Arlington National Cemetery Burial-Family of 7
Oct 18th, 2009, 07:14 AM
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Arlington National Cemetery Burial-Family of 7
My father will be buried with full Military Honors at Arlington National Cemetery on 12/17/09. I need your help to select an airport for our arrival/departure, hotel, and restaurant for post memorial get together for those in attendance.
We will have four children, 13,15,17 and 20, who have never been to DC. We will spend the weekend being tourists so hotel location is critical.
Restaurant suggestions also appreciated.
Thank you.
We will have four children, 13,15,17 and 20, who have never been to DC. We will spend the weekend being tourists so hotel location is critical.
Restaurant suggestions also appreciated.
Thank you.
Oct 18th, 2009, 08:20 AM
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I did this for my father's burial at Arlington in 2003. It was incredibly moving. What worked for us was to use the Watergate hotel (!), which is actually a short (about 5 minutes) drive from Arlington. The hotel was lovely, they had a nice size private room off the restaurant for us, we had about 15 -20 people for lunch, and it wasn't that expensive, maybe $30 per person. They helped me with some flowers and putting up some pictures, they let us stay for hours, and the food was actually very good - my family is very into food, and every really liked it. Not sure if the management of the hotel is the same now, but it really worked well for us. My best wishes for you - I know how emotional this can be.
Oct 18th, 2009, 08:33 AM
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My Mother's funeral is at Arlington on Thursday. We have family and friends flying into all 3 major airports. We are in the pacific northwest, flying into Dulles. I agree with J62....DCA is much closer to the city but the fares for us in/out of Dulles were much better as were the schedules.
About a dozen of us are staying at the State Plaza Hotel on E & 21st Streets. http://www.stateplaza.com
I used to stay here on business and it's reasonable and close to the White House, the Lincoln, etc. We chose this hotel because it is so convenient to the sights (we'll have grandchildren, ages 6 & 9 with us). The rooms all have kitchens and the Watergate Safeway is nearby.
Right after the funeral, we're having a reception at the Ft. Myer Officers Club (arranged through a family member who is in the military). The evening of the funeral, our family is hosting a dinner for about 45 at Luigi's Restaurant on 19th between L & M. It will be in their upstairs banquet room. I haven't eaten there in about 3 years but they've been around for decades and the food has always been good so we're hoping it still is! The prices are reasonable and it seems family friendly. http://www.famousluigis.com
If you're interested in a White House tour, contact the office of one of your senators or congressman/woman. I was able to get tour tickets for our party of 7.
Good luck with your plans.
About a dozen of us are staying at the State Plaza Hotel on E & 21st Streets. http://www.stateplaza.com
I used to stay here on business and it's reasonable and close to the White House, the Lincoln, etc. We chose this hotel because it is so convenient to the sights (we'll have grandchildren, ages 6 & 9 with us). The rooms all have kitchens and the Watergate Safeway is nearby.
Right after the funeral, we're having a reception at the Ft. Myer Officers Club (arranged through a family member who is in the military). The evening of the funeral, our family is hosting a dinner for about 45 at Luigi's Restaurant on 19th between L & M. It will be in their upstairs banquet room. I haven't eaten there in about 3 years but they've been around for decades and the food has always been good so we're hoping it still is! The prices are reasonable and it seems family friendly. http://www.famousluigis.com
If you're interested in a White House tour, contact the office of one of your senators or congressman/woman. I was able to get tour tickets for our party of 7.
Good luck with your plans.
Oct 18th, 2009, 10:33 AM
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For the sake of convenience, I'd fly into DCA. Look at hotels in Crystal City or Pentagon City, both areas are an easy metro ride into DC. Lots of restaurants and shops near both.
Condolences to you both, mcmomx4 and daydreamin.
Condolences to you both, mcmomx4 and daydreamin.
Oct 20th, 2009, 08:26 PM
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My condolences to you and your family. Without knowing your budget, nor the size of your group beyond the family members you mention, some of my restaurant recommendations may not work, but I am thinking more in terms of convenience for a group.
I think that the airport you would want to use would wholly depend on price and ease of getting from your home airport, e.g. non-stop versus connecting flights. I don’t really want to advise on that.
As for hotels, I am generally an advocate of staying as close as you can to sights, and in the city rather than outside of it. You will spend less time getting TO sights and more time actually seeing things, esp as you only have a weekend, and it is a weekend right before Christmas which would tend to be busier and more crowded. You will be able to walk to many sights, use the Metro (subway) to get to others, or a taxi for slightly longer distances. You can also walk or use the Metro to get to restaurants. Therefore, I would first look at hotels in DC itself, esp in the area around the White House/Pennsylvania Ave (eastern end of this is sometimes called “Penn Quarter”) and DuPont Circle with Capitol Hill as an option as well.
