Washington DC on a budget

[Niagara2]

Just back this weekend from National Harbor MD. This is a newly built, planned community on the Potomac. It is rumored that Disney is considering a DVC there. There is even a big sign on the downtown street that say Welcome Disney. The Gaylord is the big convention hotel there. We were there for a convention but stayed across the street at the Residence Inn for $109 with free hot breakfast. The parking was only $11 a night in a ramp.
Everything is brand new. There are shops and restaurants. The best is the boat to take you to the DC area. It was $13 so you can avoid trying to find parking near the mall. The Gaylord had a $5 shuttle to the King St. Metro Station or Old Town Alexandria. Many tours left from the lobby also. If you pick a weekend without a convention I would think the rates would be good.
The area is not that big, but is safe and fresh. It is convenient to DC and has good transportation. We went into the town there, called Oxon Hills to go to a grocery store. Wow, that was scary. It seems that they must of torn down an old area and built new on the waterfront. Oxon Hill, at least the main drag where we were was pretty bad. Pulled next to car that the girls were doing drugs in. Was in store around 11pm and many women with little kids doing their weeks shopping. What were they doing out that late!
There is not much to do at night, except convention type bar scenes. We had to go to the grocery store as we were not allowed in one of the restaurants after 10pm as our teen son was with us. I was proofed at the door and he was serious. Lets just say that I have not needed proof for over 30 years! I do not see Disney there. Except for being new and pretty, the location is good to get to area attractions. The area itself is very adult, convention oriented. There was a Wydymn timeshare there too. The waterfront was pretty, but not a large area.
All in all, a nice place to stay to get to attractions easily, but not much for kids in immediate area. Hotels had pools, the boat would be fun, and the shops would fill in a morning. Guess you go to get to the attractions so in that sense, it is a nice place.

 

[4Seasons]

Disney has purchased 15 acres at National Harbor and it was reported on our local news when that happened it would be a hotel (but who really knows).
You are correct, Oxon Hill is NOT a place you want to be going to.

I'd also recommend staying in Old Town Alexandria. The Holiday Inn Old Town is nice and there's a Giant food grocery store directly across the street if you need to purchase any snacks/drinks, etc. for your days in town.
We like visiting the Torpedo Factory in Old town too, very interesting and on nice days there are usually street performers out by the dock.

 

[disneybound31]

My DH travels down there for work frequently...we often stay at the Homewood Suites or the Embassy Suites in Falls Church. Both are big and roomy, located fairly close to a very nice shopping mall and lots of restaurants. Then the drive to the National Mall is about 15-20 minutes. I just priced the Homewood Suites (which includes a light dinner during the week and a breakfast all week) it was $98/night for mid-June. I hope that helps!

ETA: Parking is free at both locations as well.

From this Homewood Suites is there metro access? We will not have a car and will need to get into the city Mall area/ Smithsonian, etc. and will be three women so we won't want to have to do too much walking to and fro the metro after dark...
Thanks in advance

 

[Neesy228]

From this Homewood Suites is there metro access? We will not have a car and will need to get into the city Mall area/ Smithsonian, etc. and will be three women so we won't want to have to do too much walking to and fro the metro after dark...
Thanks in advance

We always use our own car when we're down there, so I'm afraid that I'm not much help. I do not believe that there is a Metro station anywhere within walking distance. The address is: 8130 Porter Road, Falls Church, VA. Maybe you could cross-reference that with a map of the Metro?

The Embassy Suites is also very nice, and also in Falls Church. They have an excellent breakfast and a "managers reception" (snacks and alchoholic/non-alcoholic drinks) in the evenings.

 

[MEM]

I can also recommend Travelzoo. I was able to book the Omni Shoreham Hotel, near the National Zoo, for $109 a night. Granted, parking is $28 a night, but its still a deal. The Metro station is across the street and there are tons of restaurants in the neighborhood.

This is for March 2010 from Wed-Sat.

 

[bluesaturn]

The area is not that big, but is safe and fresh. It is convenient to DC and has good transportation. We went into the town there, called Oxon Hills to go to a grocery store. Wow, that was scary. It seems that they must of torn down an old area and built new on the waterfront. Oxon Hill, at least the main drag where we were was pretty bad. Pulled next to car that the girls were doing drugs in. Was in store around 11pm and many women with little kids doing their weeks shopping. What were they doing out that late!

