hotel in Arlington
 

My husband & I have a trip to Washington DC
planned for next week. We have reserved a room in Arlington at the Americana Hotel - Has anyone any knowledge of this hotel? We picked it because it's supposed to be within walking distance of a metro station, but now we're wondering if we made a good choice?

That area is popular for visitors who are shocked/not accustomed to/or refuse to pay DC hotel prices. It is a reasonable compromise as it is convenient to DC by way of Metro on 2 different lines (Blue & Yellow).

Havn't stayed there, but the Americana is close to Metro - about 10 minutes by foot. See this map:

http://www.stationmasters.com/System.../crystalc.html

BTW, if you are going to the Mall area from there, just Metro to L'Enfant Plaza or Archives station and walk. It faster than transfering trains.

If it's the Americana in Crystal City, I would look for somewhere else to stay. Check out the Holiday Inn. It's within walking distance to restaurants on 23rd Street, and they have shuttles to the metro stop. If you are going to be there on a Fri/Sat, the prices are much better in that area.

You could also do much better on priceline.com. Check out biddingfortravel.com for some history of places/prices for your time frame to visit. ((b))

The Americana in Crystal City and Motel 50 in Rosslyn area used to be owned by the same people ... I don't know if that it still true or not .. but 2 years ago I decided to try the Motel 50 (now the "Inn at Rosslyn") as I'd seen it next door to the Quality Inn Iwo Jima, which I'd stayed at several times. The motel was old and showing it's age, but the rooms were spacious, clean and quiet. The staff was friendly and efficient. At a price about half of what QI-IJ was that weekend, it was more than acceptable. The only drawback to either of the two hotels was the distance from the Metro.

If the two hotels are still under same ownership, your experiences will probably be similar.