family trip, hesitating between 2 hotels (Washington: coupon, dorm, construction)

[GillesL]

Hi everyone,

I will be visiting DC with my kids for 4 days at the beginning of March. I've looked at many hotels and have to decide between my two finalists. Both are available in the $130-$150 per night range for the dates I'm looking at. I am aware that at these prices many DC hotels are out of my range.

First: Hotel Harrington. Older but with a great location that seems like it's greatest asset. Reading on some of the hotel web sites with traveller reviews, some just love it, others describe it as creepy and/or spooky. Not sure what to make of it.

Second, Hotel Palomar in Arlington. The place looks beautiful and seems a steal at less than $150 per night. Easy access to public transit, just a few metro stops away from the mall. Reviews are much better too.

I'm really leaning towards the Palomar but I'd appreciate it if I could get some thoughts/advice from DC locals or people who have first-hand experience with these hotels.

Thanks in advance for the tips,

Gilles L
Montreal Quebec

[gichicago]

Tough call on the two. With Harrington, its definietly all about the location, I mean, you are next the national mall, walking distance to the white house, etc. Ameneties may look bad from american standards, but look similar to what you would find in Eurpoe.

Palomar is in a good area, and Rossylyn is a big station, so you should have no trouble with it closing early. One + about that area is that its close to Georgetown across the bridge.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by GillesL

Hi everyone,

I will be visiting DC with my kids for 4 days at the beginning of March. I've looked at many hotels and have to decide between my two finalists. Both are available in the $130-$150 per night range for the dates I'm looking at. I am aware that at these prices many DC hotels are out of my range.

First: Hotel Harrington. Older but with a great location that seems like it's greatest asset. Reading on some of the hotel web sites with traveller reviews, some just love it, others describe it as creepy and/or spooky. Not sure what to make of it.

Second, Hotel Palomar in Arlington. The place looks beautiful and seems a steal at less than $150 per night. Easy access to public transit, just a few metro stops away from the mall. Reviews are much better too.

I'm really leaning towards the Palomar but I'd appreciate it if I could get some thoughts/advice from DC locals or people who have first-hand experience with these hotels.

Thanks in advance for the tips,

Gilles L
Montreal Quebec

The Harrington is the biggest bargain in DC. It's about the only family-operated hotel left in DC. The location is simply unbeatable, and as long as all you do is sleep there, the rest won't matter. It is actually well-run and perfectly serviceable, but it is sort of no-frills 1950's-ish. The Palomar, on the other hand is in downtown Rosslyn and is run by Kimpton, a company that specializes in "boutique" hotels. You would certainly get a much more upscale feel there, and you'd still be within a quick Metro run of everything you might want to see or do. Between the two, I'd go with the Palomar...

[PenguinSix]

I recommend tripadvisor.com for this sort of thing. You can see real pictures of the rooms, not the formal made up ones by the hotels.

Harrington is closer of the two--in the heart of everything. And you should note that for some parts of the Mall, like the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, there is a very long walk from the Metro to the monuments.

Harrington Hotel (Washington DC, DC) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

Hotel Palomar (Washington DC, DC) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

[GillesL]

I just got back from Washington and I thought I'd post a follow up.

I ended up booking at the Palomar Arlington because my girlfriend decided to join me and my kids and I wanted something a little more luxurious. A decision I didn't regret. What a beautiful hotel, and a level of service I'm not used to when travelling with my kids.

You pull up to the hotel, the valet parks the car, your bags are unloaded and you're taken up to the reception desk. Once there, we were offered a glass of wine while checkin in (we arrived at the time of the daily wine tasting in the bar at around 5:00). The kids were given gift bags and we were taken up to our room. The room was really nice and well decorated. Nothing is cheap in this place, right down to the soap, shampoo and bathrobes that they leave in the room. The TV in the room was a 32'' high definition LCD, wow, it's nicer than what I have at home. For all this I paid $127 per night for a deluxe riverview room with 2 queen beds, booked on the hotel's website. I don't know if it's because the hotel opened in November and is fairly new, or because of the location in Arlington, VA but if this hotel were downtown I think it would cost 2 to 3 times that price to stay at.

There was a bit of construction noise from the neighbouring buildings at around 8:00 in the morning on weekdays but for us it wasn't an issue because we were up and about before that getting ready for our day of visiting in DC.

More on the location. The Rosslyn metro station is really close and once you figure out the applicable fare and how to use the vending machine to get your metro coupon (the Metro employees in the ticket booth were useless when it came to giving explanations), the metro is a convenient way to get around. Also, a 10-minute walk across the Key bridge and you're on M street in Georgetown which is really nice and has lots of good restaurants. After a day at the National mall, we'd get off the Metro in Foggy Bottom, walk on M street to find a restaurant for dinner, then walk back across the bridge to the hotel from there.

While downtown I did see the other hotel I was asking about (whose name escapes me right now) and the location is amazing, but considering I was looking for something a little more luxurious at a reasonnable price, I am very happy to have chosen the Palomar in Arlington. All in all, it fulfilled all my expectations.

[irisheyes13]

Wow, sounds like a great hotel! Thanks for letting us know how it worked out. We will have to keep that place in mind.. My daughter stayed in the Harrington a year or so ago and she said it was a greta location but about as fancy as her college dorm so sounds like you made the right choice!

[breakingfree]

the Metro employees in the ticket booth were useless when it came to giving explanations

That's pretty much the way they are period. Other than that, glad you had a great time! That hotel sounds lovely.