washington dc time vs distance

[Deesknee]

Hi Everyone & thanks for all the info I've gotten from the disboards regarding Washington DC trips.

I am wondering if it would be worth the extra money to stay in the actual city vs staying outside (alexandria, etc). We are a family of 6, me & dh (in late 40's), dd,ds,ds (20), dd (7).

I would like opinions on if it would be worth the extra money & why. Keeping in mind the following info:

1) We are from the suburbs of Boston. Some call it cow country, collage kids attend in city schools & dh used to work "in town".

2) I spend much of my vacation time in a wheelchair.

3) We will be arriving on a Friday night and departing late Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for all suggestions/opinions.

 

[Christine]

Even if you stay in the city, you'll mostly likely need to make extensive use of Metro. My only recommendation would be to make sure you stay in a hotel that you have an easy walk to a Metro station. If you can find that cheaper in Virginia, then go for it. Often times, though, the hotels in Virginia on the Metro line can be just as pricey as the DC ones.

Staying in Old Town Alexandria is nice because there is some stuff to do in the evenings (restaurants, quaint shops, etc) that you can do on foot. Some parts of town, well, there's not much going on but it depends where you stay.

 

[DCPrincess]

You mentioned that you would be in a wheelchair for your visit to Washington D.C. One thing to check is the elevator outages for D.C. metro at www.wmata.com (or metroopensdoors.com). On the lower left is a box called metro service status where you can view all elevator outages. The metro is notorious for having elevator/escalator issues and this information can change frequently. If the elevator is out you will have to take a shuttle from a nearby station which can add a lot of time to your trip.

It's not a big deal at all to metro into D.C. from the surrounding suburbs as long as your hotel is nearby a metro station but it will cost you a little more (fare info can also be found on their website) so you can see what the difference will actually cost when doing your comparisons.

Hope that helps!

 

[golfgal]

Even if you stay in the city, you'll mostly likely need to make extensive use of Metro. My only recommendation would be to make sure you stay in a hotel that you have an easy walk to a Metro station. If you can find that cheaper in Virginia, then go for it. Often times, though, the hotels in Virginia on the Metro line can be just as pricey as the DC ones.

Staying in Old Town Alexandria is nice because there is some stuff to do in the evenings (restaurants, quaint shops, etc) that you can do on foot. Some parts of town, well, there's not much going on but it depends where you stay.

I agree--Alexandria is a great place to stay, Embassy Suites right across the street from the metro stop . I didn't think that taking the metro from there really took all that much time because you do get to see quite a bit along the route (Pentagon, etc.). It is SO easy to use the Metro too.

 

[PlutoPony]

Looks like you're only going into DC on 2 days - Saturday and Sunday. If that's the case, I don't think the difference in time from the outer stops is a big deal. IMO I would be more concerned about picking a location/metro stop that's easy for the wheel chair. The biggest challenge for you on metro is elevator outages - they do happen (sometimes scheduled for maintenance, other times they're down because they just don't work). With the wheelchair you'll use the elevator rather than the escalator to get down to the metro station to catch the train; The elevator will also be needed if/when you switched from one metro line to another i.e. going from the Orange line to Red. Some metro stations seem to have more problems with their elevator than others and it would be nice to have some statistical info about that... wish I knew where you could ask that question and get a good answer. Maybe ask on Frommers or Fodor's forums on DC? But I would also look at what stop you plan to get off in DC and try to stay at a hotel that is on that line so you don't have to change trains - ex. if you're getting off at the Smithsonian stop, try to stay at one of the stops on the Orange line like say Vienna or the Blue line stops such as King Street or Pentagon City. In other words, stay someplace that's a straight shot into where ever you're going.

The metro site does list these outages and would be a good guide for planned elevator down times.

HTH

 

[Deesknee]

I think I just messed up.

I was using priceline. Decided to do 2 rooms. Here's where I messed up. My bid got refused 2x. I added Arlington. Which got approved, but when I look at the metro (which if I had been thinking I would have checked out FIRST). I don't see a metro stop there. Did I mess up big time?

BTW, I called to make ressies at the Embassy in old town alexandria, but the woman didn't have a room to accomadate us, said there was no free parking (even though the website had a "package with it). Then when I tried to book online it wouldn't accept the # of people in the party. It was probably me. I have spent way too long on the computer and have been paying the price with my condition.

I am hoping someone will have good news for me. My only other hope is that I requested 3 1/2 stars, and the hotel they booked me states they are 3 star so maybe I could ask priceline for a different hotel since technically it is below the rating of what i requested on priceline. Thanks for any advice/suggestions....help.

 

[singleinthe city]

What hotel did you win in Arlington? Arllington is a great area and there are plenty of hotels on the metro.

 

[Deesknee]

What hotel did you win in Arlington? Arllington is a great area and there are plenty of hotels on the metro.

Hilton Arlington and Towers. Nice to know it is a great area.

 

[singleinthe city]

Hilton Arlington and Towers. Nice to know it is a great area.

You got a great location! That Hilton is in Ballston and literally sits on top of the Ballston metro station. There is an escalator right out the door. The elevator is across the street. There are a ton of restaurants in walking distance and the Ballston Mall is just down the street.

Ballston is on the ORANGE line which has direct access to many tourist sights.

http://wmata.com/rail/docs/colormap_lettersize.pdf

 

[Deesknee]

You got a great location! That Hilton is in Ballston and literally sits on top of the Ballston metro station. There is an escalator right out the door. The elevator is across the street. There are a ton of restaurants in walking distance and the Ballston Mall is just down the street.

Ballston is on the ORANGE line which has direct access to many tourist sights.

http://wmata.com/rail/docs/colormap_lettersize.pdf

Thank you so much! You have made me so happy. I was so concerned DH would be pushing me for a mile just to get to the metro. Heck I could wheel myself across the street! I guess I can breathe a sigh of relief. Now to check if that stop is one of the ones infamous for breaking down. (elevator that is).

 

[Deesknee]

You got a great location! That Hilton is in Ballston and literally sits on top of the Ballston metro station. There is an escalator right out the door. The elevator is across the street. There are a ton of restaurants in walking distance and the Ballston Mall is just down the street.

Ballston is on the ORANGE line which has direct access to many tourist sights.

http://wmata.com/rail/docs/colormap_lettersize.pdf

Just thought I'd check in and let you all know your info was right on!!! We stayed 2 nights at the Arlington Hilton and Towers. The location to the metro was awesome. Elevators were fine. IHOP for meals right across the street. Cafe in the attatched "mall" was delicious. We can't believe how much we got done considering we really only had 1 full day.
We saw: Smithsonian American History museum, Air & space, Washington & Lincoln monuments, WWII memorial and the Vietnam Wall & statues, ( i know i am forgetting something.) The next day before we left for home we spent about 3 1/2 hours at the Arlington National Cemetery.
The hotel was clean, we found the staff to be exceptionally friendly & helpful. The down side was no water pressure, and the walls were paper thin. Then again it may have just seemed that way since we had a very loud night owl room beside us. The air conditioner was very loud as well. Not that that bothered me, but DD & DH had a problem with it. I have to add one other note: The windows slide open FULLY with NO screens or safety bars! We were on the 3rd floor. All in all we had a very nice weekend. Of course not like WDW. to give you an idea, we spent just about $1000 for the 6 of us. I had packed sandwiches, drinks and snacks for the road both ways. arrived there about midnight Friday, departed for home about 3pm Sunday. Ate IHOP and 1 street vendor, and the hotel cafe for coffee & breakfast sandwiches. That total includes gas, food, hotel, and metro pass' .


Thank you all again for your wonderful input. It truly helped make this a nice experience.