D.C. questions ADDED A COUPLE

[Nik's Mom]

Oh, I think it's easy to determine the best location -- just list the places you need/want to go, and go for the place with the best transit access to them.

Unfortunately, the BEST place to stay might not be in your price range, and that's where it gets ugly, when you have to make choices between price and location. IMO, location is everything in DC; it's worth paying some premium for it. (Personally, I'll swing as much as $75/night extra for a better location in DC, even if I have to pay the extra out of pocket on a business trip.)

This is a good point. So, is Dupont Circle a good location if we are hitting the museums?

 

[luvmyfam444]

I dont mind sharing the thread!

 

[luvmyfam444]

The decision on where to stay while visiting DC is enough to make my head explode. It's so hard to decide the best location. We are also flying into Baltimore, to make things more complicated.
To the op, have you checked Travel Zoo's website today. I see some new rates up today. http://hotels.travelzoo.com/washington-dc-hotels/

I check it every day to see if I can get a better deal. For now, we are staying in the Doubletree near Dupont Circle. I hate paying $$$ for parking, but the hotel rate was really good. Not to highjack your thread, but if anyone has any comments on the Doubletree, can you share them with me?
Thanks!

I did check out that site - the Westin is over $200 for our stay - guess we have too many people for the $79 deal

 

[lovemygoofy]

OP, I understand how hotel costs can be a real issue especially with your family of 5. However calculate how much it's going to cost from the hotel you are looking at wherever to the stuff in DC for your family of 5. You are either going to pay more with traveling expenses back and forth or you are going to pay in hotel location.

Also, how much is your vacation time worth? You couldn't pay me enough money to take the metro bus into the city and I live 10 miles away as the bird flies which can be upwards of hours was the person drives.

My last thing is saftey. I just don't know how safe it is to have your family on a bus late at night or waiting at a bus stop for your hotel shuttle, even if it runs at night.

If you can figure out a way to swing it, I cannot stress how much easier it would be to be closer to the city. July is hot and it's crowded and you will be walking your feet off and very well may want to rest and swim or just hang out and take an afternoon to breathe which is diffcult staying so far away.

If you are having sticker shock over hotel prices, I can't wait to hear your reaction when you buy lunch at a Smithsonian. I spent $40+ on 3 sandwhiches and drinks last week at one.

Just don't think in bottom dollar for the hotel stay. Really think about travel time, which can be hour or more on a good day, and how much your vacation time costs spent waisting it waiting in lines.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

OP, I understand how hotel costs can be a real issue especially with your family of 5. However calculate how much it's going to cost from the hotel you are looking at wherever to the stuff in DC for your family of 5. You are either going to pay more with traveling expenses back and forth or you are going to pay in hotel location.

Also, how much is your vacation time worth? You couldn't pay me enough money to take the metro bus into the city and I live 10 miles away as the bird flies which can be upwards of hours was the person drives.

My last thing is saftey. I just don't know how safe it is to have your family on a bus late at night or waiting at a bus stop for your hotel shuttle, even if it runs at night.

If you can figure out a way to swing it, I cannot stress how much easier it would be to be closer to the city. July is hot and it's crowded and you will be walking your feet off and very well may want to rest and swim or just hang out and take an afternoon to breathe which is diffcult staying so far away.

If you are having sticker shock over hotel prices, I can't wait to hear your reaction when you buy lunch at a Smithsonian. I spent $40+ on 3 sandwhiches and drinks last week at one.

Just don't think in bottom dollar for the hotel stay. Really think about travel time, which can be hour or more on a good day, and how much your vacation time costs spent waisting it waiting in lines.

 

[NotUrsula]

This is a good point. So, is Dupont Circle a good location if we are hitting the museums?

Yes, pretty good. The closest stops to the Mall will require you to change trains at Metro Center (orange or blue). The Archives and the Spy Museum will have you change to yellow or green. The Newseum is near the Judiciary Sq. station on the Red Line.

You're close in there, so even with the changes it won't take long, especially on a weekday. The bonus is that you're close to a lot of
(relatively) cheap ethnic food in Adams-Morgan.

