First time to DC, 3 hotel all with very good rate. We only have 2 days and want to concentrate on the Smithsonian.

Jefferson Hotel 119$+tax per night (non-refundable)
Hotel George 129$+tax (w/continental breakfast)24hr cancellation.
Hotel Monaco 139$+tax (w/cont. breakfast & parking)24hr cancellation.

Thanks!

Cindy

Those are pretty good rates for those hotels (particularly the Monaco), for most days and dates, I would think. Where did the rates come from? And for what dates? I'm always curious (see the other thread below about GWU graduation).

What are you looking for here? Best location? Best hotel of the three? To me, the best location of those three to be in for Smithsonian is probably the Monaco. It's just a couple blocks off the mall and roughly midway between the Capitol and Washington Monument. The George is down by the Capitol end, which is okay, but less stuff going on at night really. The Jefferson is several blocks farther north of the Mall and several west of the Monaco, a few blocks directly north of the White House (which is itself set back off the Mall). That area is also a bit uphill from the Mall, really. The main redeeming thing about being up there is you'd be closer to the Dupont Circle area if you wanted to do stuff there at night. The area around the Monaco would be in-between for nighttime stuff. It's in the MCI Center area and near Chinatown. There would at least be some restaurants and such around, though not as much choice as Dupont.

Of the three I'd pick the Monaco, even at 20 bucks more. It's the best located for your sights and probably just a bit more upscale than the other two. But then I don't care about what's going on in the area in the evening for the most part. As long as there's a restaurant somewhere not in the hotel, I'm good. I won't speak too much to actual feel of the hotels because I haven't stayed in any of them.

If you're not married to one of those three choices, make sure you've checked QuikBook and Captiol Reservations (just add a .com to get to their web sites) for your dates to see if there's anything else interesting at those rates or less. Also, given the variance in locations you're considering, you might want to try Priceline bidding. Cutting that rate another 50 bucks for a 4* level hotel would not be outside the realm of possiblity if your stay is in the winter (which I'm guessing it is given those rates). Try BetterBidding.com for tips.

Thanks CrazyOne.

I am going this weekend. Jefferson rate I got directly from their website.

The rest is from the Washing DC convention and tourisum website. The special rate is call homecoming.

We are flying into DC very late at night (11:30pm). Do you know which area is the safest?

Thank you for all your help!

At first I was leaning toward Jefferson because it was suppose to be a historic hotel, but Monaco room will come with a gold fish .

Cindy

Eh, they should all be as safe as any downtown would be. Not a lot of walking traffic likely next to the Jefferson or Monaco, as a lot of that is business sort of area that's mostly empty at night/weekend. The George might be marginally less "safe" given its location near Union Station, but I don't think it's truly worth worrying about. I've walked around these areas of NW DC at night without worrying.

If you're flying into DCA (Reagan National) and planning to use the Metro, make sure you check on the last run times. If your flight is a little late at all, you might be looking at a cab instead. Metro shuts down around 12:30-1am as I recall.

The streets around the Monaco are usually busy at night = relatively safe. You are close to the MCI Center, the Spy Museum and some exellent restaurants. I particularly like Jaleo (tapas) and Zaytinya (turkish/mediterranean) -- both are within a few blocks of your hotel.
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13F

Thanks everyone!

We are going to take a cab to the hotel for sure. Don't want to try out the metro in the middle of the night.

I guess we will book the Monaco hotel today

I've never stayed at any of the 3, but have been in the Jefferson and the Monaco. I'd go Monaco too. For the reasons noted above, plus it is very metro accessable. I think you have a bit of a walk from the Jefferson. George is also near the metro, but is in a less desirable part of town than the Monaco.

I agree with taking a taxi, but the metro is safe, even late at night. I don't know anyone who has been mugged or anything on the metro.

Oh, I am very sure the metro is very safe because of all the security camera and such. I don't think husand and I are awake enough to navigate the metro system after the long day flight.

By the way, is there any way to tour the white house? I guess not last minutes notice, right?

Cindy

Yeah, far as I know there is no way to tour the White House at last minute. There is a visitor center for the White House you can check out, though.

You can tour the Capitol at the last minute if you line up on Saturday morning, looks like. http://www.aoc.gov/cc/visit/index.cfm

Mail somewhere between 10 & 100 grand to the RNC.

Do a mil, and you can sleep there, and get an ambassadorship thrown in.

Good choice. And the rate you got is fantastic! The Gallery Pl/Chinatown area is bustling day or night. Plus, lots of good restaurants - Jaleo, Zaytinya, Zola, IndeBleu... And you're blocks from the Mall, or you can take the Metro one stop if you prefer.

Speaking of Metro, the system is open till 3am (last train slightly before) on Friday and Saturday nights. Have a great weekend in DC!

Thanks everyone.

I will request for my gold fish at Hotel Monaco and do a trip report when I come back.

Cindy

The Metro system in Washington is very safe. They make a big deal on the news in Washington when any violent crime takes place in the system, because it is so rare. I think the last one I heard about was a year ago, in a part of the city a tourise would never venture to.

That said, walking to and from the Metro system may not be so safe. Before the opening of the MCI center (and the Monaco and many restaurants aound the same time), I would have said that the area around the Monaco was not very safe, but that neighborhood has really turned around. The are around the Jefferson is OK but would be really empty at night. I would be most concerned about the area around the George but we are still talking about a relatively safe area unless you are out late at night alone.

The only way to tour the White House is to go though a Congressional Office, either House or Senate. Call your Congressman's DC office and ask them about it; the official company line tends to be 6 months but an uncle was able to get a tour with a few weeks notice. If there is time you will need to submit your and anyone who will tour with you's SSN for a USSS background check, they if clear you then you can go on the tour.

If you plan on touring the Capitol do this through your member as the tour will be much smaller and you will not have to wait in line at some ungodly hour for time stamped tickets and you will be able to move much more at your own pace. Trust me on this one as I used to lead tours when I worked on the Hill. These tours can usually be arranged with just a few days notice as there are almost always interns around.

If you have any other questions about anything please don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Enjoy your trip.