Just returned from The Jefferson in DC

[akghutton]

My husband, 11 month old son and I just returned from a wonderful 5-night stay at the Jefferson in DC. The hotel was very elegant, our room was huge and beautiful, and the staff was great! This was our first vacation on DVC points, and we had a fantastic experience. The hotel is only 4 blocks from the White House. We were in such a great location to get to everywhere easily, walking or metro. The room had a complete entertainment system, and the VCR was key with our son, who loves his Elmo's World. The only downside to the trip was that it poured on the night of July 4th, so we watched the fireworks on TV in our room. The only place that I would suggest you avoid is th National Aquarium. It was the only place with an entrance fee, and it was pathetic. We made up for it by stopping at the Baltimore Aquarium on our way home, it was amazing and worth every penny!! All over it was a wonderful trip and great hotel!

PS Thanks to all who warned us about the parking fee in DC, we went prepared.

 

[Bostonfamily]

I was wondering how many points you needed for this reservation?

 

[Goofy's Mum]

Thank you soooo much for letting us know about the Jefferson. We came so close to going there, but at the last minute had to back out of it. Now we know it will be a good place to go! Thanks again!!!

 

[akghutton]

Five nights in a Luxury King room at the Jefferson was 151 points. The bonus is that almost every attraction/museum in DC is free admission(except the aquarium which they should be paying you to see). So for everything(ie gas to drive to DC and home, food, souveniers, etc.) we spent $200 for a five night vacation!!!

 

[Coastie]

Our family went to see the fireworks last year... WOW what a crowd. We parked on a grassy knoll near the Pentagon and had a great view. It took us almost 2 hours to get home (only 50 miles south)!

Did you get a tour of the White House? I know there are tickets available... sometimes people will call their Congressman prior to visiting to reserve some tickets. These are very popular during the holiday season. The National Christmas tree along with all the individual state decorated trees is a site... There is also a yule log that burns constantly.... carolers...

 

[akghutton]

We did not go into the White House, for we had both been in there on previous visits to DC. However, we passed it every day on our way to the mall and took many pictures outside. On the 4th, we were on our way to the parade and saw a huge line of people waiting for the White House tour, the wait was 31/2 - 4 hours. I can't imagine waiting that long. We did go to the Holocaust Museum, which required free time passes. The museum was definitely worth the 1/2 hour wait. It is a powerful experience, but one that I would not suggest for young children. We waited until our baby was napping in his stroller before going through the permanent exhibit. We wanted him asleep for it, not because he would understand what he was seeing, but because visitors go through the exhibit very siliently, and we did not want him disturbing what for many was a time of reflection and mourning.

PS The crowd on the mall for the fireworks reached around 300,000. The rain kept many away, for they were predicting 1/2 a million on the mall. We had picked out a great place behind the White House in Lafayette Park to watch, but the rain was too much for our little one.

 

[Tiggeriffic]

I was in DC last week as well. I was staying with some relatives, so I didn't use any of my precious points. My family and I actually did go to the White House on July 4th. On the 4th, there were no tickets required, you just had to be in line by 1PM and you were guaranteed to get in. Given that you usually need to wait in line just to get tickets, we decided that we would just wait in line to go in. We got in line at 7:30 AM and were inside the White House at 10 AM. This actually worked out incredibly well for us. We probably wouldn't have done it, but both our children were very excited.

I'm not sure whether they do this every 4th of July, but if you happen to be in DC that week and you're interested in seeing the White House, it might be worth looking into.

BTW, we were told when we went to the White House Visitor Center on the 3rd that the last ticket to go in on that day was given to a person who got in line at 5:40 AM. So, it seems that people are used to waiting in line to go see the White House. I believe that it is also possible to get tickets from one of your elected representatives. However, I talked to one person who said that he wrote to his representative a year in advance and still wasn't able to get tickets to the White House.

 

[Disnydad]

Thanks for the report. We were thinking of taking our 2 kids to see Washington DC in a couple of years and using our points for it. We saw the Jefferson in the DVC book and though it looked nice. Could you tell me about parking?