The town next to the national harbor is called Oxon Hill. There was actually nothing where the harbor is now, so they didn't tear anything down. You used to come over the bridge and there was just nothing on the Maryland side by the water. It's really amazing to see this huge complex there now. The National Harbor is safe and I would recommend anyone stay there. However, I would not recommend that tourists venture into Oxon Hill at night. It's really not the worst, but you have to have a certain knowledge of the area.

 

[NotUrsula]

I wouldn't recommend Nat'l Harbor for touring AT ALL, especially for someone on a budget. The transport is way too pricey and the scheduling is not frequent enough, IMO. It's fine if you are alone and there on business and have all your meetings in the complex, or if you are driving through and need an overnight stop, but for touring DC with family I think there are much better choices.

OP, stick to lodging that you can reach via Metro, and stick to places that have a FREE shuttle to take you to the station if you can't walk it. While the Metro buses are very reliable, what locals tend to forget is that the short-term passes visitors can buy are good for the bus OR the train, but not both; using the buses will cost extra (between $1.35-$3.10 per rider, exact change only), and there are no longer any transfers issued to cash passengers, only those using SmarTrip cards. Not many one-time tourists will buy a permanent SmarTrip card because it requires a $5 investment before even adding any fare value. (The card itself costs $5, and anyone age 5 or older needs one if you are using them to ride, as opposed to just getting one to use to pay for Metro garage parking.)

Folks unfamiliar with Metrorail need to be aware that it's a metered system that charges according to trip length. This means that unlike in some other cities (Chicago, for instance), you cannot have multiple people using the same rider pass on the same journey and just deducting more than one fare from it. Your card is actively measuring your trip length from the time you go through the entrance turnstiles until you go through a set of exit turnstiles.

 

[angelat]

We went about 5 years ago...so maybe I'm not the most up to date information giver, but we stayed in Homewood Suites by Hilton Alexandria. I got a deal on the 1BR Suite at $109/nt at the time. I've seen it on Priceline as well for a discounted price. Of course you could go to Betterbidding.com to try to get a room at a specific hotel you are looking at. That has been really useful to us in the past.
Homewood Suites had a free full breakfast every day too which was a $ saver. Bacon, eggs, fresh waffles, fruit, oatmeal, cereal. The works! We also went in June for Father's Day and it was great. We drove, but I do remember there was a bus stop close by so you could take the bus to the Metro station. The only down side is that the pool is on the small side...and duck shaped. Other than that, great location and hotel! I'd recommend looking into this hotel...oh, and free parking!

 

[gandycat]

We stayed at this Holiday Inn in Arlington:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...nn_Rosslyn_Key_Bridge-Arlington_Virginia.html

In case the link doesn't work, it's Holiday Inn Rosslyn Key Bridge

It was $89/night for a Friday and Saturday night, free indoor parking and a 2 block walk to the metro. It wasn't perfect but we enjoyed our stay, the kids liked the pool and the room was fine. Request a room facing Georgetown, the view was lovely.

 

[ohanaMAMA]

We LOVE DC. we have friends in baltimore so we dont usually need accomodations however. We park at GREENBELT MD and ride the metro into dc. It seems to be a safe community and there are several chain motels there. Not to mention lots of restraunts there too.

 

[bluesaturn]

We LOVE DC. we have friends in baltimore so we dont usually need accomodations however. We park at GREENBELT MD and ride the metro into dc. It seems to be a safe community and there are several chain motels there. Not to mention lots of restraunts there too.

Greenbelt is pretty good, and I know there are some really nice neighborhoods hidden away. I think all the hotels are in pretty good areas and are sort of clustered together. Not within walking distance of the metro though.

 

[clutter]

We want to go to DC this summer but I'm having a hard time figuring out where to stay. Hotels are in the $200-$300 range with $30 for parking. That is WAY out of our budget.

Any suggestions for areas outside the city that we can stay in, ride the metro and not break the bank?

