Bardo's suggestion would be a HUGE improvement in terms of safety and convenience.

I think people are overstating the safety issue on that unit on Bates Street. I think it is perfectly safe and the walk from the Metro would be fine. It's not like Colummbia Heights doesn't have a crime problem.

Convenience is a bigger concern about the Bates Street house. Although I like that neighborhood--and know people who live there--it is not convenient for tourists.

No, Columbia Heights isn't perfect but it is better than Florida and North Capitol. My guess is that OP is from the UK because she (he?) uses the word, "flat." If the group that is traveling is not used to a very urban area and the kind of instinctive safety precautions that we take, then Bates is not a good option for SAFETY reasons. I agree it isn't convenient for tourists.

artsbabe: nope not from UK we are from CA. We are just bringing kids & want to make sure we are staying someplace safe but can also access a grocery store to cook, hit the sights in relative ease & go out at night in the neighborhood we stay in. I am gathering the Bates location & the other location are not as condusive to this.

Is there a consensus that this location is ideal for what I listed above? http://www.flipkey.com/properties/vi...g+sightseeing/

again thank you all for the great help!

This is the address of the location above: 1466 Harvard Street Northwest.

Hi MikeT: Sounds like you are pretty familar with the 40 Bates location. We have a group of 6 adults and 2 kids. We do not have a rental car so were hoping there were unique/fun places to eat within walking distance. We understand this is a neighborhood and not a touristy area but need to know if we are way off base on this expectaion. Will we need to take taxi/bus just to get a good meal or are we OK. Not much showing up on Yelp for eating,grocery ....etc.

Others please feel free to comment if familar with this area.
Thanks.

Ah, well. That's what I get for guessing.... CA, okay. I would characterize the Harvard Street location as okay for what you want to do. Not ideal, I would say, but much better than the other options.

I agree it is not ideal for tourists. Columbia Heights would be much more convenient in terms of places to eat, access to transportation, etc. My only point is that it isn't as unsafe as some are suggesting.

I concur. 1466 Harvard isn't "perfect" but it's the best available I've seen on this thread so far and, importantly, pretty safe and convenient to Metro. As you may have gathered, you are coming to DC at a VERY popular time. I'm guessing that's why so many other apartments are already rented.

My suggestion is to put a deposit down and grab it. If you decide to, I and others can give you a lot of suggestions for eating and shopping in the area.

Thank you All. Bardo1, I will take you up on that if we are able to book it.

If your son is interested in WWII, then you need to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps located in Quantico, Virginia which is about a 45 minute drive from D.C. They have an entire gallery of the museum devoted just to World War II (including the flag that flew over Iwo Jima) plus there are other WWII items of interest in the museum.
You really would need to rent a car to get to Quantico, but I would suggest that you rent a car for a day so that you can visit both there and Mt. Vernon. (Mt. Vernon can be reached by a combination of subway and bus, but it's so much easier to get there with a car.) Mt. Vernon is open from 8-5 in April and the USMC Museum is open from 9-5 daily. If you are willing to get an early start, you should be able to visit both in a day.
For details, see: www.usmcmuseum.org
www.mountvernon.org

Also, as already mentioned, your son will want to visit the WWII Memorial and there is a gallery on WWII Aviation at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum on the Mall. (There's one at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center as well, but that would require getting out to its location near Dulles Airport.)

longhorn55: thank you very much. I told my son what you suggested & he is very excited.

Quantico is about 1/3 of the way between DC and Williamsburg - and, it's right on the way.

If you decide to see it, it may make more to do it that way rather than going there and driving all the way back to DC.

Maybe checking out of apartment in the morning, subway to DCA airport to get car, stopping at Mt. Vernon, continue to Quantico for Marine Museum, lunch, and continue drive to Williamsburg. All are in a pretty straight line heading south.

Thank you bardo1. We may have access to a car rental place near home if the group decides to go that direction. Mt Vernon is on the list of places to visit, Willamsburg would be great too.

Here's a site that might be of interest:

http://tinyurl.com/nrte9v

for those of you who helped with our lodgigng issues, I wanted you to know we secured a new location in a bit of a better area. thank you all again for the great ideas.
If anyone has recomendations for great places to eat in the area of 14th Street & Harvard St NW.
thank you all.

