Looking For Hotel Advice in Washington, DC from some Freepers

02/14/2005 | Kevin Carne

[CaptainAwesome2]

You can stay with a friend of mine at Gutheridge Hall and GW and get wasted.

[speekinout]

Oh, please. Gaithersburg is way far out, and there's nothing there. Maybe a few restaurants good enough for neighborhood residents, but it's the last place I'd recommend for DC visitors.

[Thinkin' Gal]

Holiday Inn Capitol at Smithsonian

We stayed there in the fall of 03. It was a fantastic location for the kids, as it was easy to come and go from the Air & Space museum. I lost count of how many times we went there. That was the perfect "hub" location for what we wanted to do. We went everywhere on foot, heading to the farthest point first, and then working our way back to the hotel.

Plus, it was surprisingly affordable to eat at the hotel, which added to the convenience. Nothing fancy, but with a couple of preteens, we didn't want fancy. The menu was kid-friendly.

[1LongTimeLurker]

I've been to the Omni Shoreham for conferences, it's a royal pain to get to from Virginia where I live, but it is a nice hotel. I think it's about 2 blocks from the Metro.

[Gunrunner2]

How'd ya guess?

;-)

[hispanarepublicana]

What are some good $25 to $30 entree restaurants in that Crystal City area?

[Gunrunner2]

Dunno, exactly, as I am usually working and get Red, Hot and Blue BBQ, as well as Tex-Mex from the restaurant in the underground mall.

Of course, before it shut down I liked the Jockey Club (more than $25), and I like the Metropolitan Club (members). Point is, with those two hotels you can catch the metro and be where you want to be in no time, easily find whatever food you like, fast or sit down, and they even have this great delivery menu for all sorts of eats and they deliver to the hotel if you don't want to go out.

[Spirited]

Those who are coming in summer might want to get a ticket from the Congresscritter to see the Friday evening dress parade at the Marine Barracks. It is NOT necessarily a safe neighborhood but once one has gotten into that area there are so many people and military that it is safe during that period.

For boys there is hardly a better thrill.

[lonewacko_dot_com]

For future reference, I don't recommend camping at the Greenbelt National Park campground unless you're really hard up:
http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/000814.html
http://www.nps.gov/gree/index.htm

[TomB]

Thanks Spirited! I never knew about that.

I have a retired Marine Lt.Col. who is a patient of mine and also happens to be a Congressional aide. I think he might be able to score me some tickets.

[Gaetano]

No No No

Stay at the Embassy Suites in Old Town Alexandria Virginia, near the Metro station.

Alexandria is one of the most beautiful and historic towns in the whole US of A. If you have never been there, go now !

[Slehn]

My apologies

[bonfire]

accepted!


(planning on taking my teens to D.C. this spring)

[Swanks]

The Marriott Wardman Hotel is terrific and a 1/2 block off the Metro redline. It was where THE BIG inagural Ball was; my neighbor went. Its also the Nat'l Zoo Metro stop. But you'll pay $240 a night mid week. Suggest you get the Marriott weekend rate if you can stay Fri-Sat, and at least spend 2 nights there. A quick Metro run into Union Station (Capital Hill)

[sinkspur]

My wife and I will also be in Washington, DC, the last week of April. We're staying at the Woodley Park Guest House in the Adams-Morgan district, near the Zoo. It ranks a "5" in Fodors, and is highly recommended as a Bed-and-Breakfast. One block from the Metro.

Check it out.

[par4]

Not to nit-pick, but the Harrington is at 11th and E, the Hoover Building is between 9th and 10th, between Pennsylvania and E, so there's a block between but it's still pretty safe.

Also, Harry's on the ground floor gives a good burger for the buck. Much better than the ESPN Zone across the street.

[centexan]

Holiday Inn - Smithsonian

I'll third the nomination for this one. We stayed there for a week in the summer of '02. It's inexpensive and only one block from the Air & Space museum and the Metro. I've only been to D.C. once but it worked well for us. Hope you enjoy your trip - the Metro is great and easy even for us silly Southerners.

[HereInTheHeartland]

We are staying in this hotel next week.
I am trying to find restaurants that will work for kids and adults. Any suggestions?

[Thinkin' Gal]

Most nights, we were content to eat at the hotel. That's because the menu was decent, the prices very good and the kids wanted to hurry and get back to the Air & Space museum.

That wasn't your question, but I am simply drawing a blank as to where else we ate. Sorry about that. We have done a lot of traveling since then, so what we ate where is all a blur.

Off the food subject, but I highly recommend the Holocaust Museum. It's not far from the hotel. It is very compelling and memorable, set up in a chronological order. Graphic film footage is displayed so that children will not see it unless a parent wants them to. (These TV screens are set up behind low "walls". Adults (or older children) can easily look down at them if they intentionally choose, but otherwise the screens are out of sight.)

The day we wanted to go up the Washington Monument, we walked there first in the morning. They assign the tickets based on certain times. (Or at least that's how they did it when we were there.) We reserved ours for the afternoon. That way, we planned our day accordingly to be back there at 3 o'clock or so. Then we headed off to the Lincoln Memorial etc.