Family of 5 Needs Help Please
 

Hi Everyone! We are planning a trip to DC in mid-July - 2 adults and 3 kids (ages 6, 11 and 13) None of us has ever been there before so please help us if you can. We definitely want a suite hotel and from my research it looks as if Summerfield Suites/Embassy Square looks like a good place to stay. Is it centrally located to all of the typical "touristy" places and in a safe neighborhood? In waling distance of anything? We don't care about a lot of amenities just a nice, safe place that's easy to get around. Any other advice or comments appreciated. Thank you!

Sorry - I haven't posted before and I didn't realize I needed to put the destination in the title. It is Washington, DC. Thanks again!

I haven't stayed there but have a family member who did. The suites are pretty big and include a kitchen and dining room; they're clean and nice. It's located about 2-3 blocks from the DuPont Circle Metro station (see http://www.stationmasters.com/System.../dupontci.html), which should be an okay walk for everyone in your group. <BR><BR>The hotel isn't close to The Mall or major monuments but you can get to those easily on the Metro (subway). The neighborhood is good, meaning it's fairly safe and has a lot of shops and restaurants nearby. As with any location, be careful at night when out walking.<BR><BR>D.C. may be pretty hot in July (anywhere from 90-100 degrees), and is pretty much a &quot;walking&quot; city, but if you are aware of that in advance and plan accordingly (i.e., indoor museums or the hotel pool during the heat of the day!) everyone should have a good time.<BR><BR>Most of the major museums have food service inside, which makes it easy to feed the kids. Otherwise there also are street vendors with carts serving hot dogs and the like. The kids might like the ice cream parlor inside the Museum of American History...<BR><BR>Check out the Metro website to learn how to navigate the subway before you go: www.wmata.com.<BR><BR>Enjoy!

Check out the Spy Museum too. It's near Gallery Place metro, as is the MCI arena (don't know what kinds of venues are in July).

Summerfield often has good discount rates if you pay in advance. check their website and click on &quot;webrates&quot;.

HOTEL SEEMS KINDA FAR, ESP IN THE SUMMERTIME, RIDING ON SUBWAY(WITH TRANSFERS)WITH KIDS. LET ME LOOK AROUND AND GET BACK TO YOU.

Thanks everyone for your help. I would like to be within walking distance of at least some attractions (Capitol, Monuments, Museums, etc..) We know it will be hot and we do expect to do a lot of walking. Can anyone suggest a better located hotel with suites and an outdoor pool that is clean and safe?

A better choice for your family might be the Capitol Hill Suites. They are one block from the Capitol South Metro on the Blue/Orange (3 metro stops down from Smithsonsian station) Being two blocks away from the Capitol building, you would be hard pressed to find a safer hotel. The hotel is in a quiet, upscale neighboorhod and is also close to a whole range of restaurants. The restaurants are one block north, spread along Pennsylvania ave. If it's a cool day (below 95!!!) you can even walk to the national Mall (about a ten minute walk)Here's more info: http://www.capitolhillsuites.com/

We stayed at the Summerfield Suites/Embassy Square two years ago and were very satisfied with it. The location was our favorite part as we loved Dupont Circle (great restaurants and shops) and the Metro was a five-minute walk away. The Metro was one of our son's (he was then 12)favorite things to do in D.C. so remember that for the kids.

If you do a search on DC here, you'll see that advice on where to stay falls into 2 categories: stay in Dupont, b/c you'll be able to walk to all sorts of restaurants in all price ranges, and ride the Metro to attractions; or, stay on Capitol Hill, walk to attractions (a long walk to the monuments, but that's the way it is), and deal with more limited (but not nonexistent) dining options and a (very) slightly dicier neighborhood. Riding the Metro, with or without kids, isn't hard at all, I have no idea what bluestructure is talking about. Either way, be prepared for lots of walking and muggy heat--and I hope you enoy it, b/c it really is a splendid city!

We stayed here last October. The location is great - a quiet, safe, upscale neighborhood. It's about 10 minutes to the nearest Metro stop, and very close to all the Dupont Circle action. The rooms are spacious, and there is a nice outdoor pool. On the minus side, you will need to take the Metro to get to any of the major sights.<BR>Also, the free breakfast buffet at the Sumerfield is very meager indeed.

washingtondchotels.com often has good rates on hotels and you can shop around and see what is available for how much money.

