for the same time frame... with a $70 rate we were able to extend an extra day onto our stay!

 

[Christine]

Originally posted by pjlla

Harrington Hotel in DC on 11th and E street, Howard Johnson Express on 600 New York Avenue, Comfort Inn Convention Center/Downtown 1201 13th St., and the Travelodge DC Gateway 1917 Bladensburg Rd.

I don't think any of these hotels are in safe neighborhoods. Definitely stay away from the one on Bladensburg Road. These are not in any areas where you will want to be doing any walking around at dusk/nighttime. Sorry.

I wish I could be more helpful but since I live here I don't know too much about how the hotels are inside, never having to use one. But it can be very expensive.

If you cannot find a nice one at a reasonable price through Priceline, please look for one in Northern Virginia. You may be able to get one for under $100 there and there are many Metro stops. Ideally, staying in a DC hotel is best but it might be tough for $100 or less.

 

[caitycaity]

sorry - i did not mean to ignore you on the other thread (if you are talking about me).

i agree with christine -- i would not want to stay in any of those neighborhoods.

it's going to be hard to find something nice downtown for less that $100/night. even the hotels in the burbs frequently go for more than that.

 

[TxJasmine]

We were in DC two weeks ago and stayed at the Best Western Key Bridge. We paid $80/night (AAA rate). It was half a block from the Rosslyn metro station which is about 3 or 4 stops from most of the museums. Very easy, short ride. The hotel is nice and it includes a great continental breakfast. The hotel has a great location at a very reasonable price (for DC). We wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

 

[snoopy]

Yikes! Stay far away from all of those hotels! Bad neighborhoods, all of them.

A few hotels I'd recommend:

Lowes L'enfant Plaza
Grand Hyatt
J.W. Marriott
Embassy Suites at Foggy Bottom/GW University

There are also a ton of boutique hotels that are charming, my favorite is Hay Adams which is right across the street from the White House.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I just got back from Washington DC a few weeks ago. Like you I was so unsure of everything, it was my first time and I was alone!!!

I stayed at the State Plaza Hotel. It wasn't the fanciest of hotels but the rooms were huge and all their rooms also had a kitchenette with a refrigerator, coffee maker, and electric stove (you could also request a microwave). The State Plaza was located off of 21st and E and was barely a 5 minutes walk to the national mall near the Vietnam Memorial, Korean Memorial and the Lincoln monument. It's a little bit of a walk to the Smithsonian Museums though. It was located close to GW University so I didn't feel it was a bad part of town.

Feel free to PM if you would like additional help.

Heidi

 

[snoopy]

Oh, sorry, I am just reading that you want to spend less than $100 night.

You might try the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington -- I'm looking out my window at it this minute. Its a nice hotel, and right across from the Courthouse metro station. It will take you a bit longer to get back and forth to the attractions, but its considerably cheaper then staying downtown.

 

[Christine]

Also, try the Iwo Jima Best Western. Very close to Arlington Cemetery. My BIL just stayed there (unfortunately to go to funeral at Arlington). He said he got a rate for about $80 per night. They said it wasn't bad. Nothing fancy, but not too bad.

 

[Cindy B]

I would really encourage the poster to try priceline. The Grand Hyatt is amazing. I've also stayed at a Courtyard By Marriott near the Convenetion Center as well. The only problem with the CBM is that it was near a dance club.. we heard noise until about 2-3 am. One or two streets away from the CBM was an "interesting" area... if I remember correctly it wasn't far from Ford's Theater.

I am used to urban surroundings so it didn't truly bother me, but that area could have bothered some people.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I just checked the Hotel Washington website for you, and they are running an $87 special right now that might work for you, although I don't know about parking. They are a small hotel located right across the street from the Treasury, just around the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. Even if you don't stay there, they have a wonderful reasonably priced roof-top restaurant for lunch with a nice view out toward the Washington Monument. It's a good place to go for a sandwich if you are in the White House area, or don't mind a bit of a walk from around the Smithsonian-American History museum area, and want to get away from the crowds for a bit.

Wherever you stay, earlier posters are absolutely right - you do need to make sure you pick a decent neighborhood. Either stay very close to the monument area, or pick something a few metro stops away in Virginia - but you need to exercise caution there too. You will probably see a lot of hotels advertised in Crystal City. Close but very sterile - not a pleasant place to walk around at all. Even areas close to the monuments can be a little iffy depending on where they are when it comes to walking around at night, so at least ask the desk-staff when you check in about night-time walking.

If you have a car, you might want to think about Old Town Alexandria. It is a colonial town, with charming cobblestoned streets, and within easy driving (but not walking) distance to the Alexandria Metro station, where you could park during the day. (You have to be a little careful about that plan, though, as many of the Metro station lots fill up very early with commuters.) Lots of restaurants, shopping and things to do when your day in DC is over. There is a very nice upscale Holiday Inn right in the middle of things (haven't checked those prices) that I believe anyone would enjoy, and they may even have shuttle service to the Metro.

Wherever you stay, enjoy your visit to beautiful DC!

 

[pjlla]

Wow..... thanks for all the great feedback. Thanks especially for the safety warnings!! Guess I'll cross those off my list! I've never tried priceline.... maybe I'll go give it a try! Any other information out there?................P

 

[snoopy]

I second having lunch or dinner at the rooftop of the Hotel Washington. I always take people from out of town there, the view is like no other. I don't know much about the hotel itself, but it looks very elegant and its close to all the attractions.

 

[CEDmom]

I don't know when you were planning to go to DC but we're going this coming weekend. I got a AAA rate at the Grand Hyatt that includes breakfast for $119.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I can vouch personally for the Grand Hyatt, and lunch at Hotel Washington !

Holiday Inn smithsonian gets good feedback also.

 

[snoopy]

heh heh, Judy from Boise is just one of the many people I've turned on to the Hotel Washington.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by CEDmom
I don't know when you were planning to go to DC but we're going this coming weekend. I got a AAA rate at the Grand Hyatt that includes breakfast for $119.

I got the Grand Hyatt for this weekend as well for $70 off of Priceline... Maybe we will wave to each other !