OT - Washington DC during Christmas Break? And which Hilton?

[GrnMtnMan]

So the Embassy at Chevy Chase looks perfect. Is that considered a suburban hotel?

Its not a downtown hotel, but its not really in the suburbs either. The neighborhood is a popular retail, office, and residential area, with high-rise offices and apartment buildings, plus some a mix of high end and regular shopping.

Yea, finding a hotel that sleeps 5 is the hard part. It seems the Embassy Suites are the best option for us since we're trying to use Hilton points. There is an Embassy Suites near the convention center but the cost of parking is much higher, the hotel rate is higher and costs more points so I'm not sure if we would save anything staying at that location.

The reason I suggested the Chevy Chase ES is because of your room for 5 constraint. The other Hiltons that allow for 5 are not in prime locations....close, but not perfect. The Convention Center ES is still a good ways from the mall, so you'd probably be on metro there anyway.

There's a Hampton Inn close to the White House that takes 5, but in that neighborhood everything but the fine dining venues will be closed at night.

Also check out the Residence Inn Pentagon City.
...
There is also the Pentagon City Mall with shops and restaurants right near it.

This is a decent area as well.

 

[100AcreWood]

I booked the embassy Chevy chase. I am really looking forward to seeing DC for the first time! Thank you for all of your help!

 

[GraysMom]

Not a holiday specific recommendation but Udvar Hazy is definitely worth checking out if you can manage to get over there. However, it’s not very public transportation friendly. According to their website there is a bus that goes there but I’ve never taken it. I’ve always driven. All of the guests I have taken have enjoyed it far more than Air and Space on the Mall, but it is much harder to get to.

I totally agree about Udvar-Hazy! We stopped by on our drive in to DC and weren't disappointed. I've been to the Air & Space before, but it was really a let down (and much more crowded than U-H) after seeing Discovery and all the other cool aircraft and space memorabilia at U-H. They have the original Airstream quarantine trailer that ?Apollo 11? used, along with a Concorde, the Enola Gay, etc. It's hard to imagine all the aircraft they have packed in to this museum. There is also a tower observatory with live feeds from air traffic controllers at Dulles, so you can watch the planes coming in to land while hearing the controllers guide them in.