DrRodneyMcKay

It's an exciting moment - possibly the first trip I get to plan for my family using miles and points! My father travels quite a bit for work and has accumulated a hefty chunk of points with IHG and Marriott, and we've been wanting to visit D.C. for a while. This year, our vacations line up such that we can travel together, but I don't know D.C. nearly well enough and am looking for advice on all sorts of things:

1. What's the best place to stay? We likely won't have a car, but I've hard that the DC Metro is quite functional. Should we stay "downtown" near all the attractions, or perhaps a little farther away, where it's cheaper?
2. Is D.C. a good city for point redemptions or, like London, a city where it sometimes makes more sense to just pay for the room with $$ or even stay at a boutique hotel?
3. Since there'll be three of us, we're looking for a suite rather than just a regular room. Again, reasonable redemption rates, or more worth it to pay with $$? Also, any particular hotels you can suggest that have suites? (the only ones I can find are horribly overpriced, for obvious reasons I suppose)
4. Since we have more than a week, our travel time is flexible. Is it better to go during the weekend (and deal with lots of other weekend tourists) or during the weekdays (when there might possibly be fewer tourists?) My parents are interested in things like the White House tour, etc - will things like that be unavailable to the public on weekends?
5. Any other advice for visiting DC on points?

I know this is a lot of questions, but hopefully those that have traveled to DC recently (and not 10+ years ago like me) can provide answers to some of these questions.

Edit: I realized that perhaps this thread might make more sense in the DC/Baltimore forum so if a mod could move it that would be appreciated.

Adam1222

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/washington-d-c-including-baltimore-608/

glennaa11

The link above may help more than me. Since I live here I can't say much about redemptions. But my impression is that hotel rates in the city are fairly high.

With respect to Metro, "functional" is not the word most frequent users would probably choose. Especially on weekends when track work makes the system virtually unusable. Frankly I would choose a hotel in the city that would allow you to walk to most places you want to go.

Adam1222

While us commuters have our frustrations, compared to the public transit in most American cities, DC is quite functional. It all depends on your perspective. Track work often means trains run every 20-30 minutes, which for most tourists isn't unusable.

darthbimmer

I used to live in the area. Now I visit a few times a year. For my purposes I narrow it down to two choices:

1) Stay downtown, in an interesting neighborhood, near a Metro stop. Pay more in exchange for being able to walk to some things and take the Metro to others.

2) Stay across the river in Virginia near a Metro stop (e.g., Crystal City or Rosslyn). Save a lot of money in exchange for the commute taking slightly longer.

Note, I do not consider staying near a far-away Metro station or off the MetroRail grid unless my purpose is more to do/see things near that site that to visit downtown.

FirstInFlight

This may seem obvious - but timing your visit to DC is a critical part of planning. When Congress is in session there are lots of folks visiting for business and the hotels tend to be expensive. When Congress is quiet DC is quiet. I went at Thanksgiving one year and stayed in a suite at the big Hilton near the White House for about $50 a night.

If you want to visit Congress there us a Hyatt on New Jersey but that is the less interesting end of the National Mall. I prefer the Hyatt near Chinatown.

I use the Metro exclusively - I've never had a problem. Fly into DCA. BWI adds a train ride - not a big deal but will add about an hour total. I dislike getting to/from IAD - but - if you like airplanes - consider IAD because the Smithsonian museum is there - the Air & Space Museum on the Mall is small - rhe one at IAD is huge and worth he trip for aviation enthusiasts.

Often1

First, do not bring a car into DC. Traffic is horrible and parking is outrageously expensive when you can find it . Uber is easy and cheap. ($50 from BWI into downtown DC for example, with most downtown rides in the $7-8 range).

I would definitely stay downtown where you can walk to many of the key attractions. As to rates and suites vs. multiple rooms, don't bother with generalizations. There are times when you can't find a room and times when you may think that you won't be able to find a room only to find great prices.

You just have to do the research. It takes time, but there's no better way.

MSPeconomist

DC has some sketchy and downright dangerous neighborhoods. You want a hotel where you'll feel safe and comfortable.

Remember that DC is very hot and humid throughout the summer months. If you're going then, walking can be unpleasant, so think about the logistics of getting to what you want to see.

Around cherry blossom time (roughly March to early April), it can be extremely difficult to get a hotel room and the available space is very expensive. Major school vacation periods can also be bad as many school kids do (somewhat educational) trips to DC.

Adam1222

I'm not sure what "sketchy and dangerous" neighborhoods you're referring to, but I doubt the OP was considering staying in Anacostia. Anywhere there are decent hotels is absolutely fine.

Karlson

Anything in SE of DC is bad, NE is starting to get better, but I still wouldn't stay there. Best choice would be Crystal City, tons of hotels and quick access to DC.

Adam1222

This is all personal preference, better suited for discussion in the DC Destination forum. If one is interested in walking anywhere other than a mall and perhaps enjoying what the city has to offer, Crystal City is a terrible choice. Downtown, Logan Circle, and Dupont Circle/West End all have tons of hotels, and are no "sketchier" or "dangerous" than any other major city.

ladyjaneMN

DC was one of my first all points paid trips. I'd highly recommend you stay within walking distance of the touristy things (Mall, smithsonians, etc.) It's so much easier to just walk out your door and walk to things. That being said we noticed at night that alot of places were closed. For this reason you might want to plan to stay somewhere where your children can swim and relax at night or plan to have a late dinner somewhere.

You'll get really good information for your trip on Trip Advisor.

edcaya

This is just nonsense, seeing as how there's no hotels/motels for the OP to redeem points at in the slice of Southeast DC that's east of the river. As for Northeast DC, the Courtyard and Hyatt Place near the NoMA Metro stop are perfectly fine for tourists.

I'll nth the recommendations to stay within DC proper, since the one DC experience OP probably doesn't want is single-tracking on the Blue/Orange/Silver line.

Richym99

Last time I stayed in DC for a weekend, I used the Hyatt in Arlington. Right next to Rosslyn metro station, and has the number 50 bus to/from Dullas stopping within 100 yards if you don't want to shell out for a taxi.

A number of tourist locations, eg Arlington Cemetary, Lincoln Memorial were all in easy walking distance, and there are plenty of places to eat in the evening s as well.

Adam1222

There is no number 50 bus to Dulles. You must mean the 5A.