All of the restaurants near you are about 2-3 blocks north of you, many clustered near 14th & Irving St. NW:

The three best of them are:
A gastropub (and perfectly suitable for teens):
http://commonwealthgastropub.com/index.htm

A serious gourmet pizza:
http://commonwealthgastropub.com/index.htm

And another restaurant/pub (closer to 14th & Kenyon St.):
http://www.theheightsdc.com/

Also in the area (the neighborhood is called Columbia Heights):

A real coffee shop with lite fare http://tynancoffeeandtea.com/
1400 Irving St NW
or the Starbucks, if you must, 3107 14th Street, NW

A Bakery http://www.stickyfingersbakery.com/1370 Park Road NW

and a slew of chains:

Potbelly (sandwiches, soups, salads) 1400 Irving Street NW
Five Guys (great burgers) 1400 Irving St NW
Chipolte Mexican Grille 3113 14th St., NW
I-Hop 3100 14th St NW
Rita's Frozen Custard 3229 14th Street NW
Julia's Empanadas 3239 14th St NW

...and a SERIOUSLY GOOD chain - 3229 14th Street NW:
http://www.campero.com/ Best fried chicken around

There's probably enough right in Columbia Heights to keep your group fed for a week (especially since you'll have a kitchen - there's a Giant Food grocery story at 14th & Park Rd), but some other neighborhoods with restaurants that are an easy walk from you are:

Mount Pleasant - Especially Mount Pleasant St. between Irving St. and Park Rd.

Adams Morgan - Especially 18th St. Between Kalorama Rd. and Columbia Rd. A bit more of a walk - maybe a taxi?

You are also about two blocks from the Columbia Heights Metro station (it's at 14th & Irving). From there you can take the GREEN LINE (and sometimes the yellow line) to many neighborhoods with a ton more choices:

U Street Station (1 Metro stop away) -
http://www.vinotecadc.com/
http://www.marvindc.com/
http://www.dukemrestaurant.com/ (highly recommended)
http://www.bensnextdoor.com/
http://www.benschilibowl.com
http://www.alcrostino.com/
http://www.bistrolabonne.com/

Gallery Place/Chinatown (4 stops away) -
Too many too list! Ground zero for restaurants in DC.


Here's a metro map - http://www.stationmasters.com/System...ystem_map.html

Whew! So glad you moved, you were in a veritable wasteland before! Now you are near a Metro and several good restaurants. First however, a few tips for sights, mostly ones that will not be so crowded (Cherry Blossom Festival is a very crowded time in DC). Most visitors go to the museums along the Mall, and they are wonderful, but during high tourist traffic times they are also very crowded. There are many equally wonderful museums in other parts of town. Some good ones for the WWII buff:

1. National Museum of the US Navy (http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org8-1.htm) Fascinating exhibits, lots of interactive stuff.

2. National Museum of Health and Medicine (http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/) This museum is located on the campus of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I highly recommend it both because the Museum is really fun and interesting (they have great permenent exhibits on battlefield medicine and medical technology through the ages, as well as artifacts like the bullet that killed Lincoln and General Sickel's leg from the Civil War), but also because Walter Reed is being closed sometime in 2011 and it's a good idea to visit the campus while you can. It's truly lovely. Call first to make sure they are still open, but if they are then definitely go.

3. US Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/). While it's free, it would be best to order tickets in advance online (there is a link on the USHMM website). Tickets are free but there is a service charge. Try to get tickets for early in the day as the museum gets very crowded.

Restaurants near where you will be staying:

1. The Heights (http://www.theheightsdc.com/) Fun - if noisy - atmosphere, and really good food.
2. Five Guys (http://www.fiveguys.com/home.aspx) Great burgers and fries - but only burgers and fries - and hot dogs.

Restaurants for celebrity watching:

1. Cafe Milano in Georgetown (http://www.cafemilano.com) - over rated and over priced, but very trendy.
2. Georgia Browns in McPherson Square (http://www.gbrowns.com) - a favorite with local pols
3. Any of the Jose Andres restaurants (Jaleo, Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinia, Mini Bar. All very good, and all very trendy.

One suggestion regarding restaurants, especially those downtown - you can't go wrong by making your reservations now, as the closer you get to Cherry Blossoms the less likelyhood of finding anything available.

As for shopping - it all depends on what she likes to shop for! For really high end fun shops I like to go to the Friendship Heights area (Metro Redline Stop: Friendship Heights). One Metro stop up from there is Bethesda, also good for shopping and entertainment and restaurants. For downtown I like anything around Gallery Place or Metro Center. If your basic shopping mall is in order, Tyson's Corner is huge and amazing, but not metro-accessible. Pentagon City, however, has a Metro right there. And, there is shopping near where you are staying, although it's mostly chain stuff.

Finally, to figure out how to get around, go to www.wmata.com and use the Metro Trip Planner. It will give you routes by bus, metro and both. And I do recommend getting a Smart Trip Card, even though they cost $5 each, the savings in time and aggravation is worth it. And they work for both bus and metro.

Hope this helps.

Bardo1: as my teenage son would say "you rock" thank you so much for the help. I love Foders because of people like you. I am going over your links & will share with our group. Aagain thank you.

Fkranzberg: thank you to you also. You gave me tons of stuff to look into that will make this trip fantastic. So appreciative!

Happy to help.

Correction to the #2 listing - I accidentally repeated the Commonwealth link:

http://petesapizza.com/columbia_heights.html