Help me plan DC trip

[karenbaco]

Ok I know there are plenty of threads dedicated to DC but I need one tailored to us. I would like to fly in to DCA and stay at a hotel with free breakfast, and within close proximity to all the sights. We will not have a car and I hate riding the metro (makes me motion sick). This will be sometime in August so I would also prefer to have an outdoor pool to cool off in for the kids. I like clean modern accomodations and don't want to be stuck without a place to eat within walking distance. I would also like some advice on how to manage the heat and walking. My kids are 12 & 14. This will be a Sunday- Friday trip. My budget is max $200 a night for hotel. Can anyone offer advice? Thanks so much!

 

[okeydokey]

In the summer right in the city for $200 a night is very unrealistic. You will need to spend more money or stay outside the city and deal with the Metro.

 

[PlutoPony]

Agree that's going to be tough in your budget range. Best rates are found on the weekends, during the week you find business travelers and business hotel prices - especially downtown. Outdoor pools aren't terribly common downtown, if you find one it's likely to be very small so be sure and look at pictures if that's a key criteria.

Best bet is to go to TripAdvisor and check City Center area for hotels for your time frame. Without seeing a complete list of what you want to see, it's hard to say if there is one location that will give you walking access to everything you want to do. Some things - like Arlington Cemetery - aren't close to any hotels and would require Metro or cab. My guess is you'll want to budget for some additional transportation while you're in town.

 

[la la limon]

We're going to DC for 5 nights this summer too and we found that the Grand Hyatt had great rates for three of those nights (~$550 total) and the other 2 nights were more expensive so we booked with points. The hotel is very centrally located with tons of restaurants nearby but has only an indoor pool. Also, breakfast is not included but there is a Starbuck's downstairs and other chains steps away.

 

[TwoMisfits]

If you can't ride the Metro, you may want to stay at a site on the Metrobus system or near the VRE (but that also may make you motion sick) or you may want to rent a car - without that, I doubt you'll be able to see half the sites you want at a cost that you want.

 

[karenbaco]

Ok what about quick short rides on the metro? I can probably handle that. I thought about doing the on/off bus tour. I hear there are hotels that you can hop on from? What about a bike rental to see the sights? I have no idea what the best way to see the popular stuff is? Here are some of the things on my list....
White House
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument
Arlington Cemetary
Smithsonians
Zoo

 

[TwoMisfits]

With that list, I'd stay somewhere near the Arlington Cemetery (you may even get a hotel with a free shuttle from DCA, since you'll be so close - it may also give you a free shuttle to the Cemetery). Then, you could ride a short trip on Arlington to Pentagon and then switch to L'Enfant and walk to all the Smithsonians and Washington Monument or a slightly longer trip staying on the single Metro to Smithsonian. The only really annoying trip without a car would probably be the zoo (and maybe the Lincoln Memorial). It is really not that close to any Metro (and it would be a longish ride from Arlington with Metro and it's a hilly walk). I might suggest trying to schedule a Pentagon tour, instead, since if you're in Arlington, it would be right there and you've got 2 kids in a good age range.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Maybe Embassy Suites Crystal City - 3 block walk to Metro and free shuttle from the airport and other Crystal City attractions (including Metro stop). Free breakfast and evening reception - right around the $169-189/night range (+ taxes), so $200ish.

 

[Alexle2007]

Maybe Embassy Suites Crystal City - 3 block walk to Metro and free shuttle from the airport and other Crystal City attractions (including Metro stop). Free breakfast and evening reception - right around the $169-189/night range (+ taxes), so $200ish.

I have stayed at the Embassy Suites for work and it is really nice. I had a car so I can't speak to getting around on the metro. Evening reception includes adult beverages which were nice after a long day in the office.

 

[PlutoPony]

There are no public tours of the White House except one day in the fall and spring (if they do the garden tours then). To get in there, about your only option is to go through your congress people, they have access to a limited number of admittances for self guided tours. Contact them ASAP if you have your dates set. Be aware that there are very few things you can take into the White House with you - no purses, backpacks, cameras, food, beverages, things like that. And there's no where close to store those things. That's where it's helpful to stay near the White House - you can run back to the hotel after the tour to pick up purse, backpacks, drinks,cameras etc.

The Zoo is north of the Mall. On the Red Line, you'd get off at Cleveland Park and walk downhill to the Zoo. To come back, walk downhill to Woodley Park and go from there.

Crystal City is primarily an office building "city" and pretty quiet in the evenings. Safe but not much going on (which may be ok for you).

 

[kathy884]

You may need to compromise on your hotel location and use the metro/drive in if you want to stick to your budget. To stay under $200 a night with taxes, parking, and breakfast (a really nice breakfast) included with 2 queen beds and a swimming pool (but it's an inside pool) we stayed at a lovely Hilton Garden Inn in Bethesda, Maryland and took the metro in each day (short walk) and 10 to 15 minutes on metro to get to the heart of the city. The hotel is only about five years old. My preference would have been to stay right in the city, but the kind of properties that I was looking for and would have been happy with were running $380 to $440 a night before taxes for our nights, so this was my compromise to stay in my budget and it worked well for us. I absolutely loved our mini trip there.