 

[akghutton]

Disnydad,
They have valet parking at the Jefferson that uses a parking garage just around the block from the hotel. The parking is $20 a day. It was actually the most expensive part of our trip, but thanks to this board, we were forwarned about the cost and came prepared. Otherwise it would have been quite a shock to receive the $100.00 bill for parking at the end of our trip. So once again, thanks to those of you who warned us ahead of time

Tiggeriffic,
I now see why people were waiting. I had no idea they were letting people in without tickets. It definitely is a site you have to go through if you've never been there before. Both my husband and I went through years ago, and our son is too young to care about seeing it. His biggest thrills during the trip were the roaring lions at the zoo, the subway trains and any time we put him on the grass at the mall to explore! If only we as adults were so easily entertained!

 

[PamOKW]

They have valet parking at the Jefferson that uses a parking garage just around the block from the hotel. The parking is $20 a day.

So, Disney is giving a break on the $6/day valet parking.

 

[Daydreamin]

Our family is looking to take a vacation in Washington DC next July (after the 4th) and considering booking at the Jefferson. DS will be 11 and DD will be 13.

How large are the rooms? With teenagers, I'm sure the Luxery King won't be big enough. Also, do you know where can the family swim? I had heard that there was no pool at the hotel. Going in the middle of the summer, I'm sure it will be hot and I know that they'll want to be able to cool off during the day.

What are some of the restaurants nearby? Our kids are very well behaved, but I don't think that we'll necessarily want to eat at the hotel. I had heard that it was very expensive.

Thanks for the heads up on the parking...$20 a day doesn't seem too bad given that it can cost up to $30 a day in downtown Chicago.

Tell me more about the White House tours...I had always heard that if you wrote your Senator that they tickets they could send you were different than the normal White House tour. We're hoping to do Arlington Cementary too. Does anyone know a good web site that I could visit to find out what we shouldn't miss?

 

[akghutton]

Daydreamin,
The luxury king room was 550sq. feet. The room also has a full entertainment center, VCR, TV, CD player, and video game, I think it was Nintendo. As for the pool, there isn't one in the hotel, but you do have access to a health club with an olympic size pool that is across the street and down one block. I don't know if there is a nominal fee for the club or not.
With an 11 month old, quick easy food was a must. We brought some cold cuts and bread that we were able to fit in the fridge that was part of the honor bar. A few blocks from the hotel we found a food court next to the Farragut Metro entrance(the closest to the hotel). There are also a few au bon pain restaurants for bagels, pasteries, etc, in the morning. Right around the hotel, it is mainly the business district, so many of the restaurants and delis close at 4 or 5. However, there is a great Irish restaurant called Mackeys that is quite reasonable and close. If you head in the direction of Ford's Theater, there is a ESPN Zone restaurant and Hard Rock cafe, which I'm sure any kids would like. The Jefferson restaurant looked pretty expensive, hard to tell for they didn't post the prices by the meals. My husband commented that it was one of those "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" deals.

We didn't attempt the White House tour, for we had been there before. Everywhere else we went, we could just walk in, except The Holocaust Museum. That requires a time pass to control the crowds. You have to get there about 10am to get in line for the passes. The line was pretty long, but moved quickly. We waited fro 1/2 an hour and still got a pass for 11:30am. It was definitely worth the wait. Everything was free to get into, the museums, the memorials, Ford's Theater, the zoo. Inside some of the museums, they had IMAX shows you could attend that cost extra.

Here is the Jefferson Hotel web site that we found fun to look at in the months before our trip. http://www.loewshotels.com/thejeffersonhotel/jefferson_home.html

PS. If you get the opportunity, I few other places that we hit on our trip that were definitely worth it were the Baltimore Aquarium which is amazing. 1.5 million gallon bottle nosed dolphin tank, 833, 000 gallon tank with sharks, rays, etc., plus 6 levels of exhibits. It is right on the Baltimore water front and is out of this world. Tickets were $15 a person. It only took us an hour from DC. We also stopped at Gettysburg on our way down and fell in love with the town. We had both read Killer Angels about the battle and were fasinated by the actual battlefield. The hotels were reasonable and there were reenactments and miles upon miles of gorgeous country to explore. They have plenty of neat shops, restaurants, candlelight ghost tours, old time picture stores, etc. We are planning to go back for a longer stay.
We did all of these things, minus the ghost tours, with one night in Gettysburg, plus 5 nights at the Jefferson in DC and the entire trip cost us just under $350.00. The most expensive part of the trip was the parking fee at the Jefferson. It was a great vacation and we were so glad to start our DVC vacations off on such a high note, especially considering that we weren't going to our home resort for our first trip.
Sorry this ended up being so lengthy, but I hope it helps. Good luck!