If you have hotel points such as Marriott or Sheraton, I would first look at those, as both have hotels in those areas, including the Washington Marriott sitting right on a metro station or something like the Mayflower. Places like the Willard or the Hay-Adams would offer history and location, not sure if these are in your budget. The Watergate Hotel mentioned above is currently closed and is not reopening until late 2009 according to their own website, and isn’t even accepting reservations. Also look at tripadvisor.com where you can search by location and price and see reviews. As the trip is only two months away, you could look on Priceline and hotwire, I am sure people on this board could give you suggestions as to how to figure out the location of hotels by the descriptions, there are also websites devoted to the subject.
For the funeral, I am assuming you will be hiring a car service or van service rather than using the metro, although that is certainly an option as the Cemetery is a stop on the Blue line. (If you like a good walk, and it is not too cold, it is also walkable from the White House area, about 3 miles on the flat, and just across the river from someplace like the Lincoln Memorial.) A car service should be cheaper than renting a car, esp as you don’t need a car to tour DC and you most likely would have to pay for parking at the hotel. You can use a bus, van service, taxi or metro to get to airports depending on which airport you use; check the websites for each airport for public and private transport options.
For a meal after the service, you might consider something like the Old Ebbit Grill, which is right near the White House and has private rooms, see ebbit.com. A sister restaurant which they have in Georgetown is Clyde’s, and they have several other outlets, including the very good but more expensive, 1789, see http://www.clydes.com/main/index.cfm. These would offer a wide menu selection that would please most palates.
I also like the Tabard Inn a lot, they have private rooms as well, see http://www.tabardinn.com/. This is also a hotel.
Finally, take a look at the website for the Washingtonian Magazine at http://www.washingtonian.com/, which lots of people in DC use as their restaurant bible, and you can search by location, cuisine, price and “party space”
As you will be there so close to Christmas, there are bound to be special events going on, so check local listings. If you want to go to museums (e.g. Air and Space or Museum of the American Indian), I would try to do this on the Friday and avoid the weekend if you can, as they are bound to be more crowded then.
I think that the airport you would want to use would wholly depend on price and ease of getting from your home airport, e.g. non-stop versus connecting flights. I don’t really want to advise on that.
As for hotels, I am generally an advocate of staying as close as you can to sights, and in the city rather than outside of it. You will spend less time getting TO sights and more time actually seeing things, esp as you only have a weekend, and it is a weekend right before Christmas which would tend to be busier and more crowded. You will be able to walk to many sights, use the Metro (subway) to get to others, or a taxi for slightly longer distances. You can also walk or use the Metro to get to restaurants. Therefore, I would first look at hotels in DC itself, esp in the area around the White House/Pennsylvania Ave (eastern end of this is sometimes called “Penn Quarter”) and DuPont Circle with Capitol Hill as an option as well.
If you have hotel points such as Marriott or Sheraton, I would first look at those, as both have hotels in those areas, including the Washington Marriott sitting right on a metro station or something like the Mayflower. Places like the Willard or the Hay-Adams would offer history and location, not sure if these are in your budget. The Watergate Hotel mentioned above is currently closed and is not reopening until late 2009 according to their own website, and isn’t even accepting reservations. Also look at tripadvisor.com where you can search by location and price and see reviews. As the trip is only two months away, you could look on Priceline and hotwire, I am sure people on this board could give you suggestions as to how to figure out the location of hotels by the descriptions, there are also websites devoted to the subject.
For the funeral, I am assuming you will be hiring a car service or van service rather than using the metro, although that is certainly an option as the Cemetery is a stop on the Blue line. (If you like a good walk, and it is not too cold, it is also walkable from the White House area, about 3 miles on the flat, and just across the river from someplace like the Lincoln Memorial.) A car service should be cheaper than renting a car, esp as you don’t need a car to tour DC and you most likely would have to pay for parking at the hotel. You can use a bus, van service, taxi or metro to get to airports depending on which airport you use; check the websites for each airport for public and private transport options.
For a meal after the service, you might consider something like the Old Ebbit Grill, which is right near the White House and has private rooms, see ebbit.com. A sister restaurant which they have in Georgetown is Clyde’s, and they have several other outlets, including the very good but more expensive, 1789, see http://www.clydes.com/main/index.cfm. These would offer a wide menu selection that would please most palates.
I also like the Tabard Inn a lot, they have private rooms as well, see http://www.tabardinn.com/. This is also a hotel.
Finally, take a look at the website for the Washingtonian Magazine at http://www.washingtonian.com/, which lots of people in DC use as their restaurant bible, and you can search by location, cuisine, price and “party space”
As you will be there so close to Christmas, there are bound to be special events going on, so check local listings. If you want to go to museums (e.g. Air and Space or Museum of the American Indian), I would try to do this on the Friday and avoid the weekend if you can, as they are bound to be more crowded then.
Oct 23rd, 2009, 04:20 PM
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One of my family members is being buried at Arlington in a couple of weeks, so I'm familiar with the issues of making arrangements. I live here, which does make it easier for me.
Airport: National (DCA) is definitely most convenient.
