Hotel ideas for Washington, D.C trip?

[rascalmom]

DH and I are thinking about taking the dd's to D.C. for Spring Break. We want to do as many of the monuments & museums as possible, so we want to stay near that area. Does anyone know of any great places to stay for a family of four? Convenience to the sights & good places to have some nice meals would be a plus.

We usually stay at deluxe hotels at WDW, places like Embassy Suites for other travel (so mom & dad have some privacy). Not too cheap (I'm picky ), but not too pricey either - otherwise I'll end up comparing the prices to Disney & saying, oh well - why don't we just go back to WDW! (Can you tell I'm tempted anyway ?

Thanks!

Tonya

P.S. Any thoughts on a sidetrip to Williamsburg?

 

[TLinden16]

I've stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on 14th Street a few times, and it's very nice. The rooms seem very big, and they have a microwave and fridge in the room. It's only a few blocks away from the Mall and the White House. The restaurant in the hotel is good, but nothing special.

The Capitol Grill on 14th is awesome. Great food, some unusual creations on the menu. Never miss this place.

Karen

 

[floridaminnie]

I love both DC and Williamsburg. DC there is lots to see. We never have stayed in a hotel b/c my brother lives in DC and we take the subway. Williamsburg, we stayed at a bed and breakfast.

 

[Cindy B]

There are a few Dis'ers that can help you.

I know that we have stayed at a few hotels, in Chevy Chase, Arlington, and also in DC itself. (usually around the convention center)

We made sure that we were near the metro at all times. The last hotel we stayed in was built inside a mall (a quite fancy mall at that), and that mall was the Friendship Heights metro stop. We basically went down two escalators and we were there.

 

[LynnythePooh]

I personally like Old Town Alexandria - they have Embassy Suites and Hilton - both are nice! Lots of funky little places to eat. Quick to Metro stops, just ride across the Potomac and you're ready to explore!

When is your spring break? Hopefully it's early and you can catch the Cherry Blossoms - a great time to visit!

We took my ds's 9 & 6. to Williamsburg in Nov. - did two days and saw it all! They loved it. At first the idea of history on vacation didn't thrill them, but they ended up having a great time. The food is fantastic, be sure to eat at one of the taverns and try out the Cheese Shop in the shopping center!

Enjoy!

 

[momof2inPA]

Second vote for the Embassy Suites in Old Town Alexandria. It's right across the street from the metro, and the kids will enjoy the ride downtown. The metro is very clean, easy to use, and you can take it straight to the monuments.

 

[Twigs]

We went on spring break about 3 years ago. I asked my girlfriend who lives in MD, 1/2 hr from DC, and her advice was to stay near a Metro stop. We ended up staying in the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, centrally located in Downtown DC. It is in a business center complex and has an underground shopping mall with a very large Metro station in it, you can get most connections here. So whenever we wanted to go somewhere, we just went all the way downstairs to Metro. We took it everywhere, even to Arlington Cemetary. They hotel is a short walk from the Smithsonian (5 - 10 min at most). You can also take the Metro to the Smithsonian if you wanted, we always walked there. The only draw back was that it only had one restaurant in it, they did also have a lounge that served light fare. But we usually ate while we were out.

We did walk around the monuments, starting with the Washington Monument all the way around to the Jefferson Memorial and back to the hotel, we are used to a lot of walking from our Disney vacations so this was not too much for us. And for me this was the highlight of our trip, I loved the monuments, especially the Roosevelt section which I didn't know about.

Remember to contact your congressman as soon as possible to see if you can get any free congressional tours. We did of the Kennedy Center, the FBI building (which was DS's favorite), the Supreme Court, and the White House(but I don't think they have this anymore?). We also got passes for the balcony in the Capital, but Congress wasn't in session while we were there.

This was a vacation where we really had a good time, DH and I wanted to go to an island and veg out, but DS's who were in 3rd grade at the time had just learned all about DC, really wanted to go there and see it. So we figured while they were really interested in it we should go. They were like our tour guides!

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Great choice. DC is AWESOME! So much to do and most of it is FREE!

ITA with the other posters.... just make sure you are really close to a Metro station and you've got it made!!

Oh! And see if you can get your hands on a Metro guidebook called "Stationmasters." I found it invaluable.

 

[ead79]

I also recommend staying at an Embassy Suites hotel (I've stayed at the Alexandria/Old Town one, and it's quite nice and very convenient to the metro, but I think there might be another Embassy Suites that is also on the metro line but closer to the center of DC). I think you're right on to get a room set up so the family can have some privacy. Also, the complimentary hot breakfast is a great way to start your day with a full tummy--yum! Have fun in DC--it's my 2nd favorite vacation destination after WDW.

