mommybryant

To: Vanrider

For info on Tourmobile, go to this website: www.tourmobile.com. This trolly
service is operated by the National Park Service. I believe you can purchase tickets from any of their drivers as well as on site.

gteacher

Simone - We didn't purchase a suite or request a special type of room. We booked through Hotels.com. I think, for the most part, all of the rooms are big. I may be naive on that, but it seems that most reviewers here and tripadvisor comment on the big rooms. BUT... the first room we stayed in was waaay smaller than the room we had for the rest of our time at the Radisson. Even though they gave us that small room the first night, we were promised a better room for the rest of our stay (maybe because we were staying there something like 6 nights?). When you check in, you can ask for a renovated room, higher floor, etc. I think they try to accomodate your requests. If not,tell them you will post a bad review at Fodor's. lol. You may try calling the hotel as well. I'm not sure how you booked (directly or indirectly through the hotel.)Through hotels.com, I think we paid an average of $106/night plus the service charges. Hope this helps.

gteacher

Vanrider - Mommybryant is right on! Before we left, I got info. from their website. Originally, we tentatively set aside 2 days to use the Tourmobile...then changed our minds when we got there. We set aside those days to see the monuments (and the other places the mobile goes), but we found that we visited some of those monuments on different days. For example, we were at the Kennedy Center and had some time, so we walked over to the Lincoln (even though that wasn't the day designated to Tourmobile to the monuments). It was in the evening, fewer crowds, and cooler, so we decided to keep going to the Vietnam and WW2. I'm not sure if that makes sense. When we had extra time on a day, we would hit something close. So, in the end, we kind of didn't need to spend the money on the Tourmobile. This is NOT to discourage you from using it. I enviously saw the mobiles drive by a few times...people looked much cooler than I felt and I'm sure they weren't as tired from walking. lol. We walked or metroed everywhere, because it worked for us at the time. Plus, we were in the South with relatives who like to eat the week before and we needed exercise. To use or not to use...it just depends on the flow of your activities, I think. Enjoy your visit.