Advice for a weekend in washington dc
 

I will be taking the voluptuous Mrs. Newman to Washington DC in May for a (hopefully) romantic weekend. I checked old threads and it seems like the concierge lounges at all Marriotts and Ren's are closed on weekends. Still true? If so, I am Gold level. Anyone know whether breakfast certs are provided to Gold members at any of the DC hotels?
I may need to settle for a Residence Inn. If so, am I better off at the E. Street/Capitol or Vermont Ave. Residence Inn?
I am looking for a hotel in a safe neighborhood, near a subway and tourist attractions.
Thx.

Newman

Just my opinion but i wouldn't stay at the Capital RI....seems to not be near much except some offices and such....

now....we all know how often things change....the Gateway used to give breakfast coupons but i am not sure if they do any longer...

If i were going to pick an RI, I would go for Pentagon City, Arlington Rosslyn or Old Town Alexandria.....(of course, i don't think of RIs as romantic, but i guess that's just me!):D

The Vermont Ave location might be a little better. In any event, you'll have a 3-4 block walk.

Hmmm....how's about one of the Rens??? I personally love the mayflower and no one says you have to eat breakfast there...(but it is very good!) Lots of FTers like the M street location (again, really not near much of anything....)

The JW????

guess i didn't help much huh...sorry!

I like the RI in Dupont Circle - it's in a good neighborhood with good restaurants within walking distance. The Key Bridge Marriott (Arlington) is right across the bridge from Georgetown & is a great location as well.

If you're able to pick and choose which DC Marriott to stay in then the choice is obvious.... the JW or the Metro Center. Top to bottom both are perfect examples of why Marriott is the best at what they do. If it has to be Ren then I would go with the Mayflower.

Maybe to you, but opinions differ. I prefer the Mayflower for number of reasons. Some folks agree with this, others don't. Is the choice obvious? I guess to you.

Dupont is the best RI in town, IMHO.

Alternately, the Courtyard up the street on Connecticut is good too.

Have never stayed at a RI in DC.

My favorite is Marriott Wardman Park. Walking distance to the Nat'l Cathedral, and I always ask for the 10th floor (concierge level) view of the Cathedral. It's awesome looking at the Cathedral lit up at night.

It's also in Adam's Morgan, which is a nice neighborhood, and the subway is right at the hotel.

Also like the Courtyard Northwest in Dupont Circle. It's close to the Dupont subway, so the Dupont RI would probably work for you if you're set on a RI.

Finally, jredknapp11 is right that the JW is in a class all by itself.

Not sure about breakfast certificates at any of those properties, I've always been there on business during the week.

Technically it is in Woodley Park, but the metro station is Adams Morgan/Woodley Park. AM starts after the Calvert St. bridge going east.

Pulling up some hotels on different weekends in May -

Both the JW and/or the Mayflower are available for the same price or less than comparably located RI's.

The city will be packed with every 5th and 6th grade class in a 9 state area on their end of year field trip. About the only place they WON'T be is the JW or Mayflower.

And FYI - If you are want to insure a romantic weekend, you now have 2 female votes that state a RI is not the way to go...free breakfast or no. :eek:

A definite +1 on this. If you're considering a romantic getaway and the RI is in contention, I'd say it's a good thing she's already the Mrs. ;) Lots of points for you, though, for planning something for her!

I stay at the JW more often than Mayflower because of the location, but I consider the Mayflower more romantic. If breakfast is a deal breaker, I've had good success at the JW with asking at the front desk for coupons as a plat member. YMMV, but I'm at about a 90% success rate on getting them.

Depends on what you're looking to do, my preference is always the JW however at times I haved stayed elsewhere but not often

Renaissance DC (on 9th St) is my top choice, followed closely by the Metro Center Marriott. Then the JW, and my negative feelings on the Mayflower are well-known.

Depends on what you are looking to do. As for location, the JW can't be beat. The Whitehouse, Washington Monument, Mall, Smithonsonian Museums and the US Capitol are all within an easy walk from the JW. Also, there are several great restaurants within a few blocks of the JW including the Old Ebbitt Grill and Bobby Van's Steakhouse. Also within two blocks from the JW are two Theaters, the National Theater and The Warner Theater. A nice dinner and a show are sure to get you a ^ in the romance department.

The Marriott Wardmen Park is in a nice neighborhood setting in DC. Its a three block walk to the metro, is close to the National Cathedral and the National Zoo.

The Renaissance on M is close to the DC Convention Center, Chinatown, Verizon Center (Sports an Concerts) and the Penn Quarter. It is also walking distance to the Spy Museum, Ford's Theater, and the National Portait Gallery.

The Marriott Metro Center is fairly close to the Renaissance on M. Both are close to shopping (Macys, H&M), but shopping in DC is nothing to write home about.

The Mayflower is a beautiful hotel in the heart of DC's business district. It can be rather busy and congested there during the week. Dupont Circle is a few blocks north, the Whitehouse a few blocks south. There are some interesting restaurants in the Dupont Circle area.

