People near Washington DC

[nissangirl74]

Greg and I have to travel to DC next month and I need some advice on picking a hotel. I'd like to be close to Reagan airport and Arlington cemetery. Advice on where TO stay and where NOT to stay would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Bubba1]

Greg and I have to travel to DC next month and I need some advice on picking a hotel. I'd like to be close to Reagan airport and Arlington cemetery. Advice on where TO stay and where NOT to stay would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

IF I'm not mistaken, both Arlington National cemetery and Reagan Airport are stops along the Metro (DC's excellent subway system), so if you plan to sightsee, staying in Arlington or near the airport might not be necessary. You could probably skip the rental car. I used to visit DC quarterly and always trained down. The Metro is that good. Clean and easy to use.

I took my family on an escape weekend to DC a few years ago and stayed at the Embassy Suites in DuPont circle. Nice neighborhood, with a less violent nightlife (than other parts of the city)and just a couple blocks from the Metro. I remember the Embassy Suites was not outrageously priced plus they toss in free happy hour drinks + made to order breakfasts. It also has a small indoor pool. The suites were nice with our son literally having a room to himself. My only gripe was the high cost to park our car overnight as we drove down instead of taking AMTRAK. If I were to do another escape weekend there, we'd probably train down as we never touched the car during our entire stay.

[Hijacker]

I've stayed at the Hyatt, which is a big convention center next to Reagan at Crystal City. I haven't been there in over 10 years, but it was a nice hotel from what I remember. But there's a ton of places next to the airport to shack up for a night or three. Two metro lines run to the airport as well, so you can get a link to the mall and go sight seeing pretty easily.

[Bubba1]

I've stayed at the Hyatt, which is a big convention center next to Reagan at Crystal City. I haven't been there in over 10 years, but it was a nice hotel from what I remember. But there's a ton of places next to the airport to shack up for a night or three. Two metro lines run to the airport as well, so you can get a link to the mall and go sight seeing pretty easily.

Oh yeah, Crystal City. I stayed at that Hyatt once too for a Railroad convention several years ago. Big high rise joint. I fondly remember my boss at the time taking me to his favorite restaurant in Crystal City which was walking distance from the Hyatt. It was called "the Crystal City Restaurant". I discovered upon arrival that it was a Gentleman's club. (Topless bar that served surprisingly good food). I'll never forget the headliner the evening we went there was named "Alyssa Alps". Uh, she was well named. I don't know about Ms. Alps, but I'm pretty sure the Crystal City Restaurant is still there.

[krash]

Never actually needed to stay in DC (I live like 10 mins away), but bubba gives good advice. Get a place thats near a metro stop. The metro makes things a lot easier. You really want to avoid driving in the city if you can. Its very annoying; bicyclists, peds, taxis that follow their own made up traffic laws, and people that use their magic 'park anywhere' button (hazard lights...).

Heres a map of the metro system to help you make a choice:


There is actually a stop at Reagan. Arlington Cemetery is on the blue line, and Reagan is on the Yellow line. So you'll probably want to find a hotel that is near a blue or yellow line stop (or a stop thats close to the "cluster" you want to hang out in)

Also, give me a holler if you need anything or if you guys want to grab lunch or something!

[Dattebayo]

Pretty much an echo of what I said in the Learned'd thread. Solid info!

Name brand hotels are quite expensive in NOVA and DC, however. Just a warning.

[frapjap]

I stayed here a few years back on Chris' (Hash's) recommendation.
http://www.affinia.com/Washington-DC-Ho ... pitol-Hill
Its about 129-135/night (pretty reasonable for DC) and is a BEAUTIFUL hotel, very close to the mall and a couple of blocks away from the large Metro Union Station for you to hop on the train and go to Arlington. The Capitol Building is in sight for Greg to sneer and make faces at during your stay.
It has a rooftop pool and great restaurant, too. The location for the price is hard to beat. Like Dave said, name brand hotels are very, very pricey.

[Bubba1]

very close to the mall and a couple of blocks away from the large Metro Union Station for you to hop on the train and go to Arlington. .

FWIW, Union Station is pretty impressive too. Grand ol' style railroad station with tall ceilings in the Great hall. There's so much cool stuff to see/do in DC.

[nissangirl74]

We're staying a couple of extra days so we can do some sight-seeing. There is so much here that we'd like to do, we'll have do some solid research on where we want to go the most. I could spend a month there, easy.

[hannibal]

DC's Metro is very efficient and safe. Along with an occasional cab, I rely on it as my sole form of transportation.

I would suggest buying a SmarTrip card. Without it, you'll have pay $1 more per trip. You can buy it online and have them mailed to you so you'll be ready to go once you arrive. Unlike most subway systems, the fare depends on you destination ie traveling 5 stops will cost more than going 4. Fares also increase during rush hour. You can load your card with unlimited rides for $14, so that may save some money if you're planning on moving around a lot on certain days.

I dont know much about specific hotels, but stay away from anything with a SE address. Although Georgetown is nice, it's not Metro accessible. There are a few hotels/restaurants around Union Station and NoMa area, but it gets a bit sketchy after dark. There are dozens of places to stay and eat along the Red line between Gallery Place and Dupont Circle, though these are more expensive areas. Anything in VA is fine, and Arlington (Rosslyn station) and Alexandria (King St/Old Town station) have some nice hotels and restaurants.

Last but not least, bring some walking shoes!

And yes Bubba, Crystal City Restaurant is still going strong!

[nissangirl74]

I found these

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-in ... ital-view/

http://www.expedia.com/Northern-Virgini ... 2a8bcbce33&

We want something that would be easy for Greg's mom. She can't walk for really long distances without getting winded and we're trying to do this trip as cheap as we can so if we can get away without a car, that would be fantastic. Courtesy shuttles to and from the airport are standard at both of these hotels. Neither of them will take us to Arlington but they'll take us to the Metro. I will absolutely get us a Metro pass. Thanks so much for that!!