Washington DC hotel updated question on page 3

[DawnS]

My daughters school will be going to D.C. in May and we are looking at staying here www.4hcenter.org, the man I talked with said they are on the metro bus line.
can't beat their prices, thats for sure.

Dawn

 

[lovemygoofy]

I don't have the answers to your questions but wanted to recommend Washington, D.C. for Dummies. I'm reading it right now for my relocation to D.C. and it is a very easy read. The book breaks down by travel style, hotel prices, big groups, families and even tells you what metros to take to where and how and what time of the day/week.

 

[singingpixie]

My daughters school will be going to D.C. in May and we are looking at staying here www.4hcenter.org, the man I talked with said they are on the metro bus line.
can't beat their prices, thats for sure.

Dawn

I don't know anything about the hotel, but just so you know, the metrobus is the public city bus. I don't know if I'd plan to use it with a large school group, since I don't know if you all will fit along with regular commuters.

 

[DawnS]

I don't know anything about the hotel, but just so you know, the metrobus is the public city bus. I don't know if I'd plan to use it with a large school group, since I don't know if you all will fit along with regular commuters.

Thanks for the tip but there are only 15 of us total so it shouldnt' be a problem, the man at the 4H council told me that they have huge groups coming in all the time and its never been a problem.
I'll report back how it was when and if we decide thats where we are staying.

 

[elgerber]

Has anyone stayed at The Embassy Suites Old Town in Alexandria? It'a quite a bit cheaper than the one at Chevy Chase and it says the Metro station is just across the street?

How long would the metro ride be from Alexandria into the city?

Thanks!!!

Anyone have any thoughts on the hotel above?

Or this one in the city...
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=454759

Thanks!!

 

[Freyja]

We stayed at the Washington Suites in Georgetown. Pretty big suites with full kitchen, continental breakfast and withing walking distance of the White House and other "tourist" attractions.

 

[Christine]

My daughters school will be going to D.C. in May and we are looking at staying here www.4hcenter.org, the man I talked with said they are on the metro bus line.
can't beat their prices, thats for sure.

Dawn

I stayed there for a weekend conference. It wasn't bad at all.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for the tip but there are only 15 of us total so it shouldnt' be a problem, the man at the 4H council told me that they have huge groups coming in all the time and its never been a problem.
I'll report back how it was when and if we decide thats where we are staying.

I did stay there and liked it. While it is an excellent location, from what I remember, public transportation wasn't easy. It sits back on the property and you have to walk up a decent sized driveway area to get out on a main/highly trafficked road. There you will wait for whatever city bus you need to catch. When I stayed there I had my car. As a tourist, I probably wouldn't want to use Metro bus. Nothing wrong with it really, just that it's more of a commuter thing and maybe not as easy to deal with as just hopping on the Metro.

But the 4H center is great for groups.

 

[shelemm]

Anyone have any thoughts on the hotel above?

Or this one in the city...
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll/qscr=dspv/htid=454759

Thanks!!

The Hilton Garden Inn is well located, very central. I have not stayed there, though.

As far as the Old Town Alexandria hotel is concerned, you should check out commuting times at www.wmata.com If you are going to consider Virginia, then you should definitely stay in the Rosslyn area of Arlington. The Metro trains there run twice as often as from Old Town Alexandria. The discount websites like Priceline and Hotwire usually get my visiting family into the Key Bridge Marriott for something like $70 bucks a night.

 

[MrsPete]

We stayed in the Park Phoenix hotel recently. It's a block from Union Station (Metro station, Amtrak station, food court, shopping) and about five blocks from the Capitol Building. We had a group rate of $99/room/night last month and were very satisified with the place.

Several details:
They charge a fee -- was it $7 or $9? -- for the union guys to carry your luggage; it cannot be deducted, even if -- like us -- you're arriving by train and have only carry-on bags. Why are unions still around?

The restaurant is no bargain. Breakfast bar was something like $13/person.

Ask for high-up rooms. We were on the 3rd and 4th floor, and some of our group was right above the bar -- they were kept awake by the noise on the first night, but the hotel kindly moved them the next morning.

This is a "historic hotel", which is code-word for small rooms. Small elevators too. The rooms are comfortable for four, but a little tight. Very comfortable beds. Nice decor. Good water pressure. Corner rooms have larger baths.

There's a doorman, so you can feel that your kids will be somewhat protected from street people who might try to wander in.

Do plan to take a great group photo on their lovely staircase.

 

[elgerber]

The Hilton Garden Inn is well located, very central. I have not stayed there, though.

As far as the Old Town Alexandria hotel is concerned, you should check out commuting times at www.wmata.com If you are going to consider Virginia, then you should definitely stay in the Rosslyn area of Arlington. The Metro trains there run twice as often as from Old Town Alexandria. The discount websites like Priceline and Hotwire usually get my visiting family into the Key Bridge Marriott for something like $70 bucks a night.

So you think this would be a good safe (we know to still be careful in a city) area for the girls? And do you think it's easy to find places to eat there?

Thanks!

 

[elgerber]

On another note, can you usually get multiple rooms with Hotwire? We'd be needing 7-9 rooms.