Also, LuvMyGoofy is absolutely right re: the Smithsonian restaurants -- VERY price-inflated. The best one is at the Native American Museum; it's still pricey, but the food is much better than at the others. Even the hot dogs from the carts on the mall are price-jacked for the tourists. (I *really* miss the old Smithsonian Members dining room.)

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

A note to the OP...The Old Post Office Pavillion is not far from the museums...and has some decently priced food options...you can also go to the top of the building for free and get a pretty good view of the city...

 

[luvmyfam444]

OP, I understand how hotel costs can be a real issue especially with your family of 5. However calculate how much it's going to cost from the hotel you are looking at wherever to the stuff in DC for your family of 5. You are either going to pay more with traveling expenses back and forth or you are going to pay in hotel location.

Also, how much is your vacation time worth? You couldn't pay me enough money to take the metro bus into the city and I live 10 miles away as the bird flies which can be upwards of hours was the person drives.

My last thing is saftey. I just don't know how safe it is to have your family on a bus late at night or waiting at a bus stop for your hotel shuttle, even if it runs at night.

If you can figure out a way to swing it, I cannot stress how much easier it would be to be closer to the city. July is hot and it's crowded and you will be walking your feet off and very well may want to rest and swim or just hang out and take an afternoon to breathe which is diffcult staying so far away.

If you are having sticker shock over hotel prices, I can't wait to hear your reaction when you buy lunch at a Smithsonian. I spent $40+ on 3 sandwhiches and drinks last week at one.

Just don't think in bottom dollar for the hotel stay. Really think about travel time, which can be hour or more on a good day, and how much your vacation time costs spent waisting it waiting in lines.

You have a good point on the safety issue - that would be my only concern.

I don't see it as wasting my vacation time - anymore than standing in line at WDW is wasting time - its just something that happens.

YEP I would be in shock at the meals if are $40 for sandwiches. Thus the reason we won't be eating all our meals - my family is fine with PB&J some days - I'm actaully shocked that McDonald's can price their food that high -since that's where we plan to eat @ the air & space - but obviously I'm not there to see their menu board. And we rarely buy drinks - just water & I'm sure water runs $2+

BUT this is exactly why we are not gonna spend over $100 to get into town -so that if we want to or have to spend $40 for our meal we can. I know my daughter's class just went & they allocated $9 per kid for their meals & that was plenty - or so the teacher said. I'll be checking menus if they are online -

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

You have a good point on the safety issue - that would be my only concern.

I don't see it as wasting my vacation time - anymore than standing in line at WDW is wasting time - its just something that happens.

YEP I would be in shock at the meals if are $40 for sandwiches. Thus the reason we won't be eating all our meals - my family is fine with PB&J some days - I'm actaully shocked that McDonald's can price their food that high -since that's where we plan to eat @ the air & space - but obviously I'm not there to see their menu board. And we rarely buy drinks - just water & I'm sure water runs $2+

BUT this is exactly why we are not gonna spend over $100 to get into town -so that if we want to or have to spend $40 for our meal we can. I know my daughter's class just went & they allocated $9 per kid for their meals & that was plenty - or so the teacher said. I'll be checking menus if they are online -

I completely disagree...waiting in line for a ride is TOTALLY different from spending two hours/ day sitting in traffic....but whatever, you've been warned....

 

[jillyb]

Thanks I'm checking it out now! You got a GREAT Deal on your hotel! I haven't gotten thru it all yet...but did you end up driving to the Dunn Loring station? Did you have any regrets staying out there? Cause for the money wer're saving I just can't see that we'd regret it - unless of course a child gets sick & we're stuck traveling 1hr just to get back to the hotel - then THAT would suck!

We really did get a great deal and it was a fairly nice hotel. I would stay there again. It was especially nice to have our own room instead of having 2 double beds. We did end up driving to the Dunn Loring station and it took us maybe 10-15 minutes to get there. In the mornings we were leaving the hotel during rush hour. Traffic was fairly heavy but it wasn't anything I'm not already used to. Plus, once we got off the main drag the traffic wasn't as heavy. I had absolutely no regrets staying in Tyson's Corner. Now, I did drive in to DC a couple of days. You couldn't pay me to do that crap again!

