Please help me!! I am trying to book a hotel for $130 or less a night for the weekend of June 29th (3 nights) for four adults in Washington D.C. It is our first time there and we do not know the area. The Jurys Normandy has good rates but I dont know if it is too far from the monuments. We will be driving from the New York area so we will need parking as well. Also, is it possible to rent apartments for the weekend? Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance for your help!

I go by that hotel regularly as I take class on the same street at the Alliance Francaise; it's a quasi-residential street with embassies or consulate offices -- it is very pleasant and a nice location but there is no parking at all. If the hotel does not offer it (and I don't think they do from the appearance), the closest public parking is down around the Hilton Hotel probably, about 3-4 blocks away. I believe there are 1 or more public garages there; I'd guess that might cost $20 a day. YOu can park in the Hilton also but as I recall it is very expensive. Perhaps you aren't aware, but Washington has a very good public transportation system called the Metro--it is underground rail, what is called a subway by many. So, that location is definitely farther from the monuments than most anybody would want to walk (several miles), it is not too far to the Dupont Circle metro from there (maybe 4-5 blocks), or Woodley Park metro in the other direction. Unfortunately, there is no metro stop that close to the monuments, either, I don't know what people do. DC cabs operate on a zone fare which can be confusing and/or a gyp, but if you get a decent cab driver, that means the fare is flat by distance and does not go up by time waiting (I am pretty sure, if I'm wrong, someone please correct)--so, if I were you, I'd just take a cab to the monuments from there instead of walking to metro, taking metro and then walking quite a ways to the monuments. There are alternative methods, certainly, like taking metro to some stop near the Tourmobile bus (several around the Mall, Union Station, etc -- see www.tourmobile.com) and then taking it around as it does stop at the monuments. I'd suggest you ask the hotel about nearby parking, any decent hotel will answer guests' questions. I don't understand why you'd need an apartment for a couple days, and I've never looked into it in DC, but I have never heard of ST vacation apt. rental agencies renting for such a short time period, so I rather doubt it. If you just want a hotel with a kitchenette, there are those around (you might look into Lincoln Suites on L St as a better deal for your needs). The Normandy Inn is a good location in some ways, and it looks like they've fixed it up since buying, but it is not glamorous and from the outside is a rather homely building with 1960s or 70s-style bland, ugly architecture (that arch. period never did hold up well). I don't think parking will be cheap in that neighborhood, however. I also think the GWU Inn might be a better fit for your needs (www.gwuinn.com); it is in Foggy Bottom, a nice area and closer to tourist sites than the Normandy; it's very reasonably priced with parking garage space (you must pay, but cheaper than garages around Dupont Circle, and often they have special deals on parking rates) and they have suites which it sounds like you want. Lincoln Suites is also suites (!), reasonably priced and has a parking garage nearby (I've stayed there) which you pay for, but at least there is one (rate is $16/day). It's only about 2 blocks to a convenient metro stop, more convenient than the Normandy Inn. See www.lincolnhotels.com -- rates normally higher than your budget but they have one night free on weekends all summer which effectively cuts them in half.

Christina- Thank you very much for your detailed response! The information is exactly what I needed.

Maura,
Check out hoteldiscounters.org and expedia.com for great weekend hotel rates. I thought I saw Jury's Doyle available for under $100 per night.
Besides getting rates, you can also get a lot of information about the hotels, including the parking situation.

You certainly can take the metro to the monuments. The usual stop is Smithsonian. It takes you out into the middle of the Mall. An alternative is Foggy Bottom. Turn right and walk down 23rd Street to the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials.