DC for a Few Days

[cancidas]

i'm trying to plan a trip to DC for two or three days to take my brother and sister to see the city. anybody know a good inexpensive hotel to stay at that's at least near the metro? we're most likely going to drive down instead of fly but i don't really want to have to worry about driving and parking around town would rather use the metro to get around. i only spent the night there once and it was a hotel near DCA just can't remember the name of the place.

[steve1840]

the Hyatt Arlington is right above a metro station and the rooms weren't all that expensive. I think you can get a room for around 100-110/night.

[gonzalu]

Crystal City in VA is the best place to me... and if you;re into spotting, it directly behind DCA :-) Anything in or around D.C. will be expensive unfortunately... I once had to go to Tyson's Corner to get $120 per night when I spent a week in training in VA. Things may have changed... also up near Andrews AFB, there are a few hotel chains with reasonable prices, but it is a bit of a longer drive to Downtown area.

Depends how close you want to be.

[Mateo]

The area around Andrews is pretty rough, and there's not going to be much around the hotel at all. Unfortunately, Downtown DC is a very, very expensive hotel market, especially on weekdays. Try looking at places in either Old Town Alexandria (near King Street on the Yellow Line) or even in the Gaithersburg area near Shady Grove on the Red Line. There's also a Days Inn at Connecticut and Van Ness that's been known to have cheap rates from time to time. Weekends might not be too bad between now and mid-March, but mid-March to mid-June is prime tourist season as every 8th grader in the country visits the District, and even weekend rates spike up then.

[steve1840]

Mateo is right. The last time I was in the DC area I was staying in Shady Grove and I hopped on the Red Line and was in the city in 30 mins. You can get an all day pass on the metro for like $7-9. And there are plenty of hotels in the Shady Grove area too and alot that aren't all that expensive.