Very specific Washington, D.C. questions (hotel, etc).

[pjlla]

Let me begin by saying I have already searched this topic and read all of the applicable informationavailable here on the Dis. But I still have a few questions....

We are planning a family trip to DC this spring. It will be myself, DH, DD (10 1/2) and DS (8). We want to see the "usual" stuff. Smithsonian, White House, Capital, Monuments (Washington, Lincoln), and the Zoo.

I have looked over at Trip Advisor, but I am still a bit baffled about a hotel to stay in. I would like to be walking distance to as much as possible. We are willing to take the Metro when necessary. We will PROBABLY have a car with us and I understand that parking around there is very expensive. So if possible I would like a hotel with its own parking lot that is not terribly pricey (I guess free is out of the question??). (If parking seems like it will be way too expensive, we could consider flying in or taking the train??... haven't really looked into that yet.)

We only really "need" a regular hotel room (2 dble or queen beds), but a suite would be GREAT. It (obviously) needs to be clean and serviceable, but we don't need fancy. I definitely am not in the market to pay $200/night, but most of what I have seen looks like that is a "normal" price for this area. What could I get for $150/night or less??? Also, need an area that is reasonably safe. But we won't be going out much in the evening.

I've seen a lot about the Holiday Inn Capital. The overall opinion over at Trip Advisor.com is positive. And the price looks right. I understand that the location is maybe borderline on not the greatest. But how bad is it really?

Thanks in advance for any and all help............P

 

[barbeml]

I do a business event in DC every spring. Just a warning, that is by far the peak time of year. Parking averages $20 per day at hotels. Holiday Inn may be your best bet. Getting within walking distance for less than $200 per night would be mighty lucky.

DH and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt 9 years ago and it was $135 per night for a special off-season deal back then. The GH is within walking distance of most things.

Good luck!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

We stayed at the Embasy Suites in Chevy Chase Pavillion in October. We had 2 room suite with two Queen beds in the bedroom, and a sofa/pull out bed in the Living Room The kitchen area had a microwave and a refrigerator. Oh, and they had a free cooked to order breakfast every morning also. I think our rate was around $185 a night, but when breakfast for 5 people is included in that -- not too bad.

The best part though was that the hotel is in a building that is right on top of a Metro Station - so it worked out really well. We didn't even have to go outside to get to the trains, just down to the sub-basements of the hotel.

I can't help you with parking. We took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and the subway everywhere else.

 

[Snowysmom]

We stayed at Embassy Suites at the Chevy Chase Pavilion this past summer. It is on the outskirts of DC but has a Metro station underneath it. It was very convenient. We parked the car in the garage and left it there for the 4 days we were there. Parking was $15 per day. We had a 2 room suite, free cooked to order breakfast each morning, and it is in a mall with a Cheesecake Factory right there. We paid $169 per night with AAA. If you do want to stay in DC, a coworker and her family stayed at Holiday Inn Capitol and liked it. She said it was a typical hotel room, clean, and enough space so you didn't feel claustrophobic. Plus, there were lots of fast food type places nearby if you didn't want to each at the restaurant there.

 

[safetymom]

We stayed at several places in DC but our favorite is the Crystal City Marriott. Metro station right under the hotel. It is so easy to use the Metro I don't bother renting a car in DC anymore. Too much traffic and hardly any parking.

 

[MinnieM3]

We stayed at the Watergate and loved it! HUGE room! Great service. It was not really walking distance to anything, but we took taxis and Metro, which was just a short walk away. Have fun! Do the nightime tour!

 

[kilee]

We tend to stay at the Quality Inn Iwo Jima. It is on the very edge of town (pretty much just on the border of DC). However, we don't mind driving into town. We've never had a problem w/ parking or paying more than $5-10 for parking. So, we like to save the money on the hotel. We've gotten rates in the $65-100 range. It's a very clean and modern hotel. No more than 5 minutes to the White House area.
We are looking to go this February for 3 days and are most likely going to stay here again.

 

[tiggerlover]

We hope to head to DC in June so I am interested to see the responses to your question. We are thinking of staying on the Virginia/DC border and trying to metro in, but we aren't sure just yet.

 

[Jennifer S]

There is also a new bus service where each trip is only a dollar. It's called the Circulator. It worked great. DC is pretty spread out and you will do a ton of walking. No hotel is close to a lot. We went this summer. We stayed at the Westin Grand on M street. We had an employee discount of $69 a night so not sure what the normal price is. Parking was @$20 a night.

Wear comfy shoes.

 

[SEAlla]

I am not too sure about less expensive hotels in the area but I can tell you that you may want to stay away from the too cheap hotels.

Also, unless you are familiar with the area, I would not recommend driving for 2 reasons.

1. You will proably end up parking as far away as your hotel is anyway. Or spend more time trying to find a "close" parking space than actual sightseeing.
2. There are many one-way streets downtown and depending on the time of day depends on which way the streets are running. It can get confusing for someone like me who has been in the area for 30 years, let alone a visitor.

Just plan on a lot of walking regardless. It is just the way it is there.

It sounds like the Crystal City Marriott is a good choice. Very nice area with lots of resturants and shopping. It also has easy access to the metro which is the way to go. It will save you a lot of time and walking. Just remember that if you use the metro, one ticket per person. I can't tell you how many times we have sent off visiting friends, told them this, and they still buy one ticket (and put enough fare money on it) for everyone. It doesn't work that way.

Oh and as far as parking prices, I would think it is fair to say that IF you find somwhere that has free parking, you will probably make up for in in the price of the room. I would plan on paying no less than $10 a day for parking.

Hope that helps...

 

[jlaspoq]

Consider staying in Crystal City and riding the metro in - I think the hotels are a tad less there. That said, we stayed at the Embassy Suites near Dupont Circle - very nice. There's a new Embassy Suites opening near the DC convention center too.

