Baltimore vs Ocean City vs DC
 

Hey gang! Me again...just wondering....

BF and I were thinking of getting away for Valentine's weekend (3 day weekend for both of us! Yay!) and were debating between Baltimore, Ocean City, MD, and Washington DC. Both of us have been to DC (briefly, and he went when he was young), however neither of us have been to the other 2 cities.

Which one would prove to be a more romantic weekend with better options on restaurants? We want to have a 4 hr driving limit from NYC, and heading north was not in the equation, although we did consider CT. We also would prefer a hotel over a B&B on this trip. Any suggestions would be appreciated (including restaurants since I'm a seafood chick and he's a meat and potatoes guy! LOL)

I would go with Baltimore -- lots to do year round, where as Ocean City is mostly a summer resort.

My favorite Italian restaurant in Little Italy is Amiccis.com. Their pane rotundo, bread covered with shrimp in a creamy sauce, is the best. It's walking distance from the Inner Harbor.

Lots of bars & restaurants in Fells Point. You've gotta stop by Bertha's and "Eat Bertha's Mussels." They're the best.

A great Irish Pub near one of the Marriotts is James Joyce's.

If you haven't made reservations for some restaurant for Valentine's Day, you may be out of luck. Enjoy whatever you decide on. ((b))

While I haven't been to Baltimore before, Ocean City is definitely a summertime place. There's the boardwalk on the beach, carnivals, hotels on the beach... most everything revolves around the beach and swimming. I don't think it would be much fun in February. Plus as budman said, there's lots to do in Baltimore...

Have fun!

I agree... I live in DC and just to get out, we're going to B-more, but my bf had a hard time finding reservations a decent hotel and restaruant THREE WEEKS AGO!! you might seriously be out of luck.

If you haven't been to DC in a while, I recommend coming here... there's plenty to do and i can recommend some of our favorite restaraunts. My understanding is that DC offers more hotels as well, so you might have an easier time finding one for a reasonable rate.

If you give me more of an idea of exactly what you're looking for, I can maybe give you some more advice...how much are you looking to spend on hotel?? for dinner???

I know there's still availability in DC, I was just there in November and know my way around at least via walking or the Metro!

Price range on a hotel was no more than $150 and restaurants in the inexpensive to moderate range. Neither of us is the museum or theater type, although I did check out a lot of museums when I went to DC, and planned on doing more when I came back. Even harder is neither one of us drinks.

The only other options we had was VA or CT, but VA would encompass a longer drive and he's been to CT a dozen times.

If he's already been to CT a bunch of times, why go back?? And as you probably already know, to get anywhere outside of the DC area that's relatively populated in VA is AT LEAST an hour and half from here... so I wouldn't recommend that, unless maybe you considered williamsburg.

Other DC stuff: As far as hotels are concerned, I've had friends and family stay at the following:
The Melrose Hotel (which they said was really amazing, I think they offer really nice suites for reasonable prices), St. Gregory, Topaz and Hotel Gregory... that might give you a good idea of where to start. I've also heard good things about the Kalorama Inn.

Our favorite place(s) are: Jaleo (which serves traditional Spanish tapas) and the melting pot (fondue) and lariol plaza (mexican)

Even if you're not into museums and drinking, i'm sure there's plenty that you can get yourself into...concerts, walking through georgetown, etc.

No matter what you decide, I hope you have a very nice valentine's day.

*IF* you can get a place to stay in the Harbor area of Baltimore, then I heartily recommend going there for a romantic weekend. Just wandering that part of town can be a nice experience, with lots to do, see, buy, and eat. Take a harbor cruise at sunset and you'll rush back to your bedroom! ;^)

Argh!! This is what happens when you cook up a traveling scheme last minute on major holidays!

Pretty much everything in Baltimore is booked, at least on Valentine's Day. I don't see the point of switching hotels in the middle of a 3 day stay! So I guess we're off to DC. On that note....

Last hotel I stayed at was the Omni Shoreham. I had people recommend staying in Alexandria, Arlington or Crystal City to avoid the high parking fees most DC hotels have. Which one would you recommend?

