Washington DC on a budget? Can it be done??

[highwayg]

We are looking to go to DC for 3 days before we head to Ocean City MD. (It's not WDW...I had to compromise)

Any suggestions for hotels that won't break the bank? All the ones I have looked in DC are OUTRAGEOUS! What about other areas? Alexandria?
Will be using metro I guess, so want something convenient and close.

 

[abolanwoski]

We are looking to go to DC for 3 days before we head to Ocean City MD. (It's not WDW...I had to compromise)

Any suggestions for hotels that won't break the bank? All the ones I have looked in DC are OUTRAGEOUS! What about other areas? Alexandria?
Will be using metro I guess, so want something convenient and close.

The metro is sort of like a bicycle wheel with multiple spokes. The further out the spokes you go, the cheaper the hotel rates are going to be. Bethesda MD is fairly close in and is the HQ for Marriott. Not sure how cheap you are trying to go, but if you're going on a weekend, a lot of the hotels are actually less since they mainly cater to business travelers and need to drop rates on the weekends to bring in the pleasure travelers. There is a marriot within walking distance to the Bethesda Metro Center stop and the White Flint stop.

HTH

 

[highwayg]

I think we are trying to spend less than 150 a night. Less would be better but I like clean, safe and kids would LOVE a pool.

 

[Maddies Mama]

We are going on what is probably a holiday weekend and got a great rate at Best Western Georgetown. It's not actually in Georgetown, it's right off of the Foggy Bottom metro stop by a couple of blocks. The hotel has good reviews though it's a little older but I don't care. I just want a clean place to sleep. We are well under $150/night. No pool though.

 

[clm10308]

If you are truly looking for budget but want to be in closer to everything, I would go with the Hotel Harrington. It is only a block or two from a metro stop and walking distance to the Mall area. It is also near Fords Theater and the Spy museum.

While the location is great, it is definitely a budget hotel. It is very old, in fact it is supposed to have been the first air conditioned hotel in DC. The rooms were clean but nothing fancy. There are on site restaurants, again nothing special and there are several other places to eat very close by.

It does show its age, and the hallways did smell like the restaurants on the lower levels. Ther is no pool.

I felt quite safe staying there. This hotel is frequented by Girl Scout troops that travel to DC which is how I found out about it.

 

[flyergrad09]

The tour group that I chaperone for stays at the Comfort Inn in College Park, MD. It's a nice hotel that's close to the UM campus, so it's not a far drive to restaurants. There is also a Metro stop nearby that you can park at all day.

DC is probably one of the most affordable cities I've been to, just because of the Smithsonian museums! I absolutely love it! If you're looking for cheap places to eat, Union Station has an amazing food court, and it's not far from the Capital. Have fun!

 

[minnierocks]

We stayed in Pentagon City. The Ritz-Carlton was running a package deal that included free valet parking and breakfast. It is attached to a mall and a metro stop. There were plenty of restaurants within walking distance and we felt very safe there. It is less than a half mile to the Pentagon, and there is a walking tunnel that went under the interstate. It was an easy stroll to see it. We did not use our car all weekend.

 

[robin09]

We stayed in New Carrolton, Metro Points Hotel. It used to be a Sheraton. They have a free shuttle to the Metro, It was clean, easy and cheap. There is aNIhop around the corner and other places to eat. Washington can be done cheaply, as the Smithsonian is free, as alot of other places are.. Enjoy!

 

[shoney]

We are going to dc over Memorial Day weekend. We booked the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Crystal City. there is a metro stop right there, so it will be very easy to get into the city. We got a great rate using a triple A discount...$109 w/breakfast for a family of 4!

Rates do fluctuate though. Weekends are cheaper.

I suggest you post your question on the DC forums of tripadvisor. There are some very helpful people on there that will search hotels for you if you give them exact dates, budget, # of beds needed. they will even search hotwire and other un-named sites and let you know what hotel it is.

Good luck!

 

[jessp1021]

We went for a 3 day weekend get away earlier this year and stayed at the Bethesda Court Hotel for $99 a night and that included free breakfast and water/chocolates at night..we would take the waters up and put them in the fridge for the next day and the breakfast was standard but there were plenty of options to keep us happy! It was about 2-3 blocks for the metro and 10min in to town!

 

[princesspwrhr]

We're going this weekend. I have reservations at the Courtyard Dunn Loring Fairfax/Vienna VA. It's a block away from the Dunn Loring Metro station on the orange line and best of all the hotel has free parking. I booked it straight off their website for $100 a night plus tax. When I first started looking it was around $120, but they had a weekend last minute for $80, so I waited a while and kept looking. Currently the last minute price is still $100 and they only have king rooms listed, so I'm glad I booked when I did.

There isn't a free breakfast offered, but there are places around (or the Bistro downstairs which is probably overpriced! lol) or simple cold breakfasts in the room. That's the benefit of being in the suburbs. The website says there is a Chevy's Fresh Mex nearby - that's our first night meal every time we go to Disney so I'm excited. lol

Prices for the Metro are distance based, so keep that in mind when looking further out on the line. From the metro near our hotel to the Smithsonian stop is about $3 per person. If you're going to be in town a while, that could seriously add up and you may have been better staying closer in (just be sure to discover the parking fees at the hotels before booking - all over trip advisor are stories of people "not knowing" there was a $15-45 per night parking charge) Remember that every person needs their own Metro card, so you can't buy just one pre loaded with $45 for your party, each person has to have their own.

