My girlfriend and I will be coming to DC for a few days and would like to find a nice hotel within walking distance to the Mall. I've never been there and reading the many reviews here and Tripadvisor has made my head spin. Are there certain areas to avoid? Some hotel suggestions made to me are The Grand Hyatt, The Willard, the JW Marriott, and the Sofitel.

... Some hotel suggestions made to me are The Grand Hyatt, The Willard, the JW Marriott, and the Sofitel.All OK, but you might want to stay in an area with a bit more happening after dark. The Mall is a working area, like the financial districts in many cities it kind of rolls up at night. As a caveat however, you definitely want to see the monuments at night at least once. I would suggest staying in an area like DuPont Circle just a short Metro ride away.

I'd also stay in the DuPont Circle area. A great place to check out is the Hotel Palomar (http://www.hotelpalomar-dc.com/) - there's a ton of nightlife in the area (including the attached restaurant/wine bar Urbana), and you will have no trouble either hailing a cab or accessing the Metro (the red line stops in DuPont Circle). You can use this location as a good jumping off point to both Georgetown and The Mall as well.

Two other neighborhoods to consider would be Georgetown (Ritz-Carlton, the Four Seasons) and the Penn Quarter (Hotel Monaco, Marriott Courtyard), with Penn Quarter the livelier of the two (and near DuPont in terms of evening activities). In fact the Penn Quarter (basically the area centered on 7th Street NW [and extending a few blocks east and west] north of Pennsylvania Ave. and south of I Street) is so busy at night that the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery stay open until 7:00 pm. You'll also find a wide variety of restaurants in and near the Penn Quarter. The Penn Quarter is definitely within walking distance of the Mall.

My girlfriend and I will be coming to DC for a few days and would like to find a nice hotel within walking distance to the Mall. I've never been there and reading the many reviews here and Tripadvisor has made my head spin. Are there certain areas to avoid? Some hotel suggestions made to me are The Grand Hyatt, The Willard, the JW Marriott, and the Sofitel.

The Sofitel is across the street from my office and the area is dead at night. When I work past 7:30 I never see anyone around who looks anything like a tourist. It is also a decent distance from the Mall, especially when it is hot.

I second the reccomendations of other people who said check out Dupont/Penn Quarter and Georgetown. The other possibility would be West End, the neighborhood north of Foggy Bottom, south of Duport and east of Georgetown.

Enjoy your trip.

Agreeing with everyone above - Dupont or Georgetown are the best areas for life after dark. If you're staying weekends, the Marriott at 22nd & M is a good place for things near midtown. I would definitely recommend places near a metro station (which means Dupont's probably one of the better options). Also, check out the Kimpton hotels in DC - they're not cheap, but they're nice & generally have good locations...

... Also, check out the Kimpton hotels in DC - they're not cheap, but they're nice & generally have good locations...The OP seems to be well-heeled if he is eying the Willard.

Mrs. gre and I stay in DC several times a year when we find weekend specials. I've always wanted to stay at the Willard but I've never seen it for under $250/night, and that was significantly discounted! I don't think Kimpton prices will be a problem.

Thank you for the replies. I had a ceiling of about $500 a night based more on the fact that we would not be in the hotel a great deal of the time. The Willard is about that but the Ritz and Four Seasons are $700+. :eek: