Hotels In Washington D.C.

[spot1181]

We want to take a three day Cincinnati-Chicago-Washington D.C.-Cincinnati trip in May. To make all the connections we must spend the night in D.C. Most rooms we found were over $200 a night. Is there anything reasonable and convenient to Union Station? Spot.

 

[Amfleet]

You could probably find something cheap in the Alexandria, VA area. That is a quick subway ride from Union Station.

 

[battalion51]

I stayed at a pretty nice place a few years ago when I was in Washington called Hotel Harrington. It's at 11th and E Streets NW, and is not too far from the Red Line Metro that hooks up to Union Station. Their phone # is (202) 628-8140. If you would like something closer to Union Holiday Inn On The Hill is another good option. Many of my friends have recommended this hotel. It is about a five minute walk to Union Station, and probably a quick cab ride. Their rates will run about $125-$150/night depending on what your dates are. holiday Inn reservations can be made on line.

 

[AlanB]

Spot,

If you don't want fancy, try the Downtown-Capitol Hill Best Western. It's only about 5 or 6 blocks from Union Station, although you may still want to take a cab to reach it. One has to walk about 3 blocks out of the way, as there is no bridge over a highway between the hotel and the station.

I stayed at the hotel about 2 years ago. It was clean and decent, but certainly nothing fancy. When I checked tonight, I put in a date of May 21 for 1 night, and they returned rates in the $125-$130 for either AAA members or anyone over 55. Even if you don't qualify for either of the above discounts, it's only about another 10-15 bucks more.

There is a restaurant right in the hotel, so you don't need to venture out if you don't wish to. One word of caution, if you do go out at night, please take a cab. It's not a bad neighborhood right there, but a few blocks in the wrong direction and you could get into trouble. So spring for a cab if you do go out at night.

You can find their website by clicking here.

If you want something a little more fancy, then look at the Jurys Washington Hotel. This is a very nice facility and I frequently stay here when I'm on business in DC. In fact I was there just last week for two nights. The hotel is located on Dupont Circle and is easily accessible by either a 5-10 minute (depending on traffic) cab ride or via the DC Metro's Red line. The Red line also serves Union Station, so you only need to ride the metro 5 stops with no need to transfer. The fare is $1.10 each way.

The Jurys Hotel is an Irish owned hotel. It's very clean they have nice large rooms, with a 25" TV, desk, free coffee, and high-speed Internet access if you have a laptop. There is an Irish pub for lighter fare and a full-fledged restaurant. Both serve very decent food, although the restaurant can be a little pricey depending on your point of view. Average dish costs between $18 - $25 bucks.

They gave me a price for the same night May 21 of $165, however I paid less than that on most occasions. Usually between $95 and $125 per night, however you will probably need to call them to get a better rate. They generally charge maximum via on-line booking. Their website is located here.

With some more research you may be able to find other that are under $200, but these are two that I've personally stayed at and feel comfortable recomending. The Best Western is much closer to Union Station and cheaper. The Jurys is further away and a little more costly, but definitely nicer, newer, and more plush.

 

[Superliner Diner]

If you're looking to save money, my suggestion would be to stay in the Silver Spring area. Around the Silver Spring Metro station there are several chain hotels for which you should find rates in the $70-$85 per night range. I once stayed at a decent Ramada Limited about 4 blocks walk from the Silver Spring Metro for about $70. This is on the Red Line, which is the same line that serves Union Station. It's no more than a 10-minute ride.

 

[AlanB]

Spot,

One other thought about your upcoming trip to DC. Are you going to travel back to Cincinnati from DC in a sleeper or coach?

If you are going to travel in a sleeper, then be sure to take advantage of the Club Acela lounge in DC. Club Acela is the Northeast Corridor’s equivalent of the Metropolitan lounge in Chicago.

In DC the Club Acela Lounge is located behind the information kiosk, which is in the center of the waiting areas between gates D & E. There are two large wooden doors there, ring the bell to the right of the door and the attendant will let you in. They will escort you to your train when it’s time.

 

[spot1181]

We were thinking of taking the sleeper since it would only cost $81.00 more than coach for both of us. It will probrably be a fourteen hour trip if not more, so for the comfort and meals, it's worth it.

Also, thanks for all the suggestions on lodging. I havn't been to D.C. since 1955. I only remember that George Washington's house in Mt. Vernon smelled and we went to see Lady And The Tramp at a theater. I'm sure it has changed in 48 years.

 

[AlanB]

We were thinking of taking the sleeper since it would only cost $81.00 more than coach for both of us. It will probrably be a fourteen hour trip if not more, so for the comfort and meals, it's worth it.

Spot,

Sounds like a good idea to me. After all two meals in the diner can easily set you back $30 if not $40 bucks. So just having diner in the diner gets you halfway to the 80 bucks extra. Plus you will also get lunch so that's another $15 - 20 dollars minimum.