 

[SoonerKate]

Well, there's always my favorite -- the Hotel Helix in Logan Circle. It's a boutique hotel, but the room prices are pretty reasonable. They have a few different types of suites; you guys might be interested in their bunk bed suites which have a bunk bed along with a king sized bed in a pretty big room. (The bunk bed is a twin on top and a full on the bottom). The hotel is a fairly short walk to the McPherson metro station, and a shuttle from Reagan National Airport is about $10-15. There's also parking with 24-hour in and out service at the hotel.

The Melrose is another upscale hotel, which you can get for around $119 a night. It's on Pennsylvania Ave, within walking distance of the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Museums and Georgetown. It's also close to the Foggy Bottom metro station. I haven't stayed there myself, but friends of mine have and say it's wonderful.

The J.W. Marriott is also pretty nice. There's a decent restaurant for breakfast (The Avenue), and a Starbucks in the lobby, plus an indoor pool which might be fun for your girls. It's also on Pennsylvania Ave., less than a mile from the White House and within two blocks of Metro Center. I know we've gotten rooms there for $139 a night in the past.

 

[Tinks]

Hi! I haven't read anyone's replies yet because I was excited to add my own! My DH and I went to Washington and saw the sights 2 years ago. I highly recommend where we stayed....we stayed in an Embassy Suites in Alexandria, VA. It is directly across the street from the train, which you'll want to use to get around the D.C. area. The Embassy Suites had breakfast for us every morning and one night they even had a wine tasting (for a very small fee, I think) The breakfast was free with your room and it wasn't skimpy either. Alexandria is a great place to explore as well. Williamsburg is fun, too. Pm me if you want any additional info on our hotel! I really think it was a great place to be.

 

[tkd lisa]

Stayed at two or three Embassy Suites in DC (before we moved from the midwest to within easy day trips of DC). The one in old town Alexandria has been mentioned several times and is very nice. It's also a nice place to walk around that's not the typical touristy area. There's a second George Washington monument that's in Alexandria (It's a masonic one), and it's easy to walk to from that hotel. You can also walk down King Street to the Potomac river and get lots of good food. Warning, anything in DC is a long walk. From that hotel to the river is probably 2 miles.

I've also stayed at the Embassy Suites in Georgetown for a class. Also very nice. It's a little less convenient to the metro. I think it was probably about 8-10 blocks to the metro stop. Several people in my class routinely took a cab to the metro but I had no problems walking it, and I was 4 month pregnant.

Another nice area right on the metro is the Crystal City VA/Pentagon City area. Pentagon city is a nice mall, and there's a Ritz Carlton attached. There's an embassy suites in Crystal City (I think I stayed there, but can't remember), that's about 1/2 way between the Crystal City metro and the Pentagon City Metro. There are two Marriott's in Crystal city that are right on the metro stop. Both are nice, but don't have breakfast or anything extra like that.

And just so you're prepared, the last time I stayed in the DC area, hotels were running around $150 a night (about 7 years ago), so it's probably comparable to a WDW vacation as far as lodging. Just remember most of the entertainment is free!

Good luck!

 

[caitycaity]

there's an embassy suites in the west end (a dc neighborhood) on 22nd st. it's really nice, i've been there for conferences a couple times.

i would also like to recommend the river inn, which is where my parents used to always stay when i lived downtown.
http://www.theriverinn.com/index.php?SEOP=washington_dc_hotels&referrer=

very nice, reasonably priced, and very close to a metro (it's 2 blocks from the foggy bottom metro stop). they also offer parking, so you can ditch your car there when you get to dc.

williamsburg is nice, and if you are just doing colonial williamsburg and not any of the other stuff in that area, it can easily be done in a day or two. otoh, if you haven't been to dc before, i think there will be plenty here to occupy you for a week.

if you want recommendations on anything else (restaurants, things to do, etc.) just ask. i've lived here for 8 years.

 

[mcnuss]

I used to live in DC and now I am there 2-3x per month for business.

Couple of thoughts. You really can't stay in the area where the monuments are, just bc of the way the city is set up, but as others have pointed out, the metro is awesome. If you really want to stay downtown, the Loews is great and they have good packages. Capital Hilton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, the Hotel Washington, the Willard, the Softitel and the Hay Adams all within a few blocks of the White House. A little further away, but still officially downtown, you could try the Jefferson or the Mayflower. All of these are quite upscale. I've stayed at each except the Hotel Washington. The others would run about $250-$300 per night on weekdays, not sure what they run on weekends. Be forewarned that the downtown hotels that are older do tend to have rooms on the small side.

