Washington DC hotel recomendations

[Lathum]

OK, lets hope I don't end up in East St. Louis

Going to take the family to DC for a few days in July, likely a Sunday night through Wed or Thursday. Decided to stop there on a trip back from NJ. We will have our car with us. Will be my wife,3 year old son, and a newborn. Would like to stay somewhere close to attractions. Monuments, Smithsonian, etc...

Would also love some recommendations on what the 3 year old would like most. Price isn't a huge deal,would rather pay a little more to stay close, as driving places could be a pain with the kids.

Any feedback is helpful

[Coffee Warlord]

Hotel George — Hotels Near Union Station, Washington, DC - a Kimpton Boutique Hotel

We stayed there when we went. Right in the thick of things, but still quiet in the evenings. You'll have to drive for food, is the only thing there.

Actually. I'm retracting this with kids. The rooms are too small. BUT...good place for couples if you wanna be smack dab on top of the sites.

[BigDPW]

My family took a trip to DC for spring break in March/April and enjoyed it we stayed at the Embassy Suites Convention Center (Washington DC Convention Center Hotels - Embassy Suites Washington DC) and enjoyed it. You could walk to the national mall from there but was a bit far so we generally took the metro a stop or two to get closer to where we wanted to go. We really enjoyed this hotel and the fact that we had a separate living area to hang out in after we put the kids to bed. We also enjoyed the amazing free breakfast with made to order omlettes. They also have a free "managers reception" every evening where we would get the kids some snacks after a long day out and about. Our typical day was breakfast at the hotel and then head out - eat lunch while we were out - after a long day exploring we would get back get some snacks from the managers reception to take to the room so the kids could wind down and watch a little nickjr and then we would eat sandwiches we made in the room from groceries we brought in for dinner. This worked out pretty well and if we would have wanted to eat dinner out there were tons of places to eat right around the Embassy Suites.

There was a hotel I wanted to stay at that had a better location (Hilton Garden Inn - Hotels in Downtown Washington DC - Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC) but it was booked at the time for any rooms that would have accommodated us well for a reasonable price. Apparently it is right around the corner from the White House and very close to the national mall.

The metro wasn't a hassle at all with our kids (4 and 6) and I think that may have been one of the more exciting things they did on the trip (despite doing the smithsonians, national mall, national zoo, and nationals opening day game).

Hope this helps. Have a great time.

[BigDPW]

(DOLA)

I will add a couple more recommendations since you mentioned your 3 year old:

National Children's Museum (National Children's Museum) - we have not been but it seems to be geared toward younger children - from downtown it will be a metro ride or car ride south of town.

Smithsonian Natural History Museum (Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History NMNH) - probably the thing your 3 year old would enjoy the most that we did. I enjoyed the Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum) as well but if I had to choose one for a 3 year old would opt for the Natural History one. If you can do both I would

The National Zoo (Smithsonian's National Zoo) - if the weather is good this is a great zoo for free. This is a metro ride northwest from downtown and about a 1/4 mile walk but we did it with a stroller for the 4 year old and enjoyed it a ton.

[Super Ugly]

My girlfriend and I just got back from the US, and we enjoyed a short a stay in DC. I can recommend the Georgetown Suites hotel. It's a 25-minute walk from the Mall, which was fine for us but may be a little far for you ...? Georgetown's really nice though, and has a ton of restaurants.

I second the Air and Space Museum. Very family-friendly.

[sooner333]

I'm staying at the Melrose next weekend for a wedding. Any ideas of what this is like?

[EagleFan]

We stayed at The Madison two years ago which is about 4 blocks away from the White House and it was okay, though not great in my eyes.

Last year we stayed at a Marriot which is about a block away from the White House and within easy walking distance of all the major attractions. Would go back there again, will probably try to get in there when we go this year.

Not sure on the recommendations for a 3 year old though.

[Hammer755]

Based on my experiences, I would recommend staying in Arlington. The last time I went to DC with some friends, we got a great deal through Priceline at the Hotel Palomar (which now appears to be a different chain). From Arlington, you have a couple of options to see the city. You can either catch the Metro, which is really easy to use even for out-of-towners, and take it downtown, or you can drive to the National Cemetery and catch the Tourmobile, which is a hop on/off bus that travels a convenient route to most of the monuments/museums. The only monument not on the Tourmobile route is the Iwo Jima Memorial, which is also located in ... Arlington.

This information is circa 2009, so some of it may be dated.

[Izulde]

Yeah, the DC metro is one of the easiest to use subway systems I've ever been on.

No hotel recommendations, though.