Additionally it should be noted, that when you book a sleeper you automatically qualify for Amtrak's lowest rail fare price. Then if you also take advantage of the 25% off sale, you are doing even better. As an example of what I talking about, Amtrak may have 3 rail fare rates for a coach seat from Washington to Cincinnati. The first might be $30, the second $40, and the third $50. I've just chosen arbitrary number here, I'm not really sure just what the actual prices might be.

As the train fills up the price goes up. So if Amtrak is already at the second price level when you book a coach seat, you would pay a rail fare of $40 bucks each. However if you book a sleeper regardless of what rail fare level Amtrak is at for coach, you will always pay the $30 dollar rate for your rail fare plus of course the accommodation charge for the sleeper.

So the odds are that the extra $80 bucks for the sleeper are well worth it just from the financial side. Then add the extra comfort and free soda/coffee in the sleeper and it could be a real deal even if you never put the beds down to sleep.

 

[Steve4031]

Try the Marriott website. It is www.marriott.com, I think. On the weekend they have good deals where you can get a room and breakfast for right around 100 dollars in most cities. The Marriott breakfast is awsome too. They have couple of properties near metro stations. One is by Metrocenter, the other is by Crystal City. The Crystal City one is hard to find from the metro station.

 

[CSXBAP]

Washington DC has changed massively...mostly for the worse since 1955. I have been mugged outside Union Station myself and advise caution about using buget hotels in rough neighborhoods. With all the terrorist threats the advice about staying in Alexandria is a great one. There is an Embassy Suites right across from the Amtrak Alexandria station which is easily accesible from Union Station via VRE commuter rail on weekdays or the parallel Metro line at any time. Also Old Town Alexandria is an excellent safe place at night and has the vibrant King Street restraunt district nearby. There are several other new hotels near the King Street Metro station (and the Alexandria Amtrak station). If you are using the Cardinal you will go through Alexandria station anyway. There are some really great world class Hotels in DC and you may get a good rate these days but be advised the neighborhood near Union Station goes downhill quickly if you go in the wrong direction from the Mall/Capitol area.

 

[snake]

I usually fly around the country, however I decided to use some Continental Airlines frequent-flyer mileage to book an Amtrak vacation trip from Arizona to Washington DC.

I've been using Priceline a lot lately to save money on hotel accomodations, We were able to get the Hyatt Capitol Hill for a bid of $47 ($59.62 with tax and service charge total) per night for a total of 3 nights, May 5 and May 8 & 9.

A good source of information on Priceline bidding is http://www.biddingfortravel.com

 

[tp49]

You could also use Hotwire to price hotel rooms, the only drawback of this is it does not tell you which hotel you would be in untill you actually book the room, but it does give you a general neighborhood name. My other best piece of advice is to stay out of N.E. with the exception of the area immediately surrounding the Capitol.

 

[carknocker51]

I'm also going to overnite in Washington in May during a rail trip.I used CapitolReservations.com & got a 4 star room at Club Quarters Hotel for $89.00 + tax...ph: 1-800-847-4832 if you haven't booked yet...good luck B)

 

[thedude]

I found a hotel in Alexandria, only a couple metro stops away. It is $80 a night. It is called the Econo Lodge Metro.

Go to The Main Hotel Site an search for Alexandria, VA.

It should be there B)

 

[Fletch!]

DC always has last minute hotel deals. Unless there is some big convention in-town you'll be able to find a better rate the week of your trip. If you haven't been to DC in 40 years you should definately stay in the city.

Remember the cabs here are crooks and the fares are the most expensive in America. 2 people with 2 bags to go 1/2 mile = $8-13 depending on the driver.

h34r:

 

[seajay]

I stayed at a nice Red Roof Inn in Washington back in 1998 after taking the Capitol Limited from Chicago. It's west of Union Station and, while not really within walking distance (unless you're more adventurous than I was at the time), it's an easy subway trip plus a walk of about a block from the subway stop. It's near the Chinatown area so there were some good restaurants if you like Chinese food.

seajay

 

[thm]

Remember the cabs here are crooks and the fares are the most expensive in America.  2 people with 2 bags to go 1/2 mile = $8-13 depending on the driver.h34r:

I wouldn't consider the DC cab drivers crooks--its just a screwed-up system. It's a zone system, with the city broken up into 8 zones and the base fare based on how many zones apart your origin and destination are. Add $1.50 for each extra passenger. Add surcharges for rush hour and inclement weather.

The zones are designed to minimize cab fares for congressmen. There is a map in each cab but it's not designed to be helpful. You can get much better zone maps in many of the Washington DC guidebooks. By the way: the B. Dalton bookstore in Union Station has one of the best selections of Washington DC guidebooks of any bookstore in the area. The Washington Post's Visitor's Guide has a decent introduction.

If you plan to get around DC by Metrorail, I highly recommend that you take a look at the Stationmasters website, which has detailed area maps of all the Metrorail stations. For example, Union Station.

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

Just for the record, the MetroPlanet web site is a good place to find maps and information on all the world's public transit systems. Being an international site, you have to wait a few seconds to get past the anti-war comments these days.