Recommend a good location DC hotel for weekend?

[rvchat]

any advice? it's our first trip there! thanks

 

[minnierocks]

We enjoyed staying in Pentagon City and using the metro all weekend. It's across the river so traffic was not bad. It was easy to get there and easy to leave. We parked our car and then used the metro. Our hotel was attached to the metro station and a mall. We felt completely safe walking to dinner in the evening after returning from a day of sightseeing. We got a great deal on the Ritz-Carlton that include valet parking and breakfast for two.

 

[moonpie85]

We enjoyed staying at the Holiday Inn on Capital Hill

 

[brymolmom]

LOVED Marriott Wardman Place. Got a great deal on Travelzoo but look at their website for some good weekend rates (try to get one with parking included if you're driving).

Metro is right outside the door - restaurants right across the street. All around excellent and will stay there again.

 

[kermit116]

I'd recommend a hotel in Pentagon City or Crystal City in VA. You can take the Metro into DC and you'll probably get a nicer hotel for a better price. Also, there's a nice mall at Pentagon City if you are looking for some shopping or some cheap food at a food court.

As a rule, avoid/be cautious of hotels in the northeast or southeast quarters of DC.

Dupont Circle is a nice area, but it can be expensive and it's more of a 20/30-something party area of town, so if you are going with family or bringing your kids it would not be an ideal location. Staying in Dupont Circle you'll also be close to the metro (and you'll get to see one of the longest underground escalators - total vertigo feeling). A hotel downtown would put you closest to all the typical tourist attractions (Nat'l Mall, Smithsonian Museums, etc.).

Capitol Hill is an okay area, but you need to keep an eye on how far away from the mall you will be. As you get further east of the Capitol, the neighborhood is less tourist friendly. If you do end up near Capitol Hill on a weekend, go visit Eastern Market - an indoor/outdoor farmer's market. It's a local favorite and will give you a real sense of the local culture and restaurants. There are also great restaurants around Eastern Market that are unique to DC.

 

[angelat]

We stayed at Homewood Suites by Hilton Alexandria in a 1 bedroom suite. It had a kitchen and a living room. The hotel had a medium sized duck shaped pool, an indoor hot tub, a fitness center and a free full breakfast everyday. It is in Alexandria and about 2 or 3 miles to the nearest Metro station, so you would need to drive around, but the parking was free and it was in a good safe neighborhood with plenty of stores around the hotel.

 

[Omalley]

Stayed at the Hyatt Arlington with family in July. It was close to a metro stop and a McDonald's for quick breakfast. Only 2-3 metro stops from all the main attractions.

 

[thomas998]

Really depends on how much money you want to spend... If it were me I would stay somewhere near Bethesda in Maryland... Bethesda is has a metro station with direct connections to DC... Hilton Garden Inn is within walking distance to the metro station and will probably cost you less than 80 a night... a Hilton in DC will be more than 100 a night... not much difference in price but I also like Bethesda more because it is safer than DC.

Sense you've never been before let me give you one bit of advice. Don't stray from the Northwest part of DC unless it is for the main mall area... there are parts of DC that are not safe in the daylight and are extremely dangerous at night. Also make sure you know where you are going when you use the metro, my first time living there I got off at the wrong station and thought I was in a movie about the end of the world when I got to the top of the escalator... some very scary places are very close to the places you want to visit... at all costs don't go into the Northeast or Southeast section of DC, not safe at all... especially the Southeast.

 

[CarlisleMom]

We like the Holiday Inn right behind the Air and Space Museum. Walking distance to the smithsonion and all the sights we want to see. After walking all day, we take a short rest in the room, then take a taxi to/from dinner.


If you subscribe to the Smithsonion Magazine, I recommended signing up for the tour of the Castle that happens on Sunday mornings. You get to see some rooms not open to the public.

 

[clori]

We loved the Embassy Suites in Alexandria. We flew to Reagan Airport and it was just two subway stops from the airport to the hotel which is across the street from the subway. The hotel had a bedroom and separate living room area with fridge/microwave, nightly managers reception, indoor pool/hot tub, exercise room, free breakfast. It even has a toddler playroom though I never saw that. The hotel has a free shuttle service within 1-2 miles or you can take the free King ST trolley to Old Town Alexandria.

Oh we traveled with two elderly people and one manual wheelchair and found the metro to be very handicapped accessible and very easy to figure out how to use. The only thing that confused us was having to insert our cards to both get on and off since we are used to Boston - just tap once to get in.

 

[pintamino]

LOVED Marriott Wardman Place. Got a great deal on Travelzoo but look at their website for some good weekend rates (try to get one with parking included if you're driving).

Metro is right outside the door - restaurants right across the street. All around excellent and will stay there again.

Wardman Park, actually, but I adore that hotel. Also check out the Omni up in this neck of the woods. We're also right by the Zoo up here (I live between the Marriott, which is literally right by the Metro, and the zoo ), which you might enjoy if you have kids. The Woodley Park area is nice at night, not loud and very safe - but close to the Metro red line and Adams-Morgan if you're looking for something to do. What are you coming in for? It might be easier to stay along the blue or orange line if you're looking to do the monuments.

My family are big fans of the Embassy Suites in Dupont Circle.

 

[craftymama71]

We stayed at Hotel L'Enfant Plaza i when we were there in 2008. It is a beautiful hotel and within walking distance to the Smithsonian Museum and other fun places. It also had great views to many of the monuments.

 

[Tree]

We like the Holiday Inn right behind the Air and Space Museum. Walking distance to the smithsonion and all the sights we want to see. After walking all day, we take a short rest in the room, then take a taxi to/from dinner.

we stayed at this Holiday Inn-we took the Amtrak train down. We were able to walk every where from the hotel. There isn't a lot of places to eat outside the hotel except for a McDonalds, Quiznos and a pizza place they do have a breakfast buffet which we got for free with our package. They have 2 restaurants which one is a bar as well as a Starbucks.

I would stay there again.