Parking at the Metro stations is free on the weekends and federal holidays if you find that you need to drive to a Metro Station - but you need a Smart Card to pay and get out of the blasted lots. You can't pay with credit or debit at the exit.

All of the museums and monuments are free. There are tours available, but I didn't find one that fit our budget and our desires. I think I'm going to rent bikes the first afternoon to go to the monuments. I think that this will make it easier for the kids to go from monument to monument without complaint. If you have children look at bikethesites.com, they have kids bikes. If you don't have kids, Capital Bike Share may be a less expensive, more flexible option. I stopped looking at it when I discovered they didn't have kids bikes. capitalbikeshare.com

 

[LisaNJ25]

We are going to dc over Memorial Day weekend. We booked the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Crystal City. there is a metro stop right there, so it will be very easy to get into the city. We got a great rate using a triple A discount...$109 w/breakfast for a family of 4!

Rates do fluctuate though. Weekends are cheaper.

I suggest you post your question on the DC forums of tripadvisor. There are some very helpful people on there that will search hotels for you if you give them exact dates, budget, # of beds needed. they will even search hotwire and other un-named sites and let you know what hotel it is.

Good luck!

You do know its biker weekend right? Just to give you a heads up. They can pull in close to 900,000 people. A no offense to any motorcycle riders.. my husband drives one. Memorial weekend is our wedding anniversary and we never go because of the increased crowds.

 

[shoney]

You do know its biker weekend right? Just to give you a heads up. They can pull in close to 900,000 people. A no offense to any motorcycle riders.. my husband drives one. Memorial weekend is our wedding anniversary and we never go because of the increased crowds.

Well that should make things interesting for my boys (10 and 12)! LOL

I needed a budget trip to celebrate my 40th b-day. We just went to Disney in Feb, so there went the vacation budget!!!!

We were able to get cheap flights out of JFK in NY...120 each and then the cheap hotel, so I guess we'll have to deal with crowds!

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[LisaNJ25]

Well that should make things interesting for my boys (10 and 12)! LOL

I needed a budget trip to celebrate my 40th b-day. We just went to Disney in Feb, so there went the vacation budget!!!!

We were able to get cheap flights out of JFK in NY...120 each and then the cheap hotel, so I guess we'll have to deal with crowds!

Thanks for the heads up!

very cool.. they will enjoy it Here is a link with some of the events http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/RollingThunder.htm I am sure they have their own site also.

We are in NJ and drive down. We are heading to Disney in August and are taking the autotrain. I am looking for a hotel also so we can spend the day in DC before catching the train.

 

[mommyoftwo85]

Definitely can! We just did 5 days at DC for under a grand, and we are a family of 4. The good thing about DC is all of the museums, memorials are free.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

We went a couple of years ago and stayed at the Marriott Metro Center. I won the room off of Priceline (I think around $75 - not including parking) and it was a very nice hotel in a great location. Priceline's bidding service can really save you a lot of money if you do your research!

 

[tessieg]

We went a few years ago and stayed at Embassy suites Old Town ALexandria. Right across the street from a metro station. Two room suite and full breakfast buffet included.
We also stayed a few days at Marriot Crystal City and enjoyed being right over the metro station(it was underneath in a big underground mall).
ALmost everything to do in DC is FREE so it is a great budget option. We plan to go back in a few years now that our kids are older and we could do a bit more.
If you stay in Old Town ALexandria, you are right near Mt Vernon and that was one of our favorite things--seeing George Washington's home. His grave is there as well
Have a great 40th!
Tessie

 

[Green Tea]

Even if you have to pay more for a hotel, the activities there really are free and wonderful. I've stayed in lots of areas and I especially love the Woodley Park area. If you are going over a weekend you can probably find a pretty good rate. Weekdays, not so much. If you are near a Metro stop anywhere though, as long as there is parking at the stop, its a weekend, or your hotel has a shuttle to the station, you will be fine. If you have to drive to a station (I'm thinking Northern VA, not in the city) parking is tough unless its weekend. I love Tyson's Corner for all the great stuff there....but no Metro actually in the mall vicinity. The Courtyard at Dunn Loring station is adjacent to a Metro though. Its a few minutes drive from the mall, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and the Courtyard at the the mall.

 

[DIS B]

Has anyone ever stayed at the Crowne Plaza-The Hamilton in DC? With a government rate, I can get it for 169 a night.

 

[moon]

If you are truly looking for budget but want to be in closer to everything, I would go with the Hotel Harrington. It is only a block or two from a metro stop and walking distance to the Mall area. It is also near Fords Theater and the Spy museum.

While the location is great, it is definitely a budget hotel. It is very old, in fact it is supposed to have been the first air conditioned hotel in DC. The rooms were clean but nothing fancy. There are on site restaurants, again nothing special and there are several other places to eat very close by.

It does show its age, and the hallways did smell like the restaurants on the lower levels. Ther is no pool.

I felt quite safe staying there. This hotel is frequented by Girl Scout troops that travel to DC which is how I found out about it.

We stayed at the Harrington, and although it was old, and not fancy at all it was clean and super-comfortable!

I'd love to go to Washington D.C. again, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay at Hotel Harrington We had a great time!