I feel compelled to respond to E's description of Capitol Hill as a &quot;slightly dicier neighboord&quot;:
Come on! This purposely misrepresents this wonderful, undiscovered treasure. While it may be true in some blocks east of 15th street, in NO way is it true of any part of capitol hill likely to be seen by a tourist. The Capitol Hill Suites, btw, is located at 2nd &amp; C street, SE. Someone staying there would be absolutley fine wandering through this beautifule area of million dollar historic townhomes. Even walking eastward to Eastern Market would only bring them to 7th &amp; Independence. E, if you really feel this area is &quot;slightly dicey&quot;, I suggest (for the sake of our country's safety) that you inform the hordes of U.S. senators, congressmen, judges, and cabinet secretaries living on the hill that they consider moving.

Maybe not dicier, but Dupont Circle area is a lot more convenient for restaurants, shopping and fun at night. Truly a very good tourist location. Trips to all sights in July should start with Metro or you'll be dead by mid-day! Have fun.

droots,
I generally agree. Dupont circle is a great hub of nightlife, shopping, etc. The exception would be families travelling with young children, or anyone else that wants a quieter, less hectic (but still convenient)location.

Thank you all for your advice. Let me see if I have this straight now... Dupont Circle is a good play to stay and although it isn't within walking distance of most of the mounments or museums it is a lively neighborhood with shops and restaurants. Capitol Hill is also a good place to stay to be close to the tourist attractions but pretty much a quiet, residential neighborhood. Is that correct?

If so, then let me ask you this. I looked at the Metro map and it seems to look easy to navigate - is it really? We are from Smalltown, USA so it will all be quite new to us. I really like what everyone has had to say about the Embassy Square/Summerfield Suites so I would like to stay there if I can feel comfortable about getting around the city. I have to admit I am nervous about it. Thanks again!

Mom, the Metro really is easy to navigate. There aren't any express trains or trains that don't stop at all stations, so if you get on a train in the wrong direction, you get off at the next stop, cross over to the other side, and begin again. It's all color-coded, and while rush-hour crowds may daunt you at first, you'll be fine--consult the maps in the stations, and don't be afraid to ask questions, DC residents are very used to tourists. Enjoy!

Now, as for you, Bardo: feeling slightly defensive today?? I never said there weren't million dollar homes on Capitol Hill. What I said was that the neighborhood is very slightly dicier than Dupont, and I stand by that, because: Capitol Hill is one of those neighborhoods where you can easily wander onto a bad block by making just one wrong turn; in Dupont, you would have to walk quite far off the beaten path for that to be true. Therefore, I believe it's a slightly less desirable area for uninformed tourists. The irony of the Hill has always been that the grandees of the Capitol live just steps away from slums. I'm not saying it's a snake pit. My exact words were &quot;(very) slightly dicier&quot;. So untwist those knickers!

As far as Capitol Hill goes, the word on the street around DC is that tourists shouldn't go further east than Eastern Market.

Tips for Metro:

1. Try to avoid the business rush periods (let's not say &quot;hour&quot;). This means ride between 9am and 4pm. Certainly you may ride at other times, but between 7-9am and 4-6:30pm there will be a lot of people, which might intimidate your younger children.

2. The metro $5 Day Pass is a good thing for tourists - you can get on and off as much as you want for the $5.00 pass. Valid for one day of unlimited Metrorail travel on weekdays after 9:30 am or all day on Saturdays, Sundays or federal holidays.

3. Each member of your family will need his/her own farecard. You need it to enter the station and when you exit.

4. Escalator tip: standing on the right, walking on the left.

Hi there. I just booked our week (the first week of July) and got a great rate with the webrates on their website. I have done a lot of research and have heard good things about Summerfield for families on a budget (like ours). I like the location close the metro and Dupont Circle and so far, two phone calls there with lots of questions have yielded friendly staff. You will have probably already booked by the time we get back, but I will post here and give the lowdown!

Have fun!

I live in DC. Stay in the Dupont Circle area, not on Capitol Hill. At night, there is lots of activity in the Dupont Circle area. There is a selection of restaurants, 2 Starbucks and excellent movie theaters specializing in art and foreign film.

There is also a great ice cream place.

My personal favorite Dupont Circle restaurant is Bistro du Coin on the corner of Florida and Connecticut Avenues, NW.

Have fun!

We just returned from a trip to DC last week with 1 child, age 10. I keep meaning to post a trip report, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. We stayed near the Summerfield Suites (I could see it from our balcony). Excellent location and the metro is so easy to use. Our son loved figuring out which train direction for us to use. It's clean, safe and the directions are very clear. Most stops are $1.10 each way. We tended to go out in the morning to one area, stay there all day and come back at night to relax a bit, so we spent $2.20 per day each on the metro, except one day when we went all over the place several times. Then we ventured out on foot for dinner and found great restaurants within a 5-10 minute walk. It was a nice, friendly neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants. We really enjoyed it and I would definitely stay in Dupont circle again. We even used the metro to go from the airport to our hotel, then from our hotel to a train, with suitcases and all. It was no problem (except one escalator that was out! That one was a bit of a schlep with the bags!). Ben and Jerry's ice cream is a great treat, right next to the metro on your way back to the hotel. We also enjoyed Cosi which is a bagel (square bagels called 'squagels'), coffee, sandwich place, also next to the Metro. Looked like a big Starbucks, but a lot more variety. It's open late at night, too. You can't go wrong staying near Dupont Circle.

