Washington DC - a few questions...

[DizOz]

I too am a lover of DC. I had a great time there a few years back on business. It finished early so we ahd a few days to ourselves. We stayed in a hotel in Georgetown which was nice and less than a 100 metres from the main drag.

We ended doing a Segway tour which was fun. Using the Segway saved our feet and was fun to use. (A Segway is one of thos 2 wheeled machines that stay upright by them selves and go back and forth through your own body movement and shifting your weight foward or back. Really easy to use) We visited all the memorials, white house, congress various libraries and museums.

 

[elaine amj]

I was in Washington on business last fall and stayed at the Embassy Suites, very nice hotel and reasonably central to everything. Rooms were spacious. We flew in and just took the metro to our otel and walked the last couple of blocks. I checked out the manager's reception one evening and it was stuff like nachos with salsa. not something I was particularly interested in.

Then we moved to the Clarion Inn in Maryland for our last night as everything was sold out in Washington. It was a quick 20 min or so metro ride away. Very simple to get to. They offer a free shuttle between the hotel and metro station and were very accommodating whenever we needed to travel.

Honestly, if I returned, I would go back to the Clarion. It's recently refurbished and while simple, it's clean. Nice sheets too! Rooms are under $100. My coworker and I had connecting rooms. Breakfast is free and decent. the hotel has an atrium pool so would be fun for kids. The restaurant attached is INCREDIBLY good! I was surprised as hotel restaurants are usually mediocre...but that one is actually worth a trip to go to. Their lettuce wraps were out of this world (and I don't like lettuce wraps).

In a way, the Clarion Inn was much less walking as you can take the Metro really close to the National Mall. The Embassy Suites was a fair bit of walking. But not bad

If you get a chance to go to the strip where they have Ethiopian food, the restaurants there were good. and it was fun to try something good. We went to one of those placesknown for their pizza....but our pizza in my hometown is much better.

Have fun!! My fave part was staring at the magnificent Hope Diamond. I spent a solid hour just staring at all those jewels.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Thanks for the two hotel reviews Elaine Amj . That's wonderful and helpful.

 

[elaine amj]

Thanks for the two hotel reviews Elaine Amj . That's wonderful and helpful.

You;re welcome.

Also, if you're driving, I'd stay out of the city. I met up some folks at the Clarion Inn in Maryland and they drove me into the city for some sightseeing....and the traffic to get into the city was ridiculous. Mind you, this was a weekday. I've talked to other folks who say to avoid driving within Washington because it's just nuts and it can be difficult to maneuver your way around. That's another reason if I go back again I'll stay in Maryland and just ride the Metro in. It was seriously so much faster to use the Metro than to drive in.

Have a great time! I started planning a trip to Washington this summer, but DH ended up shutting me down. *sigh* Oh well, we go to WDW in August!!!

Oh here's another thought - Megabus is VERY cheap to get into Washington, especially if you manage to score their very cheap seats. I actually thought about using Megabus to get to Washington. With a good deal, it's actually cheaper than driving (even with 4 of us), plus it spares my DH from driving the 10 hours to Washington.

 

[Andona]

You;re welcome.

Also, if you're driving, I'd stay out of the city. I met up some folks at the Clarion Inn in Maryland and they drove me into the city for some sightseeing....and the traffic to get into the city was ridiculous.

We found driving in DC a bit challenging, but not as bad as Manhattan.

The worst thing was when we left the hotel after just picking up the car and I could NOT get my GPS to locate Arlington National Cemetery in it's Point of Interest list I was swearing at it saying " it's one of the MAJOR places in the city , how come you don't KNOW about it you stupid thing!!!". It made for a hair-raising drive across the city, trying to navigate by an inadequate little printed map.

It wasn't till later that I realised I was the stupid one - I'd forgotten that Arlington was across the river in Virginia and I'd been searching in the wrong state. Doh! You forget how small DC is sometimes..

Andona