I wouldn't stay outside D.C. just to avoid the parking $$ in D.C. hotels. BUt that's me, and maybe you are on a stricter budget. Old Town Alexandria is nice to stroll in for a half day, there's a Hilton there, and it is a 15 min drive to D.C., right along the Potomac River. But if you stay there you might end up spending more time in Old Town Alexandria and less in D.C... I'd spring for a D.C. hotel if it was me and if I could afford it. Of course, if you stay in Old Town you could drive down the Potomac River and visit Mount Vernon, the real George W's House. Adn there's the Torpedo Factory art center to stroll and browse and buy in in Old Town. I better sign off as I am now convincing myself that Old Town might actually be a fun weekend...
P.S. If you stay in Old Town definintely have dinner at Stardust. It is a wonderful find, a bit off the path but very good. Check their website for menu.

Have you considered Philadelphia? There's lots to do there. They have a special offer if you stay over the weekend you get one night free with hotel parking included. www.gophila.com has more information.

I agree, you might want to consider Philadelphia if you're not a big fan of heading to DC. Sorry that Baltimore didn't work out for you :(

Another hotel related suggestion that I have is to maybe check Orbitz, I've found their hotel search to be really helpful w/ good descriptions on the rooms, ammenities as well as map that lets you know where the hotel is.

Hi

I know I'm getting in this a little late but if you want to fly into BWI you could consider Annapolis MD or St Michaels MD. Both are great for a short visit and can be kind of romantic.

Thanks for the suggestions....I brought up Philly to him in the beginning and he shot it down (yet this is the man who tells me, I don't care where we go, honey!)

Flying wasn't an option, either, that would put another $100 dent in our pockets! Right now I have the Hilton Arlington and the Hilton Garden Inn at Arlington reserved. Both have Metro access, so I figure we're sticking with DC. Now I gotta call my favorite restaurant for reservations, unless you have ideas, travelbug! :-)

Well if it's DC then have a ball!

Check out the Spy Museum.

I know its not on the list, but I'd choose Cape May, NJ over Ocean City MD. for a romantic weekend, and its a shorter drive too! Lots of beuatiful victorian houses by the sea, and great restaurants too- will be quiet in the off-season, but I may be more crowded on V-day weekend. Hotel Macomber and Congress Hall are pictureque, historic and on the ocean.

I lived in Arlington for a short time, so maybe I can think of something that's close...If you take the metro to Clarendon there's a BUNCH of amazing restaraunts. Some of my personal favorites are the greek taverna and the queen bee. Both very moderately priced restaraunts. For something a bit more upscale, you might want to try Tom Serris (i dunno if i spelled that right) which is a steakhouse (that has WAY more than steak) and is located in Rosslyn (also very metro accessible); I believe cafe asia's also in the area.

If you're interested in going to DC, there are two very good seafood restaruants in georgetown (tony and joes and sequoia's), there's also legal seafoods right downtown by the MCI center (you might also want to see what's going on there the weekend you're in town...you never know). The district chophouse and angelo and maxies are also very close and very good. I'd say they're a little expensive, but WELL worth it.

Further north, there are LOTS AND LOTS of places to eat in and around bethesda.

be sure to send us a trip report. Hope this helps!!!

missjanna, just a thought: Downtown Ellicott City, just south of Baltimore, is a lovely, lovely restored old town (when booking, however, don't get lured into all the standard chain motels out in the rest of the "town" which is just an extension of Columbia arranged around all the highways out that way). There is an excellent French restaurant there (somebody help with the name, please) and it's a pleasure to putter around. Whether you stay in Baltimore or DC, it's worth a leisurely day there.

But and also: What about Annapolis?

I spent my honeymoon in Annapolis. Fun for ducking into shops (unusual boutique shops, antiques), walking, eating, good atmosphere. Bundle up as it is breezy and cold right on the water. Love McGarvey's on the dock for fun and seafood, but there are many other places to duck into. B&Bs galore but there is also a chain hotel close to the state house (used to be a Loews, not sure what it is now) and Marriott right on the water at the dock. Downtown state capitol area and dock area are good for walking and small enough to feel cozy for a weekend.

