I used Priceline and ended up winning the MArriott at Georgetown University. The hotel gets decent reviews but the location isnt great. So my question is...what is the best method to get into the tourist areas taking into account cost vs. ease.
Rosslyn metro is listed as 2 miles from the hotel on their website. To walk we would need to cross Key Bridge etc. Would this be a safe walk? Day...night??
How much would a taxi apprx. cost to get to the mall or are we better off with a taxi to Rosslyn then metro...If I read the taxi zone map right it would be 2 zones vs. 3 but with a metro ride. Thanks for your input!

The bus. There should be a bus stop somewhere close to the Marriott. Here's a site to check -- also place a phone call to the Marriott and talk with the concierge.

Walk to Rosslyn would be safe, but too far.

Oops. http://www.wmata.com/

Be sure to check the route of the new Circulator bus, which helps to connect Georgetown with the Mall. It's possible that the hotel's web site isn't updated.

For those of us who live around here we understand your concern. The reasons for Georgetown's closest Metro stops being Foggy Bottom or Rossyln are several.

If you are springing for a taxi you might as well go to Foggy Bottom rather than across Key Bridge to Rosslyn only to backtrack on the Metro to Foggy Bottom.

There may be a bus which will take you over to Dupont Circle for that Metro stop and area, too.

There are Metro buses and GU shuttles nearby. This is a question the front-desk staff or concierge has answered about 500 million times. Don't fret about it until you get there.

It wouldn't make sense to go all the way from there to a metro stop just for the sake of it being metro. I used to go to school around there (it's very near Duke Ellington Perf Arts School) and that's only a couple blocks from Wisconsin Avenue, just on the north edge of Georgetown. Spring for a taxi or take the bus. It's not actually too far a walk to Dupont Circle from there, I think that is just as close as Foggy Bottom metro.

The Circulator bus is all the way down on M Street, but at least closer than the Rosslyn Metro, so preferable to that. There are other buses on Wisconsin; there used to be some from Dupont Circle, not sure about that route any more.

BTW Georgetown is part of DC.

As always, Walk.
M (GU; M '71)

Hoya Saxa! (Me: SFS'88)

I always walked to either the Rosslyn or Foggy Metro stops, depending on my mood: on the walk to Foggy you pass shops, restaurants, etc., while to Rosslyn you're crossing the bridge, of course, which can be crummy in bad weather. Both safe, day and night.

There used to be a bus that left from 37th and O streets and went to Dupont, where you can catch the Metro or dine. I'm sure there are many new bus options now.

To sum up: I'd walk or take a bus unless the weather is awful or I'm exhausted, in which events I'd take a cab. Cab will cost about twice as much as public transpo. You can always try to lop off a zone by having the cab drop you within a few blocks of you actual destination--study those zone maps!!

And it's also very true that the hotel will help you figure this out, EVERYONE visiting GU always asks this question.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for everyones help! As always this remains the best trip resource on the web.
I will post a trip report when I return and let everyone know how my feet fared. One week in DC (rookie) and one week in New York (2nd trip) should get me plenty of exercise.

ph,
As we live at 6800 ft, we walked all over frozen Manhattan 16-19 Feb. and loved it.
M

I agree with others that you will get the best information by asking at the hotel once you arrive; however, for the sake of completeness, let me mention that there is yet another kind of bus (apart from the regular Metro bus, Circulator bus, and Georgetown shuttles) that now provides decent transportation to and from many Georgetown locations. It is called the Georgetown Metro Connection, and is sponsored by the Georgetown business improvement district: http://www.georgetowndc.com/shuttle.php
Think school buses painted royal blue, running approx every 10-15 minutes. There are two different lines, the one that will run closest to your hotel is the Wisconsin Avenue line, though you may find it convenient to take or transfer to the other line for other purposes.

p.s. in answer to one of your original questions, it is absolutely safe -- and beautiful -- to walk across the Key Bridge if you get the hankering. I find it difficult to believe that the Rosslyn metro is actually 2 miles from your hotel, but agree with others that there are more convenient ways to get to the metro than walking to Rosslyn.

walk

I don't know why it is so difficult to believe that it is 2 miles to the Rosslyn metro from Reservoir Road. It is, could be a little more.

Christina, you seem to know Washington well, so it may be that I am just not very good at judging distances, or it may be that I just have a peculiar perspective (literally): I work in a high-rise that is just a half-block from the Rosslyn Metro, from which I can clearly see the Georgetown facilities on Reservoir Road, just across the Potomac. Just doesn't seem 2 miles away. In any event, I do suspect that the estimated distance provided by the hotel is probably based on driving directions, whereas the walking distance (closer to how the crow flies) may be a bit shorter.

Measuring as best as I can on Google Earth:

From the Marriott inside GU, it's about 1.2 miles to the Rossyln Metro but cutting through GU Campus, then east on Prospect street then South on 35th, then across Key Bridge to the Metro stop there.

Foggy Bottom is about 1.8 miles, with lots of streets to cross, which will take you 30 minutes.

You main means of transport should be either the GU shuttle, or the buses on Wisconsin Ave (frequent). It's 0.6 miles walking from the hotel to Wicsonsin Ave by cutting through GU Medical Center and then east on Reservoir Rd.

Make it 1.3mi to Rossyln Metro, because of the location of the station.

3800 Reservoir Road NW to 1850 N Moore St is 1.61 miles according to mapquest. Res. Rd to 34th and across the Potomac.

The Marriott is in the University Center, 0.15 miles south of Reservoir Road. Cars also can't cut through the university, so have to go on Reservoir and then south on 35th.

I think your best bet would be to take the bus to/from the nearest Metro station, but wait until you get there to make that decision. You shouldn't be more than a block from the bus stop, and by looking at the Bus route, several different busses will pass by/near the Hotel. The hotel is most likely used to people asking this question, and I would guess they would have their own personal handy guide to get you to/from all the tourist sites.

If all else fails, take a taxi.