The National Zoo is 2 stops north on the RED line from dupont circle. The kids would love that for a day. Dupont is the safest and best place to stay in. Changing trains on the METRO would be kinda difficult for someone who has never been on the METRO before so be careful. keep a close eye on your kids at all times on the subway, never stand in the middle of the escalator, its not Sears so beware!, dont throw your fare card away - you need it to get out as well as get in the station. There is a METRO desk at every station and maps to help people. all the advice i can give on the METRO, just have fun and good luck. dont forget your walking shoes!

2 adults and 14yr old daughter stayed in dupont circle jury hotel area, very safe. took metro every day very easy to navigate and very safe. check at metro station on weekly passes we paid $17.50 each for a unlimited use weekly pass. order ticket for spy musem and holocost museum before you go to dc, other wise expect long ticket lines. check with your congress person for free tours.
we did a bike tour of mall area that was very enjoyable, very safe and not as tiring as walking all over which we also did. recomend doing the bike tour first as yo willl then have a good idea of where eveything is and what you want to see. http://www.bikethesites.com/
try capital reservations fo hotel

Speaking of tours, a privately-operated &quot;hop-on-and-off&quot; trolley bus runs a circuit around many of the tourist attractions on the Mall and beyond (like Ford's theater). The trolley can be a fast, convenient way to get from place to place especially when travelling with a relatively young child (6-year-old) who may not be able to trek as far the older children and the grown-ups, especially in the sauna-like heat of July. The all-day tickets aren't all that cheap, so it may or may not a useful option for your family.

Another thing - even though tourism is down in DC, it will have to be WAY WAY down before the summer-time crowds at the major attractions become noticeably thinner. Try to arrive at popular attractions like the Air and Space Museum as early as possible in the AM to avoid the worst of the press. Even if it means braving the Metro during rush hour! (Don't worry - the Metro is easy to use)

While visiting the Mall area, don't overlook the new sculpture garden near the National Gallery of Art - some of the sculptures are humorous enough to amuse kids, and the adjacent cafe is a nice place for lunch. Also - in addition to the cafes in the various Smithsonian Museums and the outdoor hot dog stands on the Mall, the Union Station train station (near the Capitol) also has a large food court with many family-friendly options (located on the lower level).

Perhaps you'll want to delete this before your kids see it (!)- but here goes - In addition to a rather small gift shop on the ground floor selling mainly dinosaur-themed items, the Museum of Natural History also has two enormous gift shops in the basement - one of which is entirely devoted to kids' stuff (toys, souvenirs and even educational items).

You will have a great vacation - there is so much to see and do in Washington that every memeber of your family is sure to find lots to enjoy!

We have stayed in the Dupont Circle area with our family a few times visiting D.C. and have really enjoyed it-I even took the subway back from a Wizard game with my 13 year old son at midnight and felt completely safe. When my sons were younger all we heard about was the &quot;Red line to Shady Grove&quot; for months after our trip to D.c. We visited once the beginning of June and it was in the 90's and we used our subway passes to sometimes go only a few blocks because it was much nicer than walking in the crowds and the heat. Check into the tourmobile sponsored by the National Park Service as it takes you from different tourist sites-it is a little pricey for five people and sometimes gets very crowded but is worth the few minutes off your feet between sites-the tour guides are very knowledgeable,it is a hop on hop off service throughout the day allowing you to spend as much or as little time at each spot as you would like to. We have also done the tourmobile tour of the museums at night-this one you stay with the same tour guide and have a designated time at each site but our tour guide was very flexible and everyone spent a lot of time at each monument-the FDR memorial is beautiful at night. Both tours were worth the money spent

Thank you all so much for all of your wonderful help and suggestions! I feel much more confident about my decisions now. We are getting very excited for our trip!

The 6 yr. old is too young for the Holocaust Museum althought there is a section of it aimed at kids (Daniel's Story)...you could also consider going outside DC to Oldtown Alexandria and Mount Vernon. Be sure to get to the Spy Museum; it may be possible to purchase timed tickets in advance now...I would certainly look into that. And it is HOT, HOT, HOT here in July!! I'd suggest those fanny packs that also hold a water bottle...plenty of sunscreen. Don't know much about hotels but be sure to get one with a pool.