If you must stay at a Residence Inn, I would avoid the E Street Capitol View RI, as there is nothing around it. It is accross the street from NASA and they are constructing another office building next to it. As others have said a RI is not romantic at all, but if that is the only option I would go for the Pentagon City RI and ask for a room with a view of the city.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

RIP....

I've stayed in many of the DC and DC area Marriotts and this is my favorite too. I love the neighborhood. It's great for walking and the red line metro is right there.

Bobette

For a weekend trip, I'd probably do Wardman Park. You're in Woodley Park, a leafy neighborhood with several good restaurant choices, and you're walking distance to both Adam's Morgan and DuPont Circle.

I'd rather stay close to where I'm going out at night, even if it means I have to ride the train to get down to the tourist sites in the day. It's a short train ride anyway...maybe 10-15 minutes IIRC.

Forget about a crappy hotel breakfast whether they give it to you or not: get out of the hotel and go find a nice outdoor cafe for breakfast. :)

I used to live in Arlington, but I wouldn't recommend it for out-of-towners wanting a romantic weekend in DC. Don't get me wrong: I loved my time there (right at the Courtyard Metro station), but you guys are going to want to be in D.C. itself for the weekend. If you were talking about a full week with plans to drive out into Virginia (which would also be a great trip), then I might recommend VA...

Have a three night weekend in DC scheduled mid-August for a college visit with Travelexpert junior.

Am holding two reservations--almost identical rate ($110/night)--at Renaissance Du Pont Circle and Marriott Washington DC (NOT Wardman or Metro).

Which is a better choice for a Platinum?

Given that it will be Thursday to Sunday--will either have a lounge open throughout the weekend?

I prefer Ren DuPont out of those two.

I believe the latest intel is that no Washington D.C. area Marriotts regularly have a weekend lounge. I learned through Flyertalk that the JW Marriott, the previous lone wolf with a weekend lounge, doesn't keep theirs open anymore. :(

Spent 10+ years in DC . Would rec the Key Bridge MT for location and ease of getting in,out and around DC . Familiarize yourself with the Whitehurst Freeway

Neither is great, though the Ren is slightly better. Neither has a lounge open on the weekend, AFAIR.

That property might even have a $95 rate available. :) I've used it and it still seems to be valid on a lot of weekends. (Marriott Rewards rate, probably M11 or M12, and perfectly valid to use if it's available.)

They even gave me breakfast chits when I was there in December and I also love the location. I mean, DuPont is fun too...both are walking distance to tons of stuff...sort of a personal preference decision on which location you like better.

There's a residential neighborhood a block away if you need some legal overnight street parking.

Marriott at Washington Dulles Airport
 

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I rarely stay in any hotel that does not get at least four circles at Tripadvisor.com.

The Key Bridge Marriott gets only 3.5.

And rooms, according to reviews, are in need of refurbishment.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Virginia.html

It's not a luxury hotel by any means, but then again, neither are the Washington Marriott or Ren Dupont Circle.

As you can see from my profile, I work for Marriott. I am the Assistant Front Desk Manager for the Renaissance Downtown Hotel (on 9th St). I would love it if you stayed with us!! Please email me if you do decide to stay with us so I can put you up in a nice room. My email is: [email protected]. Have a good time in DC!

...And if you're screening for luxury hotels, I'd pick a different tool than Tripadvisor!! :eek:

Within the realm of $95-110 per night hotels, all of the choices listed so far are acceptable hotels. I've stayed in all of them. They're all decent mainline Marriott specimens. None are Motel 6. None are the Four Seasons.

It's just a matter of which 'hood you prefer for the weekend.

Yeah to me Tripadvisor is good if you want to know if a hotel has bed bugs or something. It's less useful for discerning luxury.

Marriott DC on 22nd & M at Foggy Bottom is a great location- walkable to DuPont or GTown or the White House or the Mall.

Stayed there over many weekends, including this past one. Always enjoyed the full breakfast buffet given to Plats.

No more. No lounge, no breakfast, no nothing for Plats anymore. The breakfast is still there, but now Plats must pay for even the "healthy start" (i.e., bagels, pastry, rolls, muffins) breakfast.

Had a discussion with them about this. They say their plats like the new policy, since it brings this property in line with the brand as a whole.

So if you do stay here on a weekend as a Plat, you now got that going for you.

Wow, that's some spin. Translated: Our plats prefer to be consistently screwed over from property to property. :D
Obviously, there's something added to the water in DC that allows such free-flowing BS to be recited with such ease.

LOL....I'm sure that's exactly how Platinum guests have described it. Pretty creative spin on the part of the hotel!!

"I'm so annoyed that this hotel continues to provide a Platinum benefit that they've always provided, even though most of the rest of the chain has taken it away. I'll be so much happier if they adopt the brand standard and stop giving me these breakfast certs." :p

**high-fives pinniped**