visiting Washington DC

[luvflorida]

My family and I are going to be visiting the Washington DC area in a few weeks and we are staying at a Courtyard Marriott in Silver Spring, Maryland. We picked this area because it's close to Washington DC. Has anyone stayed at this Courtyard, or in the general vicinity? I guess I'm mainly wondering if we chose a safe area to stay in. We're not that familiar to this suburb. Any hepl would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[MermaidsMom]

If you don't want to stay in downtown DC, then the Crystal City area is much more convienent for tourism. Silver Springs is a hike in alot of traffic. Crystal City is an easy METRO ride into DC. There are alot of nice hotels in DC proper too. I think it's easier to see everything if you stay in the middle of it. There is a very nice Hilton Garden Inn on 14th Street that you can get wonderful rates at if you do your research.

 

[MermaidsMom]

PS, it is very safe in downtown DC due to all of the law enforcement presence there. We walk at night, just be sensible like you would be anyplace else. If you have any more questions let me know- I am there alot.

 

[tar heel]

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on 14th in October. Good location and on-site parking -- something to ask about if you're staying downtown. It was around $100 a night -- I don't remember exactly -- plus $20 or so for parking. We walked from the hotel in the a.m. and took the metro back in the evening. Then we used the car for the memorials.

You can get really good rates in at convention hotels in DC on the weekends and in the summer. We stayed at the Capital Hilton, a much swankier place near the White House, for less than $100 a night a few years ago.

We stayed way out in the burbs with some relatives once and found that there were no parking places at the metro stops if you didn't get there really early. That was a pain.

 

[snoopy]

I know where that Courtyard Marriott is - its in a safe neighborhood, but its a good 5 miles or so from the Silver Spring Metro. Silver Spring is a fairly large town, some parts of it not so great, but the area where that Marriott is located is not "downtown" Silver Spring, but a little further out. I haven't ever stayed there before, but I had lunch in the restaurant there once years ago and it looked clean.

If you are on a budget and must stay there, I wouldn't worry for safety reasons, but if you can afford just a few more $$ I would chose a location either in D.C. or a little closer in - Betheda, Maryland is very nice and closer to D.C.

 

[luvflorida]

Thanks so much for all the info! We chose the Marriott Courtyard because my husband travels quite a bit on business and we have a lot of Marriott Reward Points. We've been to Washington, DC before and have always stayed in the Maryland suburbs, but never Silver Spring.

Snoopy- Thanks, I feel better now about the area we chose. We're early risers so don't mind getting into DC early, (which is a must in order to beat the rush hour traffic), or if we decide to take another form of transportation. My main concern was whether or not the Courtyard is in a safe neighborhood and it sounds like it is. Thanks, again!