DC Hotel Filter
May 23, 2013 11:19 AM Subscribe
Looking for a hotel in the Washington DC area. There are, of course, a lot of special snowflake requirements.
So! We're taking our first family road trip down to DC at the end of June! We've already shown the kids National Treasure in preparation for all of the obligatory jokes about stealing the Declaration of Independence. But! We cannot find a hotel that meets all of our requirements. Help, help! Can you suggest one? We would like:
* Very close to a Metro stop, any Metro stop. (Well, maybe not a super seedy one? Or one that is a very long ride into the touristy museums and monuments district? Or on the red line, because construction.)
* The snowflaky bit: we would prefer a room with a king bed and a fold-out sofa, or two queen beds, rather than two double beds. We are territorial sprawlers.
* Maybe a pool that the kids can splash around in? Because swimming is fun! And it will help tired feet to feel better.
* We're kinda hoping to pay around $100 a night, maybe up to $140 if parking and internet are included.
So if you were us, MeFites, where would you stay?
So! We're taking our first family road trip down to DC at the end of June! We've already shown the kids National Treasure in preparation for all of the obligatory jokes about stealing the Declaration of Independence. But! We cannot find a hotel that meets all of our requirements. Help, help! Can you suggest one? We would like:
* Very close to a Metro stop, any Metro stop. (Well, maybe not a super seedy one? Or one that is a very long ride into the touristy museums and monuments district? Or on the red line, because construction.)
* The snowflaky bit: we would prefer a room with a king bed and a fold-out sofa, or two queen beds, rather than two double beds. We are territorial sprawlers.
* Maybe a pool that the kids can splash around in? Because swimming is fun! And it will help tired feet to feel better.
* We're kinda hoping to pay around $100 a night, maybe up to $140 if parking and internet are included.
So if you were us, MeFites, where would you stay?
Yeah, I had the same reservations about price. If you're willing to go up a bit more, you might try the Omni Shoreham. It's RIGHT by the zoo, and RIGHT by a Metro stop (although... red line). The Summer Splash Pack includes valet parking and discounts on food/free food for kids under 12.
You also might try AirBnB.
posted by Madamina at 11:37 AM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
You also might try AirBnB.
posted by Madamina at 11:37 AM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
As someone who lives in the DC area and recently flew a number of friends and family members out for a wedding... the only way you'll be able to find a room for the price you're asking (especially in the high season!) is if you give up on most or all of your other requirements. Even a 2-double-bed room in the suburbs, a moderate walk from the Metro, is going to run you $100 a night after taxes. Just be prepared to settle for less if you're not willing to pay for premium.
posted by duffell at 11:39 AM on May 23, 2013
posted by duffell at 11:39 AM on May 23, 2013
If you can ditch the two queen beds or king + sofabed requirement, I think you'll have better luck. I just did a random search for the last weekend in June using a AAA discount rate and you can get a room with two doubles for $119 at the Hilton in Arlington. (of course you have to be a member of AAA, but sometimes it's worth it for the hotel discounts alone.)
posted by bedhead at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2013
posted by bedhead at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2013
If you are willing to go up more in $, the Hampton Inn in Old Town Alexandria fits all your requirements.
It is across the street from the Blue ad Yellow lines.
The two-room suites have a king bed and a sofa.
There is a pool.
It is in a lovely area of Alexandria, and should be just across from the Farmer's Market
posted by hmo at 11:48 AM on May 23, 2013
It is across the street from the Blue ad Yellow lines.
The two-room suites have a king bed and a sofa.
There is a pool.
It is in a lovely area of Alexandria, and should be just across from the Farmer's Market
posted by hmo at 11:48 AM on May 23, 2013
Best answer: Up your price significantly and the Kimpton chain of hotels has wonderful family rooms with bunk beds for the kids.
posted by MsMolly at 12:18 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by MsMolly at 12:18 PM on May 23, 2013
Embassy Suites. The one near the convention center has a pool, there's another near Foggy Bottom (not sure about pool there). Hilton's website shows an avg room rate of 149 a night near the convention center.
posted by ersatzkat at 12:32 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by ersatzkat at 12:32 PM on May 23, 2013
Best answer: Yeah, came in to say Kimpton, until I saw the budget. They do sometimes run weekend deals though.
Also note, there is a lot of weekend track work going on and not just on the Red line.
posted by JoanArkham at 12:42 PM on May 23, 2013
Also note, there is a lot of weekend track work going on and not just on the Red line.
posted by JoanArkham at 12:42 PM on May 23, 2013
Best answer: I don't know if they have fold out beds, but we got an awesome deal on Hotwire for our upcoming trip - $64 a night. It didn't show until after we booked, but it's the Washington Hilton, 4 blocks from the Dupont Circle metro. Has a pool. Parking is pretty exorbitant though.
posted by nakedmolerats at 1:23 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by nakedmolerats at 1:23 PM on May 23, 2013
Best answer: Keep your eye on Travelzoo. Apparently you can stay at the Ritz in your price range if the dates line up:
http://www.travelzoo.com/hotels/washington-dc/?tz_cs=HPV0
posted by superfille at 2:01 PM on May 23, 2013
http://www.travelzoo.com/hotels/washington-dc/?tz_cs=HPV0
posted by superfille at 2:01 PM on May 23, 2013
Try Adam's Inn - http://adamsinn.com/
Near Woodley Park metro stop, reasonable-ish pricing, and I've heard only good reviews. Might be tough to find availability during tourist season.