 

[pjlla]

I am not too sure about less expensive hotels in the area but I can tell you that you may want to stay away from the too cheap hotels.

Also, unless you are familiar with the area, I would not recommend driving for 2 reasons.

1. You will proably end up parking as far away as your hotel is anyway. Or spend more time trying to find a "close" parking space than actual sightseeing.
2. There are many one-way streets downtown and depending on the time of day depends on which way the streets are running. It can get confusing for someone like me who has been in the area for 30 years, let alone a visitor.

Just plan on a lot of walking regardless. It is just the way it is there.

It sounds like the Crystal City Marriott is a good choice. Very nice area with lots of resturants and shopping. It also has easy access to the metro which is the way to go. It will save you a lot of time and walking. Just remember that if you use the metro, one ticket per person. I can't tell you how many times we have sent off visiting friends, told them this, and they still buy one ticket (and put enough fare money on it) for everyone. It doesn't work that way.

Oh and as far as parking prices, I would think it is fair to say that IF you find somwhere that has free parking, you will probably make up for in in the price of the room. I would plan on paying no less than $10 a day for parking.

Hope that helps...

I just want to clarify..... I don't want to drive in D.C..... we are driving down from NH, which is the reason we will have a car. But I would rather not drive in traffic in a city I am not familiar with. If I can get a GREAT Ding fare or maybe find a good Amtrak rate, I am more than happy to leave the car at home! I have no problem taking public transportation once we arrive in D.C. .............P

 

[Twigs]

We stayed at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. It is two blocks away from the Smithsonian, and we did walk around all the monuments and back to the hotel one day. That was a looong walk, but we were fine with it, and found it quite doable. It also has an underground mall and a Metro station under it. The advice my best friend (who lives 30 out of DC) told me was to stay close to a Metro stop. Those are the reasons we chose this hotel, the close access to the Smithsonian and the Metro being right there, and we were very happy with it. We found it very easy to get around with the Metro. We drove from NY and only drove one time, when we went to a restaurant in Chevy Chase MD for DH B'day. The only drawback is that there really aren't any restaurants in walkable distance as it is on the opposite side (South???) of the central mall and most of those things were on the other side. But we used Metro to get around and we found the two hotel restaurants were good so we made do that way. Here is a link for the hotel on expedia that I found.


http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=21488/nojs=1/eapi=23708

 

[SEAlla]

I just want to clarify..... I don't want to drive in D.C..... we are driving down from NH, which is the reason we will have a car. But I would rather not drive in traffic in a city I am not familiar with. If I can get a GREAT Ding fare or maybe find a good Amtrak rate, I am more than happy to leave the car at home! I have no problem taking public transportation once we arrive in D.C. .............P

Oh, sorry about that, I misunderstood.

Amtrak sounds like fun. I have always wanted to do that to Florida, however, with the car, the rates have been more expensive than the 2 of us just flying or driving down. Hence, I have yet to be able to talk DH into it.

 

[caitycaity]

I definitely am not in the market to pay $200/night, but most of what I have seen looks like that is a "normal" price for this area. What could I get for $150/night or less???

it's unlikely that you'll get a hotel close to the tourist stuff in the spring for $150 or less. your best bet is the suburbs - virginia is closer by metro. the rosslyn area is nice, but will be more expensive than crystal city (which is a little further out).

 

[welovedisneyx4]

Do you have to pay to park in the Metro lots? We are thinking of going this spring, but would be staying at my uncle's house, which is in Alexandria. We have driven into the city when we have gone before (years ago), but I think doing the Metro would be the best bet.

DH and I went to DC about 2 years ago b/c I won tickets to the Jimmy Buffet concert at the Nisson Pavilion and we got lost driving around DC at midnight-2 am w/ little traffic (thank goodness!!), so I see no reason to have to drive around in the daytime w/ lots of traffic!

pjilla, have you used a particular web site to learn about touring the city? Like I said, it has been a long time since we have actually been there to sight-see and I would like to get some good current comprehensive info.

 

[SEAlla]

Do you have to pay to park in the Metro lots?

Yes, with what is called a "SmartTrip" card.

The parking areas are gated. Before you leave you must purchase a SmartTrip card at the station. I can't remember how much they are but when you leave the parking lot/garage, you just touch the card to a reader by the exit gate to open it.

Effective June 28, 2004, SmarTrip is the only form of payment accepted at Metro-operated parking lots. Although you may see attendant booths at the exits, they are no longer attended (cost cutbacks).

Here is the link for the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority. You can even order these tickets in advances from this site.

www.wmata.com

 

[Jeafl]

We stayed in 3 different hotels and I would recommend all of them.

L'Enfant Plaza, Courtyard by Marriott Northwest and the Radisson on P Street. We paid $139, $109 and $109 respectively. Every one of them was a very short walk to the metro, all had pools and all were convenient to everything.

We had our car as well, but we parked it and forgot it the entire time we were there. Some of the hotels charge you much less for parking if you don't need in and out priveleges. I think we paid $12.50. night on average.

 

[Christine]

One thing to keep in mind regarding parking at Metro--availability. I don't use Metro to get to work but, I swear, a week doesn't go by that there is not some complaint about the Metro parking lots filling up very early with commuters. So, if you get a late start (like 8:00-9:00a.m.) you might not get a parking spot.

 

[SEAlla]

One thing to keep in mind regarding parking at Metro--availability. I don't use Metro to get to work but, I swear, a week doesn't go by that there is not some complaint about the Metro parking lots filling up very early with commuters. So, if you get a late start (like 8:00-9:00a.m.) you might not get a parking spot.

Very true...

Good advice, go early.