We've done 2 family trips down there with DD, who was 7 & 8 on these vacations. We stayed the first time at the Omni Shoreham up on Conn. Ave at Calvert. It's very close to the zoo, and that was high on our list of things to do that trip. It's more of a residential neighborhood, and we loved it. Last summer, we stayed at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria. Like the other posters, we loved it. But the word of warning, if you're there on a weekend, metro service can be slow. There is another, better even, Embassy Suites in Chevy Chase. It's on the Red Line. There are a lot of shops and restaurants up there. It usually costs more than the one in Virginia, but I'd say they both run about $150-$175 per night.

Last but not least, there is a Summerfield Suites by Wyndham near Dupont Circle, which is an awesome location. I've never stayed there but it's a good chain.

Unlike the other poster, I'd stay away from Crystal City. I think it's a concrete jungle, and I don't think you get the real feel of DC there.

Whatever you do, be sure to try the Old Town Trolley. We've tried them all and found this one to be the best. You have all day unlimited on & off, and they take you everywhere you want to go. Tourmobile is good, but it is limited to the Mall and Arlington Cemetary. OTT goes everywhere, even up to the Cathedral which is a must-see.

Have FUN!

 

[justhat]

I live in DC, in West End, one of the neighborhoods mentioned by another poster, and it's in a pretty good location and is filled with hotels (between Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom). Within 3 blocks of where I live there is a Wyndham, Summerfield Suites, Embassy Suites, Hyatt, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Westin, and some smaller, local hotels (like Washington Circle). I would recommend this area because you are between 3 metro lines: the Blue and Orange lines at Foggy Bottom, which take you to the monument stops downtown, and the Red line, which also goes downtown, but to different areas. It's also convenient because you you fly or take the train in, both National Airport and Union Station are on these metro lines. Also, Dulles Airport has a shuttle that takes you to the Orange line and from BWI Airport you can take a train to Union Station. This may not seem that important, but DC cab fares can really skyrocket for tourists as they don't use meters, you're charged by zones. So essentially, if you don't tell the cab driver exactly which roads to take, he will take the ones that cross the most zones so your fare increases. So if you can walk or get a cab from a metro near your hotel, you'll save lots compared to taking one directly from the airport.

Outside of the Foggy Bottom/West End/Dupont area, I agree that the JW Marriott and Embassy Suites in Chevy Chase/Friendship Heights are very nice and both right on the Red line. We had friends visit us in December who stayed at the JW Marriott and loved it, and I work at a day care in the Chevy Chase Plaza so I can tell you that the Embassy Suites there is in a great location too-very close to many restaurants and stores-though it is further away from downtown. Crystal City is another good location, very close to the airport, but like mcnuss said, it is filled with hotels and apartment/condo buildings which can take away from the DC feel, but there is the DC skyline view and you're very close to the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetary. Even though it would save you some money to stay outside the city, I think you'd really get that DC experience better staying in the city, plus the proximity can't be beat (I can walk to the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Memorial from my building). That way if you don't want to take the metro, you don't have to since you're close enough to walk. Wherever you decide to stay, have a great trip!

 

[rascalmom]

Wow! I really appreciate all the great replies and suggestions. Thanks for mentioning the National Zoo and the Cathedral - none of us have visited either of those places & we will definitely add them to our list. I have been to D.C. twice, once with each on my girls on post-5th grade school trips, but lodging for a large group like that is a bit different that a personal family trip.

It'll be fun being able to plan our own itinerary & see things at a more leisurely & thorough pace than our prior trips (5 days including flights from Oklahoma for D.C. & Williamsburg before!)

I'm going to be doing lots of website checking on these hotel suggestions! It's just so hard to picture where everything is in terms of distance since I'm not familiar with the neighborhood areas. Again - thanks everyone.

 

[SoonerKate]

If you go to the National Cathedral, make sure you look for Darth Vader!!

 

[tw1nsmom]

I used to live in Old Town Alexandria in another lifetime (take my advice with a grain of salt...haven't been there since 1996). If you do stay in Old Town, one of my favorite restaurants was King Street Blues. Now, I'm from the north so I probably don't really know great BBQ, but they have great food and a really fun atmosphere. It's a great place for kids.

 

[momof2inPA]

Hotelkingdom has rates in DC and for the Embassy Suites in Alexandria I believe.

tw1nsmom,
I must have lived in Old Town at the same time you did. Hard Times Cafe' has pretty good chili, too. Sutton Place Gourmet has delicious take out sandwiches and salads and a great wine selection. I've been back to visit a few times, but I'm glad we moved-- too expensive to raise a family there.

 

[robsmom]

We got a room at the Grand Hyatt for a suprisingly decent price. While it didn't live up to other Grand Hyatt standards, it was a nice place to stay. It is literally above a metro stop so we don't even go outside. The capital grill mentioned above is across the street.