I'll be checking menus if they are online -

I found menus online for the food places in the museums, for the Ronald Reagan Building food court and for the zoo. (The zoo was AWESOME BTW!) I printed out the ones I thought we'd like. I let the girls look at the menus and pick where they wanted to eat. I also had a couple of guide books (UG to DC and Frommer's DC with Kids [or something like that] ) and I did searches on some of the restaurants mentioned in those and was able to find menus for the ones that had websites.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I completely disagree...waiting in line for a ride is TOTALLY different from spending two hours/ day sitting in traffic....but whatever, you've been warned....

I missed something - why am I waiting 2 hours in traffic? I'm not even driving

 

[NotUrsula]

I think she meant that you would be sitting in traffic if you went with the Metrobus from Dulles. I agree with her point, though; even in the far suburbs, stick with places that are close to Metro trains; a 3-mile shuttle ride to the station can easily take 30 minutes in the sort of traffic that the DC metro area has, esp. around Tyson's.

One other thing to be aware of: the Smithsonian museums have pretty strict bag restrictions; you normally can't take food into them. (I got away with leftover sandwiches once in a freak rainstorm, when the line to get into Natl. Hist. was frantic and the guards couldn't keep up.) There are food courts in the basements of several of the Federal office buildings, and their prices are relatively decent, but you will have to clear security to get into the buildings, so understand that that adds time, too.

Read up on Metro etiquette in regard to where to stand vs. walk, etc. DC commuters are very impatient as a rule (and I don't blame them a whole lot; they commute some horrific distances, and dealing with clueless tourists when you're trying to get to work or grab lunch is a PITA.) You'll be more comfortable with the bustle if you make it a point to know what you're doing and where you are going before you step into a station.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

I missed something - why am I waiting 2 hours in traffic? I'm not even driving[/QUOT


commuting time

 

[golfgal]

You have a good point on the safety issue - that would be my only concern.

I don't see it as wasting my vacation time - anymore than standing in line at WDW is wasting time - its just something that happens.

YEP I would be in shock at the meals if are $40 for sandwiches. Thus the reason we won't be eating all our meals - my family is fine with PB&J some days - I'm actaully shocked that McDonald's can price their food that high -since that's where we plan to eat @ the air & space - but obviously I'm not there to see their menu board. And we rarely buy drinks - just water & I'm sure water runs $2+

BUT this is exactly why we are not gonna spend over $100 to get into town -so that if we want to or have to spend $40 for our meal we can. I know my daughter's class just went & they allocated $9 per kid for their meals & that was plenty - or so the teacher said. I'll be checking menus if they are online -

There were 5 of us when we went to DC and I don't think we had a meal that cost under $40 the entire time we were there. Food is EXPENSIVE in DC, even at McDonald's, etc (you really plan to eat at McDonald's for your entire stay?).

I would forget trying to stay at a Marriott and use Priceline to get a hotel closer to town, on the metro. You will save a bundle doing that over your employee discount. We went the week before the 4th of July and got a Westin for $100/night. If you don't want to do Priceline, find a hotel that has breakfast included and some even have dinner (Staybridge Suites and some others).

I don't think you are grasping just how bad traffic is there. I can't imagine wanting to waste that much time sitting on a bus when there is SO much to do there.

We spent about $2000 on our trip last year including flights and hotel. DC isn't a place for a budget vacation.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

There were 5 of us when we went to DC and I don't think we had a meal that cost under $40 the entire time we were there. Food is EXPENSIVE in DC, even at McDonald's, etc (you really plan to eat at McDonald's for your entire stay?).

I would forget trying to stay at a Marriott and use Priceline to get a hotel closer to town, on the metro. You will save a bundle doing that over your employee discount. We went the week before the 4th of July and got a Westin for $100/night. If you don't want to do Priceline, find a hotel that has breakfast included and some even have dinner (Staybridge Suites and some others).

I don't think you are grasping just how bad traffic is there. I can't imagine wanting to waste that much time sitting on a bus when there is SO much to do there.

