Flying into DCA in about a month on a Sunday. I get in around noon, at which point I would like to go to my hotel to drop off luggage. Then, I would take the metro to the Nationals game. Then, either after the game I can either pick-up a rental car (there are a few Hertz HLE locations open until 6pm) or wait until the morning to pick up my rental car. (The reason I'm not just picking up the car from the airport is I can save $150+ by picking it up after 5pm on Sunday due to when I'm dropping it off)
My main question is any suggestions for hotels with shuttles from the airport that are also near the metro? Or if they don't have a shuttle, then can I take the metro from the airport to the hotel?
Next question is...do you think I'd be better off going to get the car after the game (around 5pm) or in the AM? I'd need to take the metro from the game to Hertz.
The game starts at 1:35....and not a big deal if I'm not there on time.
Shuttle (or metro) to the hotel would be great...doesn't really matter to me where I stay in terms of location, but seems like being somewhat close to metro would be best since I'll be using it a few times.
There are lots of hotels in DC and the suburbs that you can reach by Metro. Any particular area you want to be in? Any price range? Where else are you planning to go on this trip?
If you don't take an shuttle airport and stay in the Crystal City area, you could hop on the Metro at DCA and head up to the Marriott Courtyard Navy Yard. It's 1 block from the Navy Yard Station and about 5 blocks from the ball park.
I'd prefer to keep the price under $150 for the night (although under $100 would be great). It's basically a quick stop in DC for the game Sunday and to hit a couple sights Monday morning. Then I head out of town early Tuesday afternoon to drive to a convention.
Thanks for the info on the Marriott Courtyard--I'll check it out. I'll do some more research on my own too for hotels I can get to from the metro from the airport. I did some quick looking but need to do some more.
This might not work for you depending on what you want to do Monday, but if you could stay downtown in the Penn Quarter / Verizon Center area you could possibly avoid having to get the car until Tuesday and save a bit on the car and spend a bit more on the hotel and be within walking disctance of the monuments / museums, etc.
Note sure what the exact rates but there is a Courtyard Marriott and some other mid-range hotels in the area that are a bit overpriced since they are in the city proper but might be worth considering.
Its also a straight shot just a few stops from there to the ballpark on the metro.
Another area of possibility is Old Town Alexandria. There is a Hilton, an Embassy Suites, a Hampton Inn, and a Residence Inn all within a very short walk of the King Street metro station. Embassy Suites and Hilton are right across the street from the station exit. You wouldn't have to wait for a shuttle at DCA, just hop on the metro blue or yellow line and it's 2 stops away - about 7 mins.
Then to get to the ball park, just take the yellow line into L'Enfant Plaza, transfer to the green line, and exit at the Navy Yard station.
After doing further research, I think I'm going to stay at the Hyatt Regency near Union Station (looks like a convenient location and I'm a fan of the AA mileage bonus offer). I'll get into DCA Sunday at noon, take the train to Union. Walk to the hotel, check-in & drop off luggage. Head back to Union to get a train to the game. Then Monday morning I'll pick-up the rental car from Hertz Union Station. After I stop by a couple sites, I'll be on my way to my convention Monday afternoon.
I'll get into DCA Sunday at noon, take the train to Union. Walk to the hotel, check-in & drop off luggage. Head back to Union to get a train to the game.
I think you might be missing more than a little of the baseball game doing it this way, it's a very optimistic plan especially on a Sunday when the trains don't run as frequently.
I'm assuming you're not waiting for checked bags at DCA on arrival, but even so it can take a few minutes to get off the plane and walk to the Metro. Then the 25 minutes or so to get to Union Station. Add in another 20-30 minutes to walk to and from the Hyatt and get checked in, then back on the Metro for another 20 minutes or so, then the time to walk to the Stadium and find your seat...granted the Metro is very close to the stadium but still...
You might want to consider a taxi for either the DCA-Hyatt or the Hyatt-Nationals Stadium part of the journey to speed things up a bit.
And if your flight is even 15 minutes late...well, that's a whole 'nother ballgame!
Thanks for the heads-up. The game starts at 1:35, I was thinking I'd be there by 2....that's almost 2 hours to do everything I need to do. If I'm running a little late I just might grab a cab.
To save time, I'd just check my luggage at Union Station. You'd have to pay a little, but not too much. You might want to check when that place is open though; sorry I can't remember the name.
And you might want to look into Crystal City hotels. Hyatt Regency CC can have decent rates, and has a shuttle to both the airport and the metro. SPG has a hotel with shuttle to the airport and very close to the metro.
Last edited by artemis021; Jul 27, 10 at 4:16 pm..
To follow-up in case anyone references this thread in the future, my flight got in on time and I ended up getting to the game at about 1:45. So it took a little over 90 minutes to get on the train, get to the hotel, check-in, get back on the train & get to the game. All-in-all it was very easy.
