Any suggestions on traveling to Washington D.C?
Hotel Rates
Yen asked:
My friend and I are trying to plan a trip to Washington D.C. (We are from Massachusetts). Anyways, I was researching for hotels. The cheapest ones were about $70-$80/night, which were in the outskirts of DC (which I guess safety is an issue around these areas). So from reading the reviews, people were saying how unclean these hotels were, and how they needed to put a bureau in front of the door b/c the doors wouldn’t lock properly.
My friend and I are trying to plan a trip to Washington D.C. (We are from Massachusetts). Anyways, I was researching for hotels. The cheapest ones were about $70-$80/night, which were in the outskirts of DC (which I guess safety is an issue around these areas). So from reading the reviews, people were saying how unclean these hotels were, and how they needed to put a bureau in front of the door b/c the doors wouldn’t lock properly.
I guess my question would have to be, are there any hidden gems within the D.C. area that most traveler’s wouldn’t know about, that DC residents can recommend? Or is it just better to stay in Maryland or something, and just drive to DC, and hopefully find a cheap parking garage? All advice is appreciated!
My point of asking around is because I noticed that all the hotels in the DC area goes for around $200+/night… which is really pricey! So if there are any cheap bed and breakfast place that DC residents know about, it would be great!
Glenn
March 8th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Veronica
Just do not mess up with the people that live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
March 10th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Samantha
We stayed at a Best Western in Springfield VA that was nicely priced, included a breakfast, and had a shuttle to the nearest subway station.
Do that and buy an all day pass on the subway to get around. Great value all around.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Randall
Stay in DC if you drive from maryland you may have a hard time to find parking. When you do find a hotel, go to a near by bus or suttle statton ( if hotel provides) and get on that it will be cheaper. Another thing you can do is find a tour group
use
March 15th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Raymond
My husband and I stayed at Key Bridge Marriott?. This was an excellent location because its about two blocks from the Metro Station as well as across the bridge (in SHORT walking distance) from Georgetown (where all the shopping stores are). My hubby and I loved this location. The Key Bridge Marriot is beside the Francis Scott Key Bridge which is what you walk across (dont’ worry they have sidewalks) to get to Georgetown. Staying at the Marriot you have your own parking deck to park in. I think its $15 per night u stay there to keep ur car parked in the parking deck.
The day we were leaving Dc, we went to Arlington cemetary and was able to keep our car parked in the parking deck even after we checked out! Of course when we got back to the hotel from arlington we got our car and left with no extra charge! Having the Rossyln Metro Center two blocks from the hotel is very nice because the metro takes you into Washington DC where all the sights are located.
I recommend looking on Hotwire/Expedia/Orbitz/Hotels.com and see if you can find great deals for the Key Bridge Marriot Hotel (thats what my husband did). I LOVED GOING TO DC!! My husband and I plan to go back and we are def. going to stay in the Key Bridge Marriot Hotel again because its very convenient.
My hubby and I saw DC/Arlington Cemetary in about 3 days total. There are some places we didn’t get to see but we hit a bunch of the major highlights. When planning your trip, look online at a map and see where major tourist attractions are and plan your visit that way so your not jumping from one end of DC to another and end up missing something important.
In ONE day my hubby and I saw the White House, Capital Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WW2 Memorial, Dupont Circle, Treasury Building, and other gov. buildings.
^^Link to the key bridge marriot hotel
^^^link to the DC metro website..has info about metrorail passes and maps of DC
–At the metro center they have maps to figure out what stops u need to stop at in DC
–Be sure to purchase an all day pass at the Metro center to get off and on the metro
–Bring your walking shoes period! Especially for Arlington cemetary.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:42 am
Micheal
D.C. actually has many B&Bs that are quite nice.
A quick Google search of “Washington, D.C. bed and breakfast” will turn up many. Of the ones I have heard good things about are:
*The Dupont at the Circle (http://www.dupontatthecircle.com/)
*Swann House (http://www.swannhouse.com/)
*The DC Guesthouse (http://www.dcguesthouse.com/Welcome.htm)
March 18th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Hazel
Your one poster hit the nail on the head - the Key Bridge Marriott is an EXCELLENT place to stay. But I would not make a reservation through orbitz or priceline. You will not end up with a cheaper room and will probably get stuck with a less desireable room once you get there.
Instead, I would go to marriott.com and sign up for their frequent stay program (it’s free), Once you sign up you’ll get emails each week with promotional codes for discounts on rooms.
The Key Bridge frequently honors these promotional codes (C77 and MEB are two of the codes I’ve used). Also, if you go on Ebay you can get a $100 certificate that’s good for $100 off a two night stay.
You can easily get a room using a promo code (when you reserve the room on marriott.com) by using the $100 certificate, or both.
As the other poster said, this Marriott is in a very safe neighborhood. It’s 2 blocks from the metro and the little neighborhood where it’s located has a small business district with a drug store, grocery, restaurants, etc. It’s in a central location close to DC as well as Arlington Cemetary. And the service at the Marriott is consistently excellent.
Have a great trip!
March 20th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Cory
Cheap, safe, downtown.