Keep in mind that Metro is NOT inexpensive. From some of the outer suburbs, you may be looking at $6-7/person/day just for metro fare. Then if you park at the station, that's another $4. I live near the Fairfax hotels mentioned, and it is much longer than 20 minutes downtown. First, you have to get to the station. Then it's 35 minutes from the Vienna/Fairfax station to Metro Center (mid-downtown). IF there are not stoppages along the way. If you go during rush hour, you will be commuting with masses of people who simply want to get through their commute.

Honestly, I'd recommend keeping an eye on Priceline or Hotwire for a good deal closer in. If you're coming for a short trip, you don't want to waste the time commuting, if you're coming for a long trip, you'll be exhausted from commuting.

Fortunately, many things in DC are free. Make sure you go by the zoo, the smithsonians, take the tour of the USMint. If you have a car, you want to go to Mount Vernon. See if you can get tickets from your Congressperson to tour the White House. There's so much to do here, and it is reasonably priced, once you deal with the transportation issue.

 

[abolanwoski]

My advice is to stay in Bethesda or Rockville. There are a ton of Marriott owned hotels with frequently great prices, especially on the weekend. You can drive to Grosvenor Metro which has a huge parking garage (have never had trouble getting spot, even on week days) and from there it's an easy ride into DC on the metro. I think we last paid 85 a night at the Marriott Suites on Democracy, great hotel with in/out pool, suite style rooms and less than 5 minutes to tons of restaurants and a huge nice mall. If you don't want to pay for parking, you can street park across democracy in the residential neighborhood and walk over. Bethesda itself is a great place to visit, eat and people watch especially in the summer. my 2 cents. Have fun.

 

[Maybelle]

We went to DC a year and a half or so ago in August....loved it and can't wait to go back.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Crystal City. Got a great rate on the room and free parking. Also, free hot b-fast, although typical continental style, it saved us a lot of money. Also cookies and coffee/ hot chocolate/tea available later in the day. Pool too, which you don't find in the city itself. If you have kids, the pool and the free b-fast really are great! And our room, at least, was nice and clean, and the staff was friendly.

The hotel is a quick and easy walk to the Metro Stop, which is inside an indoor mall. Also very close to lots of shopping and restaurants and such. I thought the Metro was very inexpensive in comparison to having to pay to park. And it is quick and easy and quite clean. If you do take the Metro there is a lot of walking, especially from the Metro stop to the National Zoo...but I highly recommend the zoo...we loved it!

The Metro ride from the Hampton Inn Crystal City to the Mall (Capital bldg, Lincoln Mem., Smithsonian buildings) was just about 20 min.

Good luck in your planning...we can't wait to go back, and we found DC a reasonable vacation for our family.

 

[Pembo]

Wow, what a difference a day makes. Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions...off to the planning..

 

[FoundMyPrince]

I just want to thank everyone for all the suggestions - and I'm not even the OP! Our family was planning on WDW for the end of May, then we found out we're expecting another little one in August. So, we cancelled that trip and are looking at possibly going to DC in late March/early April. This has been so much help - thank you!

 

[PrincesCJM]

I'm hoping to go to DC in April so this thread (and other similar ones) are incredibly helpful. But I have to ask one question - how did you folks find these great rates you keep mentioning?!?!? I'm looking to stay outside the city and take the Metro in. I'd like a place with free (or cheap) parking but within walking distance to a metro stop and free breakfast would be great. The best I have found is near Andrews AFB but I'd love to pay less than $120 a night. Thoughts!?!

 

[NotUrsula]

If by April you mean Eastertime, that's your answer. That is Cherry Blossom time, and the hotel rates are jacked sky high for that. We only do DC for spring break at Eastertime if we have enough hotel points to stay for free.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I'm looking to go 2 weeks after Easter. I'm a high school teacher and am looking to go during my spring vacation (the week of April 19).

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm looking to go 2 weeks after Easter. I'm a high school teacher and am looking to go during my spring vacation (the week of April 19).

Spring is prime tourist season. I don't know that you are going to find anything less than $150 a night during April and May even in the outskirts to Metro in. If you find a deal that you even halfway like, I would advise you to book it and keep looking for something better.