Visiting D.C. question (Washington: rental car, extended stay, appointed)

[HB2HSV]

I am thinking about taking da wife to visit Washington D.C. in mid-April, but not sure where to stay? We plan to stay for 4~5 days, visiting the capital, museums, and catch the cherry blossom as well.

Since this is a vacation, miminizing hotel expense is a priority. I've been advised to stay in the Pentagon City area and take the metro in to see the capital. Is this a good plan? Any other suggestions? Also where to go to get the "D.C. Experience"? We plan to have a rental car so driving is not an issue (other than the traffic congestion).

Thanks.

[kodaka]

Pentagon city (along with Crystal City and downtown Arlington) isn't a bad option, but it isn't necessarily cheaper either. If you use a deal-finder like cheaptickets.com you are just as likely to find a deal in Pentagon City as you are in the District. For example if I look right now for the second week of April, I find the same rate at the Hyatt in Crystal City as at the Hilton in the District. Given the choice, I'd stay in the district.

Most hotels in the District are centered in the downtown area near the mall and tourist sites. There's no reason for them to be anywhere else. So within the district you shouldn't really encounter issues with location.

Avoid hotels in the Tyson's Corner and Dulles areas since they are not on convenient transit lines.

[Statz2k10]

Why do you have a rental car? You'll get a horrible DC experience if you plan on driving around the city. Driving will be an issue because you'll end up spending half your time in DC driving in traffic.

Metro will get you anywhere you want to go that is worthy of seeing.

Check with Arlington for hotels. I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Ballston and it was nice and was a good price.

[Teacher383940]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

I am thinking about taking da wife to visit Washington D.C. in mid-April, but not sure where to stay? We plan to stay for 4~5 days, visiting the capital, museums, and catch the cherry blossom as well.

Since this is a vacation, miminizing hotel expense is a priority. I've been advised to stay in the Pentagon City area and take the metro in to see the capital. Is this a good plan? Any other suggestions? Also where to go to get the "D.C. Experience"? We plan to have a rental car so driving is not an issue (other than the traffic congestion).

Thanks.

Hello,

I just came back from visiting DC and loved it. Moving there next month by the way. I had someone who knew the city with me, so driving around and sightseeing places was not a problem, but I was also there job hunting so I did not have time to see all the things I wanted.

Last year I visited in the summer and it was great. Absolutely loved it. I was with a group of people from my former job and we stayed in the area around the Convention Center, The Capitol Hilton and The Comfort INN.

However, on my recent trip last week. I stayed at an "Extended Stay" hotel in Alexandria. It was called "Homestead Studio Suites Hotel" Nice clean room and had a kitchenette, so you can bring your groceries and not have to eat out all the time. You can also bring your dog. (for 25 bucks a day, no to exceed 5 days)

I got it on Priceline for 60 bucks a night, plus taxes of course. Definitely a good deal. It was right off the Metro Train and the freeway, but secluded from other areas of Alexandria, but again, I was with someone else so they drove me into the city.

Now, I'm going back in two weeks for 2 interviews and I'm staying at the Motel 6 near Takoma Park off of Georgia Ave. Its 65 bucks a night and pets stay free.

Now you may have more money than me to spare, so go to priceline and name your price, if its reasonable, it will be accepted. I've gotten some great rooms at a FRACTION of the cost off of priceline, they have not disappointed me yet. And if your bid is too low, they will say it probably won't be accepted.

So priceline or hotwire are your best bets. I use to use expedia but have become addicted to priceline whenever I need a cheap price on a good hotel. Have fun and enjoy the cherry blossoms. They are so pretty.

I'll get to see more of them in two weeks. Totally excited.

[HB2HSV]

Thanks guys for all your suggestions. It helps in forumulating my travel plan. Does anyone know if there's public transportation from BWI to metro so we can get to the capital/ Pentagon City/ Alexandria area?

[kodaka]

Limited public transit. It isn't served by WMATA subway or bus. BWI has a Marc (like Amtrak) station, but it only runs limited hours, roughly 6AM to 11PM, but outside of rush hour, the frequency is reduced. I think only every two hours after 6PM. The Marc train would take you to Union Station in DC for $9. At Union Station you would need to transfer to the Metro Red Line and then transfer at Metro Center station to the blue line to go to either Pentagon City or Alexandria.

[rhinestone]

BWI is served by Metrobus, which connects to the subway system. It's the B30 bus, costs $3.10 and runs about every 30 minutes.

[G.Costanza]

Originally Posted by Teacher383940

Now you may have more money than me to spare, so go to priceline and name your price, if its reasonable, it will be accepted. I've gotten some great rooms at a FRACTION of the cost off of priceline, they have not disappointed me yet. And if your bid is too low, they will say it probably won't be accepted.

So priceline or hotwire are your best bets. I use to use expedia but have become addicted to priceline whenever I need a cheap price on a good hotel. Have fun and enjoy the cherry blossoms. They are so pretty.

I'm also really keen on PL for hotels... tried Priceline for both this Friday and this Saturday (want to check out the Cherry Blossoms and spend one night in DC). Couldn't get what I thought was a reasonable bid accepted, probably due to Festival high occupancy.

Any tips on what locations to choose on PL? Want a somewhat central/urban area (i.e. not by the airports). I chose Capitol Hill; Foggy Bottom; Dupont Circle; White House; and DC Northeast suburbs during my unsuccessful bid. Would any of the following be a good addition to our search (coming from NYC/NJ area)?

• Alexandria East
• Alexandria West
• Arlington
• Bethesda
• Crystal City
• Mt Vernon
• National Harbor
• Silver Spring, MD

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by G.Costanza

Would any of the following be a good addition to our search (coming from NYC/NJ area)?

• Alexandria East - Depends on whether it's near a Metro line or not. If so, it would be about a 15 min. ride into central DC. Alexandria has some good stuff in its own right.
• Alexandria West - Not sure what area this would be referring to, exactly, but see my quotes above.
• Arlington - So long as you're near a Metro stop 9which most hotels would be) Arlington would be a fine choice. Many tourists stay in Arlington, particularly in the hotels around Crystal City and Pentagon City.
• Bethesda - Be careful here. Central/downtown Bethesda would be fine, but there are many places quite a bit north of here--and not near Metro lines--that call themselves "Bethesda".
• Crystal City - See Arlington
• Mt Vernon - That's really far out, and no transit goes there. Not a particularly good place to stay.
• National Harbor - See above. Far removed from anything, and no transit.
• Silver Spring, MD - Hit or miss. If you get a hotel in downtown SS near the Metro, you would be OK. But there are areas around downtown that are less than stellar. Would not be my first choice.

My thoughts above.

[pcity]

Alexandria West would refer to the Landmark/Van Dorn area. Some of hotels in this area have shuttles to Van Dorn St Metro, but I can only think of one that is actually in walking distance.