posted by aaanastasia at 3:09 PM on May 23, 2013
Near Woodley Park metro stop, reasonable-ish pricing, and I've heard only good reviews. Might be tough to find availability during tourist season.
posted by aaanastasia at 3:09 PM on May 23, 2013
I live a few doors down from Adam's Inn, and it's nice, but beware that it's actually a bit of a hike (especially for short legs) from Woodley Park.
posted by downing street memo at 3:56 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by downing street memo at 3:56 PM on May 23, 2013
If you can get rooms at the Hilton, it is a great location by Dupont Circle-- it's close to a variety of restaurants, the Red Line, and many helpful bus lines. If it's nice out (well, for DC) you could even walk to the Zoo; I think it's just above a mile from there.
I grew up a few blocks from Adam's Inn (heyyy dsm!) and I would agree that it's nice but it's less convenient with kids. It's semi-close to buses but not to the Metro, and while it's close to the fun core of Adams Morgan, it's not that close to anything else, and the partying might not be a selling point.
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:07 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I grew up a few blocks from Adam's Inn (heyyy dsm!) and I would agree that it's nice but it's less convenient with kids. It's semi-close to buses but not to the Metro, and while it's close to the fun core of Adams Morgan, it's not that close to anything else, and the partying might not be a selling point.
posted by jetlagaddict at 4:07 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Ahahaha Summer Splash package at the Omni Shoreham from $1890 a night. I can't breathe. But hey, kids eat free!
Moving on: We can't use Hotwire or Priceline because there's no way to specify bed size, and we're not flexible on not wanting double beds. Which is a crying shame, because they do some to get some incredible discounts.
We'd give up the pool entirely, we are willing to go up some in price (But not, you know, $200 a night plus $40 in parking and $15 for internet), and we are willing to walk some to a Metro station, provided the walk doesn't do in the six-year-old for the rest of the day. We'll have a car, to be sure, but I'm under the impression that staying at a non-Metro hotel and driving in would be foolish at best.
posted by Andrhia at 5:05 PM on May 23, 2013
Moving on: We can't use Hotwire or Priceline because there's no way to specify bed size, and we're not flexible on not wanting double beds. Which is a crying shame, because they do some to get some incredible discounts.
We'd give up the pool entirely, we are willing to go up some in price (But not, you know, $200 a night plus $40 in parking and $15 for internet), and we are willing to walk some to a Metro station, provided the walk doesn't do in the six-year-old for the rest of the day. We'll have a car, to be sure, but I'm under the impression that staying at a non-Metro hotel and driving in would be foolish at best.
posted by Andrhia at 5:05 PM on May 23, 2013
Ditto the Hampton in Old Town Alexandria. There's really no way you're going to find something acceptable close to a Metro stop, even without the pool, for four people for $100, and especially not in summer: that's high-season around here for tourists.
Oh, and a side note: please be prepared, summer in DC can be sticky and steamy --- very humid and very hot.
posted by easily confused at 6:10 PM on May 23, 2013
Oh, and a side note: please be prepared, summer in DC can be sticky and steamy --- very humid and very hot.
posted by easily confused at 6:10 PM on May 23, 2013
I know it's still out of your range, but the Summer Splash package starts at $189/night (don't know if your reply was a typo or not.) Looks like parking and breakfast (and pool!) are included.
posted by Cloudberry Sky at 8:18 PM on May 23, 2013
posted by Cloudberry Sky at 8:18 PM on May 23, 2013
It's not ideal, but there are places further out that run shuttles to the Metro. Yeah, it's a long haul in and out but you only do it once in the morning and once in the evening...and about half of it is above ground and kids love it.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:55 AM on May 24, 2013
posted by JoanArkham at 5:55 AM on May 24, 2013
Response by poster: Not a typo, Cloudberry Sky! When you input our dates and the ages of the kids, we do in fact get $1850 a night. But it looks like they're booked our of normal rooms and that's the rate for their presidential suite?
The Hampton Old Town Alexandria looked just perfect, but it's likewise already booked solid for when we're going down, alas. We've ultimately booked with the Hotel Rouge -- more centrally located than we were planning and crazypants money on parking, but it looks like it'll be a pleasure to stay there. We'll save on the flipside by bringing breakfast bars with us, and we're already saving on vacation money by driving rather than flying, sooo it'll work out all right, I guess.
Thank you so much for your advice!
posted by Andrhia at 6:31 PM on May 25, 2013
The Hampton Old Town Alexandria looked just perfect, but it's likewise already booked solid for when we're going down, alas. We've ultimately booked with the Hotel Rouge -- more centrally located than we were planning and crazypants money on parking, but it looks like it'll be a pleasure to stay there. We'll save on the flipside by bringing breakfast bars with us, and we're already saving on vacation money by driving rather than flying, sooo it'll work out all right, I guess.
Thank you so much for your advice!
posted by Andrhia at 6:31 PM on May 25, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Feeling very skeptical that this is going to happen. You're coming at prime tourist season.
posted by downing street memo at 11:35 AM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]