Fun Areas to Stay in DC?
 

I am going to a conference in D.C. in June. The conference ends on Thursday so a co-worker and I were planning on staying the weekend. Since the company will no longer be footing the bill for our rooms, we are going to need to stay elsewhere. Do you have any recommendations of an area in D.C. we should check out? We are two single, 30 somethings, so while we'd like to do some touristy things - we'd also like to stay some place within walking distance of good food and maybe a little nightlife (bar/pub, not a club). Any suggestions on where to stay and/or cool neighborhoods, restaurants, bars to check out?

Given your age and interests, I would recommend something around the Adams-Morgan/Dupont Circle area.

toupary6 makes a good suggestion, and you could also consider Georgetown.

Dupont circle is better than Adams Morgan which is a haven for High School and college kids. Maybe look at Penn Quarter also. some restaurants in Penn Quarter area include Raskia, Jaleo, Oyamel and Zaytina.

There are several Kimpton hotels around Dupont that you can usually get fairly reasonably.

yestravel makes some good suggestions re: Penn Quarer restos, but I certainly wouldn't stay there. Apart from the restos, it is pretty sterile down there.

"Dupont circle is better than Adams Morgan which is a haven for High School and college kids."

Wrong. That is partially true of a few blocks of 18th Street on the weekend, not the rest of Adams-Morgan/Kalorama Triangle. There are no hotels on 18th Street. There are quite a few, including B&Bs, in the A-M/Dupont area and near the Woodley Park-Adams Morgan Metro stop.

I lived in Adams-Morgan for 30 years, had dinner there a couple of weeks ago, and didn't see that it had changed much.

Georgetown is wonderful, but it is more touristy, and more expensive. There are several hotels, but probably no bargains.

Also, there's no Metro stop in Georgetown which makes getting around to the rest of D.C. more problematic.

My point about AM is that on weekends when the OP will be there its a zoo in the area around 18th and Columbia. Streets are so clogged we drop friends off many blocks away for them to walk to their apts. so as not to get caught up in the mess. That's where the action (bars) is in AM. As 30 somethings I don't imagine the area would be particularly fun as it is dominated by HS, college and young 20 somethings on weekends. Staying near the Am/Woodley Park Metro puts u in Woodley Park not AM. Ditto for staying around the Dupont Metro stop.

I still vote for Penn Quarter which is a pretty hot area in DC these days or DuPont.

You could split the difference and stay sort of in between Dupont Circle and Penn Quarter. I agree that those are the two best choices of neighborhood for you.

Having visited DC many times both on business and as a tourist, I highly recommend Dupont Circle (lovely leafy mostly residential neighborhood, but with great hotels and restaurants, and shopping) or Penn Quarter (vibrant urban scene, hotels, restaurants, Verizon Center, near museums etc.).

I like Dupont Circle as well. My husband and I stayed there on a trip to DC last summer - plenty of great places to eat nearby, some fun bars nearby, and lots of activity in the neighborhood. And it has a Metro stop, so getting to museums, monuments, etc. is really quick and easy.

I have stayed many times at the Woodley Park Guest House while traveling alone. It is a B&B. Very nice. You can see the Metro station from the front porch. The neighborhood has many restaurants and neighborhood type places. It is one Metro stop from Dupont Circle. Perhaps start your evening in Dupont Circle or Adams/Morgan and work your way back to Woodley Park. The staff at Woodley Park Guest House is very helpful in finding places that may interest you. I found it very easy to get to all the other tourist attractions in the city from this point.

Stay at the W. Hang out in their lobby bar and their roof-top bar P.O.V.

You will be across the street from the White House, within an easy walk of the Mall, about a 10 minute walk to the Washington Monument, and very near a main Metro Station at Metro Center.

The bar at the W is great, although the cocktails aren't that good! The view is sensational.