Washington DC please help?

[chrissy92972]

I will like to take my family to Washington in June, we are a family of 6. 4 children ages 8 and 12. I was looking at June 24th to June 30th. Can anyone help me find a place to stay that has free breakfast, is in a safe neighborhood and that we would all fit in one room?

I keep finding really high rates, I would like to stay under $200 per night. The Residence INN in Old Town Alexandria is $259 per night plus $18 for parking and taxes.

I also found the Springhill Suites at the Huntington metro for $139 for 3 nights and $229 for 3 nights.

How can I find better rates? We are not against staying in the city or in Maryland or Virginia as long as it is convenient to the metro and safe.

thanks!
Chrissy

 

[nutzfordisney]

I got a room at Homewood Suites in Alexandria. Free breakfast and parking. It cost 600.00 for three nights. The Saturday night was the cheapest and the most expensive was the Monday night. It averaged out to 200.00/night. It is a one bedroom with pull out couch, full kitchen, living room...great dea

 

[juliebean]

We just went to DC for a long weekend last weekend...and I did stay at a hotel I'd recommend checking on. Normally we try to stay at an Embassy Suites or Springhill, but this was last minute and they were booked. So, I found Comfort Suites in Chantilly, VA. It has big rooms with a fridge and microwave that sleep six in two comfy beds and a pullout sofa, has an indoor pool, and one of the best breakfasts I've had at a hotel. No problems with the room, staff was very helpful, felt very safe and it was near a shopping center with lots of restaurants. Two things I consider minuses - it's not on a subway line (took us about 10 minutes to get to the nearest station). And it was clearly going through updating - tile and trim were being installed. However, I got it for $70 and $90 a night on expedia and I was able to use a $50 coupon from expedia - so even with taxes and an extra fee for an extra adult (MIL was visiting us) - it was $150 for two nights! I would recommend it if you can deal with the minuses.

Good luck! We had a lot of fun in a couple of days - we checked out the newer native american smithsonian - beautiful. We also visited Air and Space and Natural History - but that's as far as we got in two days, just too much to see! And although the food is supposed to be very good at the native American museum, it was packed at lunchtime and we were glad we walked a couple of blocks away to a Quiznos. Much quieter and cheaper. My kids actually really like riding the subways, so we always look for a hotel that is a little ways out.

 

[elbodans]

greetings!
my husband and i love dc--actually, i worked there for a summer in college, so i've been loving it since before i met him! we go down for long weekends all the time (we live just north of philly), and we've never spent more than $70 for a room. we use priceline.com and bid on a hotel. we ended up at the marriott metro center for one trip--a four star hotel directly over a metro station for $60/night. for a group as large as yours, i'd suggest bidding on two rooms at a time--we've also done that, and ended up in an equally nice hotel, also on top of a metro station, with a balcony view of the washington monument (L'Enfant Plaza Hotel). that was $65/night per room. we may have paid $70 for the one stay at the renaissance washington, but normal room rates there are over $300, so i can't complain!

if this is something you are interested in, PM me and i'll give you 'how to make sure you get a good location whilst bidding' tips.

and have a great trip. DC is a fantastic destination for a family!

 

[chrissy92972]

Thank you for the advice, I never thought about two rooms on Priceline. would they give us rooms next to each other?

 

[marko]

I would also use priceline. Take a look at biddingfortravel dot com and you can see the hotel zones and what people have been winning and at what price.

 

[Goofy4]

We landed the Sharaton Four Points a couple years ago for something like $70 on priceline. We booked 2 rooms, but they were not next to each other.

I found that Monday-Wednesday was booked up everywhere. So, if there is something big going on in DC, if you work around it you will have much better luck with priceline. good luck!

 

[Halle]

Weekends in DC are always cheaper. Try the Embasay Suites near the Pentagon, free cooked to order breakfast. In Arlington/Rosslyn...short walk to Georgetown and the Metro we've stayed at the Holiday Inn...needs to be refurbished but they had a suite King bed and pull out sofa in the living room with a balcony $100. Have also stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott 99.00 for a king with a pull out sofa, fridge and I think a microwave. Don't forget that you have to pay to park your car. Oh, if you're willing to drive about 11 miles stay at the Embassay Suites in Vienna/Tysons Corner, free parking, free breakfast, free managers happy hour. Love this hotel.

 

[TheSixOfUs]

I would also use priceline. Take a look at biddingfortravel dot com and you can see the hotel zones and what people have been winning and at what price.

Hey, I've been in this poster's predicament a few times. If you're using Priceline, you're taking a big risk.

1. They only guarantee rooms to accommodate 2 people max. This means you may get stuck with a king or queen room. Most hotels can accommodate more guests but not all the time. I know from experience.

2. You aren't guaranteed any amenities with Priceline hotels. If you're looking for free breakfast, you may not get it.

Although Priceline usually has the best price, a close second (some of the time) is Hotwire. This article on when to use / avoid priceline is a good read. http://www.hoteldealsrevealed.com/pricelinestrategies/better-bidding.html

When deciding whether to use priceline or not, for me it always comes down to the price differential. It's not worth the risk for say $10/night but $25/night starts to add up.

