OT: Wash. D.C. lodging question

[Maybelle]

We were hoping to take a trip to D. C. over spring vacation, but the hotels are just too expensive at that time, so now we are shooting for August, so we can take in a Red Sox game in Baltimore while we are down there: Here is the question...I am looking on hotwire and they provide the following areas:
Dupont Circle
Georgetown
Kennedy Center
The White House
South of the Mall
Arlington
Crystal City

so can anyone give me feedback on a good area to stay? We are looking for a safe area, either in or out of the city, but if out, with easy access to the Metro. Also, if we were to stay in Arlington...anyone know how long it takes to get into the city on the Metro?

I'd appreiciate any advice. I've always gotten such great advice here in the past!!!

Thanks!

 

[juliana_sd]

My sister lives in Arlington (Rosslyn on Metro) and it's about 10 minutes to the Smithsonian stop.

 

[Maybelle]

Wow, that's less than I thought, that's great!

 

[flying_babyb]

We stayed at the OMI SHORES HOTEL off of dupont circle. Way out of your price range, its a 5 star. Book now and go over the 4th! Sadly there not many people around for the week before the 4th. Arilington is a bad idea. Metro takes FOREVER TO get there. Georgetowns suposted to be very safe too. The whole areas alot safer than people think! At 17 I took my lil sis and went all over the city with her alone. Two young girls, alone. Never hassled. Lots of cops around too. Freindly cops.

 

[rflorek]

Arilington is a bad idea. Metro takes FOREVER TO get there.

The Metro only took about 10 minutes between the Arlington Cemetary stop and the Smithsonian stop (we went in September)

EDIT: In fact, I just checked the Metro page and it shows travel time between Arlington Cemetary & Smithsomian stops as 12 minutes. Am I missing something?

 

[Shmily1]

We just went last May and stayed in Arlington at the Rosslyn. It was close to Ruby Tuesday, Red, Hot, and Blue, and the Metro. The ride to downtown was about 5-10 minutes at the most. We were really close to everything and in a safe enough area that you could walk down the street and not be scared. It was about $129/night. Can't beat that!!!

 

[skjuls]

I would recommend Crystal City. I work in Crystal City and there are multiple trains and many stops. Crystal City is right next to Pentagon City and they have a mall and shops (Borders, Best Buy, Johnny Rockets, Ruby Tuesday) Crystal City also has a lot of restaurants.

Crystal City is also on the blue and yellow lines. Smithsonian isn't always the best stop, it depends on which museum you are going to.

The orange and blue lines going from Rosslyn to GWU , sometimes runs into problems and delays. As I am experiencing while I am doing a two month detail at Federal Triangle (I miss the commute to Crystal City!)

Also, Arlington is a big city/county and you may not get Arlington (near Rosslyn or Clarendon on the orange line) you may get a hotel on Columbia Pike and then have to take the bus to the metro (around 20 minutes) (which isn't hard to do but it's a possibility).

To check out times for the metro go to www.wmata.com They will also tell you if there are any delays and whatnot.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Since you would have time I would try the white house section. If you do a search and are registered on hotwire they will send you emails the rates have dropped.

We stayed at the Capital Hilton which is 2 blocks away from the White House. It was great to be able to walk everywhere. We did go though hotwire but I dont remember the rate.

We have also stayed at the Day Inn on Connecticut Ave

 

[flying_babyb]

We were at dupont circle

 

[nordkin]

Georgetown is no where near Metro. I would recommend Crystal City or Bethesda in Maryland. There is an Embassy Suites in Chevy Chase that is over a Metro station and a Hilton in Bethesda that is the same way. Bethesda is very similar to Crystal City for choices of places to eat.

 

[ncbyrne]

We have stayed at the Best Western on Glebe Rd in Arlington. The hotel has a shuttle that takes you directly to the Metro stop, and picks up there too for the return trip. Very convenient, and the rates were very reasonable.