As previous poster said, Crystal City could work for you too and is even a little closer than Bethesda.

Also with you short timeframe you might want to consider a monuments at night tour. It ran about $30 a person and was a great way for us to get a lot in in a short time. With more time you can see all of these for free on your own, but with our short three night / two day stay it freed up our schedule to do some other things that we were really interested in doing.

 

[Thing 1]

It might be helpful to do some intense research. It's kind of like WDW in the fact that it is much bigger than most people realize. Walking everywhere is just not possible and driving in a big city that you are not familiar is no fun. We have stayed in Arlington and took the Meto in. The last trip we stayed in down town near the white house at a Hilton Garden. We were over 200.00 and no free breakfast but it worked really well for us. The Meto is just a necessary fact in large cities and we have done them in a lot of large cities and DC is pretty typical and safe.
We did bring food for breakfast in our room, and there were plenty of places to eat close by but food in DC is, like any large city....expensive. We do a multi-day metro pass, so be sure to check those prices and budget there. There is a company called the big red bus that does the ride and hop on and off that is nice and gets you closer to your locations than the metro. The zoo is a bit longer of a meto ride and I think has a transfer. Remember that the Smithsonians are a huge collection of museums and quite varied. While most things are free, there are some that require tickets to enter (Washington Monument) and there can be long waits in Summer. We have never been lucky enough to get tickets into the White House. The tram tour at Arlington is so very worth the low cost. The place is huge and hot. It takes you all over and gives you a lot of facts. My favorite thing in DC is Fords Theater/ museum. Another free , but tickets required. Outside of DC, is Mount Vernon. It does cost but is so well done and we really enjoyed it. We truly enjoy DC and now have family there so we can look forward to some MUCH cheaper trips.

 

[MeridaAndAngus]

Another vote for Crystal City. You'll be very close to DCA, and there will be restaurants within walking distance. Also, I will second other statements here that it is not realistic to assume you can be in the middle of "everything" and/or not use either a rental car or Metro. DC is a sprawling area, and many attractions are not within walking distance of one another. Other than being on the Mall and visiting the Smithsonian Museums, pretty much everything else will be a little ways away, either by Metro or car. It can be done, but just be aware that it's not as simple as just staying within a one square mile radius.

 

[lindsmom]

We just went to DC for April vacation - we stayed at the Residence Inn Arlington Capital View. RIGHT next to DCA. shuttle ride to Metro. Metro was 15 minutes to city.

Price is a little more than you are looking at - we just needed the separate bedroom suite for our family.

I would recommend the Hampton Inn & Suites Arlington, if you are willing to ride the Metro in to the city. I am seeing $158 plus $29 taxes and fees for 8/9 - 14, which I used as an example.

LOTS of walking - we ended up calling a cab to get from Lincoln monument to one of the Smithsonians. We were all just sick of walking lol.

You can get bikes from capital bike rental (I think it's called) and you sign up with a membership, and take a bike from one location, then return it wherever you are going. You can look up their website.

It was a great trip, will definitely be hot in August! I highly recommend checking out the forums on tripadvisor - they are VERY helpful there! Lots of info!

 

[dcfromva]

There is a Holiday Inn at 550 "C" Street S.W., Washington, District Of Columbia, 20024 . (It is about a block south of the Air and Space Museum). I picked some dates (16-21 AUG) and the rates were showing 179.20/night (plus taxes) advance purchase. I've never stayed there myself. They do list an outdoor pool as one of the amenities, but one of the reviews for the hotel said the pool was closed on 6/1/2015 for renovations so I don't know how long the pool renovations will take.
They are several touring companies such as Old Town Trolleys http://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/ which will take you around to different places of interest. Check online for discounts. They are a little bit expensive, but it might work if you used that on the days you were planning to go to Arlington/monuments and then walk to the closer in locations on other days.
In August it will be so wretchedly hot--especially if you are not used to walking a lot plus the heat will just sap your energy. You could prepare by taking daily walks at home. When you go on your trip be prepared with lots of water. Sometimes a popsicle or two can be a great motivator.

 

[Colleen27]

That budget, for a weekdays only trip, is going to be tough. You're likely going to have to compromise on your ideal location.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown and it meets all of your criteria... except the price. We paid $200/night during the week between Christmas and New Year's, but during the summer the same rooms cost around $300/night. The hotel was fabulous, with a small but nice indoor pool and hot breakfast buffet including an omelet station, and the location was perfect. We only rode the Metro once, to get out to the zoo, but walked to all the monuments and museums, and there were tons of good restaurants just a short walk from the hotel. But you do pay for that convenience during the more popular times to visit.

 

[lindsmom]

Weekends are usually less expensive than weekdays to stay in DC, in case your schedule is flexible at all - Sat / Sun nights will cut back on your hotel price also.