We spent about $2000 on our trip last year including flights and hotel. DC isn't a place for a budget vacation.

that's a great idea...what about Priceline??

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, pretty good. The closest stops to the Mall will require you to change trains at Metro Center (orange or blue). The Archives and the Spy Museum will have you change to yellow or green. The Newseum is near the Judiciary Sq. station on the Red Line.

You're close in there, so even with the changes it won't take long, especially on a weekday. The bonus is that you're close to a lot of
(relatively) cheap ethnic food in Adams-Morgan.

Also, LuvMyGoofy is absolutely right re: the Smithsonian restaurants -- VERY price-inflated. The best one is at the Native American Museum; it's still pricey, but the food is much better than at the others. Even the hot dogs from the carts on the mall are price-jacked for the tourists. (I *really* miss the old Smithsonian Members dining room.)

If you don't mind walking a little you would not have to change from Red line to the Spy Museum or Archives. You can walk there from Metro Center, a walk of about 4 or 5 long blocks. Although I will say Metro Center is a huge station and you would need to know which exit to use to be closest to the destination. I usually walk that because I ride the Orange line and I don't do the train changing in the stations if I can help it.

I live in Dunn Loring/Tysons area, it is not a tourist area. It's geared for business and folks who live here. I don't see lots of tourists on the trains from this far out. If you want to be out in this area to save money, remember you won't be able to do much from the hotel itself.

If you drive to Dunn Loring and park there, parking is now $4.50 on weekdays and you must get a Metro SmarTrip card to pay for the parking - they don't accept cash or credit cards. You can buy the card from a machine in the station. You must put $10 into the machine and you get the card with $5 loaded, which means it costs you $5 to buy the card. You can add value to the card at the Farecard machines. I don't park there myself, but the lot isn't big and it seems to me that it fills up pretty quickly on weekdays.

As a commuter I will mention the big DC Metro rule: on escalators, always stand on the right, walk on the left. Don't stand next to each other and block the left side.

 

[luvmyfam444]

My dd's teacher went Spring break & took food in - no problems - of course she didn't consume it inside. And since y'all said no food I called the Smithsonian. The guy that answered said you can bring in food as long as its not eaten - even told me to make sure I eat at the courtyard in the Art museum.

 

[luvmyfam444]

that's a great idea...what about Priceline??

I checked priceline - I didn't bid - last time I did that it wasn't a good deal (years ago) so I never tried again.

 

[luvmyfam444]

we will be staying in Tysons Corner area -not Dulles

 

[NotUrsula]

Priceline wouldn't be a good idea for the OP because she has a party of 5 including children. PL will only guarantee capacity for 2 in one room, and in a city like DC with a lot of older hotels, that might equal just one double bed. She could go for two rooms, of course, but that probably would exceed her budget.

Hotwire would be a possibility, but I'd only use it IN the District. In the suburbs you have too great a chance of ending up with a room that is quite far from the Metro.

Oh, and about the Metro, I agree with TDC Nala, and bow to her expertise about the suburbs, where I do not usually go. (At least not in Virginia; I have to go to the Maryland suburbs occasionally.) She made a very good point about the station exits at the big transfer stations. You need to know which direction you're headed on the way out, which can be a very complicated thing when the station's underground platforms stretch for what might be several blocks. I find that when I'm in a new city, and especially when navigating a new-to-me subway system, carrying a pocket compass helps. (Remember that a GPS won't help you underground.)

PS: Re the meal cost, and the $9 thing. Unless the kids were over age 12 you can't count on that, because kids can eat kids' meals; you and Dad can't order them in most places. I'd figure on an average cost of about $10 for a sandwich w/ tax, plus any drinks/sides. BTW, the food court at the Newseum is worth it -- it's a Wolfgang Puck Express. According to their website, their box lunches are $8 for kids and $12 for adults, which is a bit cheaper than the ala carte pricing as I recall. Looking at a few expense logs, I'd say that $12 is about average for an adult lunch in DC at a counter-service restaurant. (I have a really tight per-diem; I can't afford to waste much of it on tips.)