DC Hotels
 

Hi, I am about to book a hotel in DC for 2 adults and 2 children from 2nd Jan 2009 for 3 nights. We are on holiday from New Zealand. What hotel is better, the Grand Hyatt cnr 10th and H St or Hyatt Regency 400 New Jersey Ave? The Regency is $10 cheaper a night at $139. Also where should we eat? We are thinking of driving from NYC to DC, is this a good idea or should we bus or train? Thanks for your help. Regards Kate

The Hyatt Regency is within walking distance of of the Capitol building as well as Union Station.

The Grand would be somewhat closer to other sites as it is more "downtown."

As to taking the train vs. the bus from NYC to Washington...be sure to look at THIS alternative: www.boltbus.com which is MUCH les expensive than the train.

Unless you are going to stop along the way I would not bother driving although there woul;d be plenty of places to ssee along the way depending on the route..you could spend days and days sightseeing.

Thanks for that info, we will be doing the usual sights in DC, would the Grand Hyatt be a better option then? I have heard it is a dangerous city at night, we would also like to be close to different food options. We will not be able to afford to eat in the hotel. Thanks kate

The Grand would be somewhat closer to things such as the White House, Smithsonian museums, etc. There is a Metro station not too far away. There are MANY more dining options closer to the Grand than the Regency and within walking distance.

As to safety...a lot depends on where you are in the city at night...you may be worrying somewhat needlessly but yes, there is violent crime in this area and I'm not trying to discount any of that but millions of visitors come every year without problems.

On another note..any particular reasons you picked these two hotels? Price? Have you considered any others?

I would definitely recommend either the bus or the train from NYC to DC.
First, you won't want or need a car here in D.C. as public transportation is excellent and parking is both difficult and expensive.
Second, Dukey's recommendation of the Bolt Bus is a good one. I haven't ridden it myself, but it gets good reviews from the Washington Post travel writers.

"Coming and Going--Bus Wars" (Post travel writer's experience riding the new Bolt Bus)
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20…

"Manhatten for a Buck" (Two new bus lines between D.C. and NYC)
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20…

and finally "A Day in New York" (a series of articles from today's Washington Post about day trips to NYC. I'm sure you will be there longer than a day but this article might have some interesting info for you.)
washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/…index.html

Driving from DC to NYC is a good idea if you want to stop en route, to see Baltimore, Philly, or other sights between. If you do, you could pick up the car as you leave DC and return it in NYC as soon as you get there.

However, are you sure you want to drive on the wrong side of the road in heavy, aggressive, confusing traffic? It is not like the tranquility of NZ roads.

Also, if cost is a factor, have you tried Priceline.com? You would pick the <i>Convention Center - Capitol Hill</i> area. ((*))

Priceline won't work for them if they want 1 room for 4 people, since you're only guaranteed 1 bed on Priceline; Slightly more expensive is Hotwire, where you can specify the number of people; it's still &quot;anonymous (meaning you don't know what hotel it is until you've paid ) and non-refundable, though.

I am just thinking that if these folks don't mind using public transport to get to the major sites there are probably a lot of other locations with hotel space that might be cheaper than staying right downtown.

thanks for all your feedback, we will book the Grand then, it is refundable. I thought $149 a night didn't seem too bad. We are keen to keep costs as low as possible, especially after NYC for 8 nights ( we head off to Vail after this) so a cheaper option would be great. Any ideas? Cheers Kate

To be honest that hotel usually charges a great deal more than $149. If you have that rate and are downtown you can save at least a additional 2 hours time each day going into DC and returning from DC.

The Boltbus sounds quite reasonable Kate.

As to food - Chinatown is very convenient and there's lots of smaller places around the Convention Center where you can eat.

Drive only if you want to spend a couple of nights at other cities along the way. Otherwise take Amtrak - reasonably fast, comfortable and center city to center city.

Also - be aware that at that time of year driving may be held up by winter weather. You might be lucky and get sunny and 40's - but you might easily get ice, sleet or snow - and then driving would be a horror.