Thanks for the replies, and the other suggestions, however we're sticking with DC, and NJ was never even a consideration for either of us!! (We BOTH said no on that one!) Also, we're not into seeing old victorian homes or antique shops. (He's 30, I'm 29, maybe we're too young to have an appreciation right now!)

Anyhow, we kept it at the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington by the Court House, and I made reservations at Giovanni's Trattu in DC, since I've been there before, a small intimate Italian restaurant. I'll post back with a trip report after Monday...now if only we can figure how to avoid I-95 on the way down...LOL

Okeydokey, but keep in mind that some of the suggestions involve places easily reached from DC.

Enjoy the weekend.

missjanna - do you have a trip report for us??

I hope she does- she's been posting to all the people asking about DC today, and I see she got a great rate on her hotel...

But then, maybe her love life got a big spark from the Valentines weekend in DC and she has no time to do a trip report right now...

Ah yes, the trip report......lol

Not much to report, as we hardly left the hotel!! ;-)

It must have been bad, because at one point, someone asked if we were on our honeymoon! However, the times we did step out, I can report on some things.

Took I-95 straight to DC. Managed to get parking without a hitch directly across from the hotel (Wyndham Washington.) Needless to say, BF was proud of himself on this, as I told him we might have trouble finding parking. I'm a Wyndham By Request member, and all of my needs were met as far as a king bed, non smoking room on a high floor away from the elevators. There was also a basket of fruit, a bottled water and a small bottle of wine waiting...since we got there at midnight, we crashed.

Valentine's Day we only managed to get to California Pizza Kitchen by Dupont Circle, and then briefly to the Air & Space Museum...the lines were long on the L'enfant Plaza side, but not on the Smithsonian side, so we got in that way. Then went back to the hotel to change, and went to dinner at Giovanni's Trattu on Jefferson Pl. Had a great Italian dinner, was greeted by Giovanni himself, which included the best chocolate mousse we've ever had, and 2 small chocolate hearts with the bill, and a rose on the way out, which was a nice touch!
However, we were not done with dessert...so when we returned to the hotel, we ordered from room service and had an outrageous white chocolate mousse spongecake with raspberry confection, and a brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream and a bootle of wine. It was incredible, the only downside being the brownie had nuts. (I'm allergic!)

Sunday, we went towards the last hotel I stayed at (Omni Shoreham) and went to a place called Woodley Cafe on Conn. Ave. The food here was pretty good, standard bar food mixed with some other items, and we weren't very hungry at this point. Piece of advice: those going to the National Zoo get off the red line at Cleveland Park and walk downhill southward. It's easier than walking uphill from th Woodley Park stop. Afterwards, we were still recuperating from the night before, so wrnt back and took a nap. (Told you we didn't step out much!!)

Monday, I had a coupon for a free continental breakfast from booking online, so I used this to my advantage. Great breakfast, definitely worth coming back to! I decided to order a similar breakfast for my sleeping BF in the room to be delivered. Got the bill...$19. A lot for breakfast, but I've paid the same in South Beach! Checked out and took a very scenic but long drive back via Rt 50 to 301 (Gorgeous, this section, by the way) up to 295 through Jersey.

The Wyndham was great, the staff could not have been nicer, especially Maria in room service, the area was fine, only 3 blocks from the Metro up 14th Street by McPherson Square, and a few blocks up Massachusetts or M Street from Dupont Circle. There was also a decent sized gym with TV's and a sauna.

Thanks to all those that helped! We had a great time, BF said didn't matter what we did as long as we were together, but next time, I ay have to drag him out to more places, and we'll have to check Baltimore or Philly!

Topping for EMD who said I never posted a trip report!! Look above this one!

oops, my apologies missjanna. Sounds like D.C. was a good pick for you.
I will try Giovanni's based on your recommendation. Always looking for a new place to eat in D.C, I have alot of business dinners there.

Ok, just in case, it's on Jefferson Pl. which is a one block long street between M & N Streets, and 18th and 19th. Best seats are downstairs.