 

[Teacher03]

We stayed at the OMI SHORES HOTEL off of dupont circle. Way out of your price range, its a 5 star. Book now and go over the 4th! Sadly there not many people around for the week before the 4th. Arilington is a bad idea. Metro takes FOREVER TO get there. Georgetowns suposted to be very safe too. The whole areas alot safer than people think! At 17 I took my lil sis and went all over the city with her alone. Two young girls, alone. Never hassled. Lots of cops around too. Freindly cops.

Arlington is not far from the city at all! My daughter lives at Rosslyn and like another poster said, it's about 10 minutes. Even at two or three metro stops back, it's not a long ride. Courtyard in Arlington is another nice area. There are absolutely no metros in Georgetown. It's a beautiful area though, but you have to walk a distance or take a cab. Even if you stay in the city, such as Dupont Circle, you still have to take the metro to other areas.

 

[MSSANDRA]

The Metro only took about 10 minutes between the Arlington Cemetary stop and the Smithsonian stop (we went in September)

EDIT: In fact, I just checked the Metro page and it shows travel time between Arlington Cemetary & Smithsomian stops as 12 minutes. Am I missing something?

Agreed. This where we stayed and found it easy to catch the meto to the city. The area was fine & though we choose not to take the meto at night i am sure it would have been ok.

Just a reminder that DC in the Summer is VERY hot. Think WDW hot. Also be prepared that food cost is also very high. We LOVE DC but just a reminder to be prepared

 

[shortbun]

I'd go for Dupont Circle, close to many good and reasonable restaurants as well as a few great museums -The Phillips Collection is my favorite. There is a very central metro stop as well. I agree that blindly choosing a hotel in Arlington could put you far away from the metro with parking hassles and long walks to and from. Of course, IN the city you have major parking costs daily so another consideration. Visiting D.C. in August is a brave thing to do. It's so very hot and humid with no resort pools in which to recover. That said, I LOVE D.C. and all it has to offer. We've been on the Mall twice for the 4th of July and loved it, teeming crowds and all. Best weather we've had was between Christmas and New Years a couple years ago. Cool and dry. Wonderful for walking, the zoo, sightseeing. Whatever you decide to do, I know you will love D.C. Just take time to plan.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Oh, and if you want tickets to the Sox game....get your credit card warmed up and buy those now. Be prepared to spend a lot.

 

[drcmk]

We were hoping to take a trip to D. C. over spring vacation, but the hotels are just too expensive at that time, so now we are shooting for August, so we can take in a Red Sox game in Baltimore while we are down there:

Thanks!

We have a similar plan. I got tickets to see the Phillies in the new stadium in July!

Do some research on the new stadium before you go. There is precious little parking and there is not currently a metro stop close to the new stadium. One is under construction and "expected" to be open soon. Getting to the game will be a bit of a hassle.

Here is some information to get you started:

http://www.jdland.com/dc/stadium-parking.cfm

Like you we plan to stay in the suburbs (possibly Alexandria) and travel by metro.

 

[skjuls]

From Metro's website:

When you arrive at the Navy Yard Metrorail Station on the Green Line, you'll have only a short half block walk to the new ballpark!

http://www.wmata.com/nationals/

Or if you drive, you can park at RFK and they will have buses to take you to the new ballpark.

 

[mikehn]

Is the sox game is in Baltimore or DC? All the places you mentioned are safe. Arlington has the most metro stations and is spitting distance from DC. Arlington is much more lively than DC. If the game is in Baltimore, how will you get there?

 

[skjuls]

Is the sox game is in Baltimore or DC? All the places you mentioned are safe. Arlington has the most metro stations and is spitting distance from DC. Arlington is much more lively than DC. If the game is in Baltimore, how will you get there?

If the game is in Baltimore, you can take the Marc train from DC's union station. Marc train is a commuter train and a lot cheaper than Amtrak but be sure to get one that doesn't stop at every stop or it'll be a long ride.

 

[Soupermom]

We're going a week from today! I was able to get the HYATT on Capitol Hill for $89 using Priceline. (they do get you on parking tho'---an additional $35/night! )