We will be traveling to DC and are looking at inexpensive hotels. I found Comfort Inn Wash.Gateway W. on Arlington Blvd.inFalls Church,Comfort Ballston, N. Glebe Rd. in Arlington,VA. Also a Quality Inn Iwo Jima, Arlington Blvd.in Arlington. Are these hotels in safe areas. Hotels nice??? We are seniors traveling with 9yr.old Grandson.

I can't speak to the interior, but I pass the Comfort Inn on Arlington Blvd. in Falls Church on my drive to work, so I know the location well. It's in a nondescript suburban area that runs the gamut from older brick single-family homes to small yuppie-ish townhouses to short apartment buildings with a predominantly Hispanic population.

There are strip mall shopping centers on three corners (with the motel on the fourth) that include things like Barnes and Noble, a supermarket, Target, Home Depot, Starbucks, and some fast-food places (McDonalds, Popeyes). There's no night life to speak of, other than a Central American restaurant that shows soccer matchs and (I think) has music, but it sounds like that wouldn't be a problem for you guys.

The location is reasonably safe, now that the infamous DC snipers are behind bars (one of the shootings took place at that Home Depot). Just don't walk through the apartment complexes at 2 in the morning (but that's true near any city).

The main drawback of that Comfort Inn is that it's not near a Metro station. I believe they run a shuttle to the metro, but that plus the train ride will take you around 45 minutes to get downtown, which you might find inconvenient.

The Iwo Jima Quality Inn would be much closer to downtown, I believe, and thus might be a better base for sightseeing (as well as being close to Arlington Cemetery). But if price is your main deciding factor, the Comfort Inn in Falls Church is probably fine, just in a rather dull location.

The Comfort Inn at Ballston is a nice area, and you can walk to the Metro in 10 minutes or less.

I've stayed at Quality Inn Iwo Jima several times. It's a well maintained hotel with friendly service, with free parking, a "covered" pool, and on-site restaurant. It's walking distance to the Rosslyn Metro station, and there's bus service going past the front door. It's in a quiet neighborhood of high-priced high-rises and office buildings, so quite safe and very quiet. There's not much in the neighborhood, and what is nearby is closer to the station than the hotel. btw, "walking distance" may not mean with your luggage according to how you pack and your physical condition, but a cab shouldn't cost very much. The sidewalks were in good condition, so we just "rolled" our bags there and back to the Metro.

I would stay there again at any time.

My impression is that the above poster knows his stuff.

Meanwhile, have you considered a bid on Priceline for a 4* in the area?