 

[christianne]

Hi- Follow up to a question from original poster...
At the Embassy Suites in Chevy Chase, it is on the Red line at Frienship Heights (you do not have to leave the hotel/pavillion to get to the station- it is in the lower level) To all major sights in the Smithsonian/ Mall area it would be about a 20-25 min Metro ride. Besides the Chevy Chase pavillion, there is a large mall across the street and Wisconsin Ave outside the hotel is full of shops, quick bites to eat, etc.
As we've lived in DC for many years, I would choose this location over Alexandria (very far on Metro) and Georgetown (nearest metro stop is quite a hike from Georgetown) Also, I think the area is much much safer/upscale than anything in downtown..or even Georgetown on a weekend night. We have also stayed in many hotels & this Embassy Suites is the cleanest hotel I've ever been in...even cleaner than the Disney properties we've stayed in

 

[shelemm]

We stayed in the Park Phoenix hotel recently. It's a block from Union Station (Metro station, Amtrak station, food court, shopping) and about five blocks from the Capitol Building. We had a group rate of $99/room/night last month and were very satisified with the place.

Several details:
They charge a fee -- was it $7 or $9? -- for the union guys to carry your luggage; it cannot be deducted, even if -- like us -- you're arriving by train and have only carry-on bags. Why are unions still around?

The restaurant is no bargain. Breakfast bar was something like $13/person.

Ask for high-up rooms. We were on the 3rd and 4th floor, and some of our group was right above the bar -- they were kept awake by the noise on the first night, but the hotel kindly moved them the next morning.

This is a "historic hotel", which is code-word for small rooms. Small elevators too. The rooms are comfortable for four, but a little tight. Very comfortable beds. Nice decor. Good water pressure. Corner rooms have larger baths.

There's a doorman, so you can feel that your kids will be somewhat protected from street people who might try to wander in.

Do plan to take a great group photo on their lovely staircase.

Even though it is just around the corner from several hotels on New Jersey Ave, the location of the Park Phoenix is much better. It is on a busier, better lit street. As soon as you step out of the hotel, you are in full view of Union Station.

That whole thing about not being able to take your own luggage seems like a sham. Many hotels in DC are unionized, so are the red caps at the airport, but this is the first time I've heard of not being able to carry your own suitcase.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Thanks for the tip but there are only 15 of us total so it shouldnt' be a problem, the man at the 4H council told me that they have huge groups coming in all the time and its never been a problem.
I'll report back how it was when and if we decide thats where we are staying.

My DD stayed here, albeit briefly, two summers ago. Beautiful grounds/campus. Not sure about your accomodations and the weather in May, but not all rooms (where my daughter was staying) are air-conditioned. They were telling the kids to bring their own fans.

 

[yeartolate]

Thanks everyone! Can you tell me if it was easy to get dinner nearby? The reviews on Expedia made it sound like there wasn't any place to eat in the area of the Hyatt.

We did the fridge in the room -essentially breakfast items. Milk, juice, yogurt.
We brought Cereal with us and got milk/juice across the street at the liquor store. Realistically, we never had an opportunity to eat other meals at the hotel (we were there a week). We were on the go the whole time. So at the other places we were going, there was always many food opportunities. I was financially (gulp) prepared for alot of room service we didn't really go there.

The nearby Starbucks has all the usual stuff....

The best food deal we had was the cafeteria in the Longworth House Office Building. They had EVERYTHING! I felt the prices were totally competitive. The selection was amazing. We must have gone there at least three times.

When in doubt, though....go for the loaves of bread, velveeta and make hotel room ironing board grilled cheese sandwiches.

 

[elgerber]

Ok, I'm back again. I have gotten decent group quotes from the Hilton Garden Inn and the Hyatt Regency, does anyone think one of these would be better than the other for us?
I also have a quote from the Embassy Suites at Chevy Chase, which includes breakfast, but I think our choir leader would really like to be where we can walk to attractions. But I have both areas for options for them right now.

 

[elgerber]

OK, dredging up my own old post. The choir trip last Spring was cancelled. But now my family has decided to go this Memorial Day weekend, me dh ds17 and dd 14. So, I am just wondering if anyone has any other hotel suggestions or any updated suggestions to what they posted before??? We are flying in to Ronald Reagan if that helps.

 

[golfgal]

I know you didn't ask this but make sure you check into AirTran airlines to fly to DC. We used them, they fly out of Humphrey and into a SMALL gate are at Regan. It is SUPER easy for flights and luggage pick up.

We stayed in Old Town Alexandria and it was GREAT. We stayed at the Westin and although nice, it is a nickel and dime you type hotel. I would stay at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria-or there is a Sheraton or something like that near the metro station there too, get metro passes and you will never need a car. We took the metro from the airport, got week long unlimited passes and took the metro everywhere. Alexandria is nice because you can walk around at night after being in DC all day, take a free trolly into the Old Town (downtown) area and have dinner, etc.

 

[Jynohn]

We're staying at the Crystal City Marriott at Reagan Int'l for our January trip. It got good ratings on tripadvisor, and we got a very reasonable AAA rate of $99/night. There's a metro station underneath the hotel, which was a major plus for us, plus from what we've read, there are several good restaurants nearby. Hope this helps!