 

[minnie10]

We enjoyed our stay at the Holiday Inn at Rosslyn Key Bridge. Breakfast was great..View at breakfast was awesome. Short like 3 minute walk to the metro. We are from the country and felt safe here with 2 children. Drove right to it without any problem. Can't remember price exactly but thinking around $100 each night

 

[angelat]

I got a room at Homewood Suites in Alexandria. Free breakfast and parking. It cost 600.00 for three nights. The Saturday night was the cheapest and the most expensive was the Monday night. It averaged out to 200.00/night. It is a one bedroom with pull out couch, full kitchen, living room...great dea

We did the same thing when we went a few years ago! We loved this place. We got it for a little cheaper, but I booked a bit ahead of time. They have a small little pool, but free breakfast each day (and a good full breakfast, not muffins and cereal) and like the poster above said, a one BR has 2 double beds and a pull out couch with full kitchen.

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[bdcp]

We just went to DC for a long weekend last weekend...and I did stay at a hotel I'd recommend checking on. Normally we try to stay at an Embassy Suites or Springhill, but this was last minute and they were booked. So, I found Comfort Suites in Chantilly, VA. It has big rooms with a fridge and microwave that sleep six in two comfy beds and a pullout sofa, has an indoor pool, and one of the best breakfasts I've had at a hotel. No problems with the room, staff was very helpful, felt very safe and it was near a shopping center with lots of restaurants. Two things I consider minuses - it's not on a subway line (took us about 10 minutes to get to the nearest station). And it was clearly going through updating - tile and trim were being installed. However, I got it for $70 and $90 a night on expedia and I was able to use a $50 coupon from expedia - so even with taxes and an extra fee for an extra adult (MIL was visiting us) - it was $150 for two nights! I would recommend it if you can deal with the minuses.

You can't get from Chantilly to the Vienna Metro station in 10 minutes during rush hour so forget it during the week and actually, it's more like 20 minutes even in good traffic. I work in Chantilly and there are many places closer to the city. Try Rosslyn or Arlington (both close to metro). Your trip is just after school is out in most places so rates will be higher.

 

[chrissy92972]

Thank you everyone, we are leaning towards Old Alexandria and taking the metro in to the city instead of staying in the city. I am just going to keep watching prices and hope to find a deal before we go. We definately need two beds and a couch.

chrissy

 

[blum74]

Try the Tysons Corner area. There is an Embassy Suites there. I believe there is an Embassy Suites in Crystal City too.

 

[eduk8r26]

You can sign up with travelzoo. They have weekly specials and often have deals in DC, especially in spring and summer.

 

[bdcp]

Try the Tysons Corner area. There is an Embassy Suites there. I believe there is an Embassy Suites in Crystal City too.

And they'd have to drive into the city from Tyson's. Tyson's is very busy and there is no metro there (yet). It's being built.

 

[dougsmom98]

We went to Washing DC last April and stayed at the Hampton Inn College Park Maryland. We are a family of 6 as well but my in laws went with us, so on paper, there were 8 of us between two rooms. In reality though, I didn't want to split up from my kids, so all 6 of us stayed in one room and we used camping cots like these :

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Ridgeline-II-Camp-Bed/10957834

They fold up during the day and the kids would fight over who would sleep on them. There was plenty of room for one in the middle of the double bed and one near the window at bed time.

I would definitely stay at this hotel again. Here are the tripadvisor reviews:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...n_Inn_College_Park-College_Park_Maryland.html

If you scroll back to the review from April 24, 2010 - you will see what I wrote. I think we got a rate of $98/night. When I was looking for a place near DC on a budget, many people discouraged me from staying in this area, but we didn't think it was unsafe or too far away at all.

 

[chrissy92972]

can anyone tell me about the Springhill Suites in Alexandria on Richmond Road? It is the Huntington Metro Station. I can get six nights there for just about $1100 for six of us with breakfast and free parking.

 

[sk!mom]

greetings!
my husband and i love dc--actually, i worked there for a summer in college, so i've been loving it since before i met him! we go down for long weekends all the time (we live just north of philly), and we've never spent more than $70 for a room. we use priceline.com and bid on a hotel. we ended up at the marriott metro center for one trip--a four star hotel directly over a metro station for $60/night. for a group as large as yours, i'd suggest bidding on two rooms at a time--we've also done that, and ended up in an equally nice hotel, also on top of a metro station, with a balcony view of the washington monument (L'Enfant Plaza Hotel). that was $65/night per room. we may have paid $70 for the one stay at the renaissance washington, but normal room rates there are over $300, so i can't complain!

if this is something you are interested in, PM me and i'll give you 'how to make sure you get a good location whilst bidding' tips.

and have a great trip. DC is a fantastic destination for a family!

I sent you a PM. I use Priceline all the time but have never been to DC so I'd love some bidding tips. I want to be very close to things as we will only be there for 2 or 3 days.

Thank You!!

 

[karenos]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the Convention Center - it even had a (small) pool for the kiddos. It was within walking distance to the Smithsonian and restaurants. We went during NJ teacher's convention time so it was filled with families just like us.

karenos