Hotels: Depending on your budget, I'd either go with the Penn Quarter suggestions (Hotel Monaco is in a fabulously handy location for sightseeing) or Crystal City (the Marriott Crystal Gateway sits on top of the metro station; the Sheraton is very very slightly further; the Americana Motel is about a two-block walk and fairly basic but clean and fine according to friends who've recently stayed there). By the way, the Watergate Hotel is closed now.
Restaurants: Depends very much on how large a group you have. The suggestions above are excellent. There are no restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the cemetery, btw; you'll be getting in a car or subway to get there.
Transportation: For sightseeing, the hotel areas we're discussing will put you on Metro very easily, and that plus the occasional taxi will put you where you want to be. The funeral is another matter. My understanding for a graveside-only ceremony is that family gather at the reception center, and then the cars follow the hearse (all under the guidance of the funeral director provided by Arlington) to the graveside. Arlington is large. The gravesite could be distant. I don't know what if any provisions there are for people attending the funeral without cars. I'd suggest you call the cemetery for more details, or check their very comprehensive website.
Airport: National (DCA) is definitely most convenient.
Hotels: Depending on your budget, I'd either go with the Penn Quarter suggestions (Hotel Monaco is in a fabulously handy location for sightseeing) or Crystal City (the Marriott Crystal Gateway sits on top of the metro station; the Sheraton is very very slightly further; the Americana Motel is about a two-block walk and fairly basic but clean and fine according to friends who've recently stayed there). By the way, the Watergate Hotel is closed now.
Restaurants: Depends very much on how large a group you have. The suggestions above are excellent. There are no restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the cemetery, btw; you'll be getting in a car or subway to get there.
Transportation: For sightseeing, the hotel areas we're discussing will put you on Metro very easily, and that plus the occasional taxi will put you where you want to be. The funeral is another matter. My understanding for a graveside-only ceremony is that family gather at the reception center, and then the cars follow the hearse (all under the guidance of the funeral director provided by Arlington) to the graveside. Arlington is large. The gravesite could be distant. I don't know what if any provisions there are for people attending the funeral without cars. I'd suggest you call the cemetery for more details, or check their very comprehensive website.
Oct 26th, 2009, 05:57 PM
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mcmomx4....
I wanted to let you know that our Mother's service went off beautifully last week and how pleased we were with our arrangements (see my earlier post for specifics).
We started with a service at the Old Chapel at Ft Myer. Security to get onto that Army post took about 10 minutes. We had originally rented a large SUV for the day of the funeral; however, when we went to make pickup arrangements, there was no reservation and no large SUV available! Rather than look for another car rental, I talked to the front desk of our hotel, the State Plaza, and they arranged the use of their two Town Cars that got our party to the chapel and from there, our guests with cars took care of us and got us to the gravesite and back to the Officers Club for the reception and back to our hotel. We grew up in northern Virginia so we had numerous family and friends with vehicles so that helped. If you don't have people coming with their own cars, then I'd definitely recommend a car service or a cab. If your father's funeral is grave side only and does not involve the chapel at Ft Myer, they will probably allow the cab into the cemetary for the duration of the service. You can contact the cemetary for all those details, just google Arlington National Cemetary for the phone number.
The reception at the Officers Club and especially the dinner at Luigi's were just as we had hoped. For the dinner, we wanted a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with good food and good service and that is what we got at Luigi's. We especially liked that we had the entire upstairs for the evening. It fit our party of about 45 well and we had it for the whole evening (meaning, we were not at all rushed) so that was very nice.
As to hotels, I agree with one of the posters above in that I much prefer staying in DC and close to the sights. You have limited time to see the sights and being in the city is much more convenient than spending time on the metro just getting to the city.
Hope this helps!
I wanted to let you know that our Mother's service went off beautifully last week and how pleased we were with our arrangements (see my earlier post for specifics).
We started with a service at the Old Chapel at Ft Myer. Security to get onto that Army post took about 10 minutes. We had originally rented a large SUV for the day of the funeral; however, when we went to make pickup arrangements, there was no reservation and no large SUV available! Rather than look for another car rental, I talked to the front desk of our hotel, the State Plaza, and they arranged the use of their two Town Cars that got our party to the chapel and from there, our guests with cars took care of us and got us to the gravesite and back to the Officers Club for the reception and back to our hotel. We grew up in northern Virginia so we had numerous family and friends with vehicles so that helped. If you don't have people coming with their own cars, then I'd definitely recommend a car service or a cab. If your father's funeral is grave side only and does not involve the chapel at Ft Myer, they will probably allow the cab into the cemetary for the duration of the service. You can contact the cemetary for all those details, just google Arlington National Cemetary for the phone number.
The reception at the Officers Club and especially the dinner at Luigi's were just as we had hoped. For the dinner, we wanted a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with good food and good service and that is what we got at Luigi's. We especially liked that we had the entire upstairs for the evening. It fit our party of about 45 well and we had it for the whole evening (meaning, we were not at all rushed) so that was very nice.
As to hotels, I agree with one of the posters above in that I much prefer staying in DC and close to the sights. You have limited time to see the sights and being in the city is much more convenient than spending time on the metro just getting to the city.
Hope this helps!
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