Hi everyone,

I will be stopping over in Washington for one day on the way to Europe, first visit. I will arrive early afternoon and leave early afternoon the next day so I'm looking forward to a stroll around the city and seeing some of the famous sites. ^

I did a search and found a useful thread on things to do and places to stay in DC but which hotel/area would you particularly recommend in my situation? I obviously have very little time so would like to be close to the main sites.

Any airport-city travel tips?

Thanks !

There are so many main sights in DC. If by main sights you mean the monuments and memorials, the easiest way to do them all in the shortest amount of time possible is by Tourmobile. In that case, any hotel near the White House (downtown area), Chinatown area or Union Station would suffice. Take your pick depending on which chain you are affiliated with (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood, etc.). Note that Metro would only get you so far as there is only one station on the mall (Smithsonian) and it is smack in the middle which means a multi-mile walk from one end to the other.

If you want to splurge, the Mandarin Oriental is close to the Jefferson Memorial which in turn is a short walk from FDR, onwards to Lincoln/Vietnam/Korea and then down the Mall to the Washington Monument/WWII/White House which puts you near the Smithsonian Metro station. It's quite a circuit and involves a lot of walking (not recommended in winter, especially today!) but you'll see a lot and the vistas are incredible (from Lincoln, WWII and especially from the top of the Washington Monument). Caution: there are zero things to do around the MO at night. If you want to see the Capitol, take a taxi to the back side where the Library of Congress/Supreme Court are and then walk around the Capitol to the front where you have another sweeping vista of the Mall. If you are interested in museums, venture down the Mall from here to Air and Space, the new American Indian Museum, National Gallery of Art, etc.

If you stay in the Chinatown area (Hotel Monaco comes to mind), there are lots of shops and restaurants for after dark entertainment (all museums close at 5ish) and you are one or two Metro stops away from the White House, the Capitol and the Smithsonian museums on the Mall (although once you exit the respective Metro stations, it is a long walk to all of the above). If the weather is pleasant, all the monuments (Jefferson, FDR, Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea, WWII, etc.) are beautifully lit at night and some of them are even better then (my personal fav is FDR) unless you want to take pictures which means daytime is better.

Considering that your layover is short, the least time-consuming and most convenient way to get from IAD to downtown DC is by taxi (30-45min ride but could be up to an hour depending on traffic, $45-55 excl. tip). For a cheaper alternative, there is a public bus (5A?) from IAD to downtown for $2 (I think). Slightly more expensive is the Washington Flyer Bus ($8) to West Falls Church Metro which is then a 30min subway ride ($3?) to the city. From DCA, the Metro is a no-brainer. If you'd prefer, a taxi from DCA to downtown is $20 (or less).

I'd do hotwire, whitehouse, capitol hill or dupont circle. Priceline has similar.

Do not go south of the mall.

IAD to downtown has been pretty well flogged. Check prior posts, and in wash dc in community.

Thanks people, that is really very helpful information. I'll try and Priceline something, probably in Whitehouse or Capitol Hill. I'll be staying a Saturday night and I read in another post that it's fairly easy to get a nice 4* hotel for a decent price.
(why doesn't Priceline have 5* hotels in DC? Or at least, they are not listed on biddingfortravel.com).

It'll be great!

I recently stayed at the MO - see my review in the Luxury Hotels Forum. Location is not great, but not bad either. I definately reccomend it. Also, I believe they have pretty reasonable weekend rates - around 240 per night. They also have promotions going (the Chinese New Year comes to mind).

Have fun

Several years ago, I had a number of very good experiences at the Loew's hotel, which is a few blocks South of the mall. Loew's has a metro stop under it which directly connects to DCA (but you're probably flying out of IAD). However, the convenience of the metro makes it easy to get back to the hotel, so that you could check your luggage the morning you are leaving, have some time to walk around, and then use the metro to get back to your hotel to collect your luggage and get to the airport. In any case, I suggest staying at a hotel close to a metro so that you can use it to cut some travel time in the city, although taxis are fairly reasonable.

Some of the hotel chains (Marriott comes to mind) list better weekend rates on their websites than on the general travel sites. DC is a suitcase city and, unless there is an event that weekend like the Cherry Blossom, weekend deals will likely be plentiful.

Thanks for the tips TRRed!

I was hoping to Priceline something - biddingfortravel shows rather low prices ($65) especially on the weekends.

I got the Grand Hyatt via Hotwire a couple years ago

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134978

At a very good price

just b/c of HH I checked for hotels around DC (as all in city hotels for the time I need seems to be booked of slightly more than the companytravel budget) I foulnd the Lago Hampton Inn.

Any good or bad remarks?
Is it really close to the metor station as they say it is?

Thanks,
DLH

I don't think you want to do that unless you have business at FedEx field or the like. The metro is nearby, but I do not think it is within walking distance. It will take close to an hour to get to downtown by subway. There are no restaurants, other than fast food around there. Do not walk around in that neighborhood.

I have never been to that exact location, but shop within a 1/2 mile.

I'm sure you mean Largo Hampton. This is NOT a place you want to stay.