Hotels in Maryland/vicinity DC
 

Which hotels in Maryland would you recommend <BR>that would be closest to DC and the price range of $90-125 a night? <BR>A clean, safe area near some shopping <BR>and good restaurants. Does the metro <BR>run from Maryland to DC?

If you don't mind being about an hour away from DC I would recommend staying in Annapolis. It sits right on Chesapeake Bay and is one of the best preserved colonial towns in the US. Plenty of good restaurants and very safe to walk around. Plenty to do including the Naval Academy, sailing on the bay, etc. Loews Hotel is the best and within walking distance to downtown. You may be able to get a room in your price range there. There is also a Marriott that sits right on the water. Not quite as nice as Loews but great location. Plenty of other decent hotels out by highway 50( Courtyard, Hampton Inn, etc). The Mertro does go out into Maryland. You can drive from Annapolis to the New Carollton Station in about a half hour and pick up the metro there.

As a D.C. resident, I disagree with the last post. Annapolis is beautiful, but inconvenient for visting D.C. You definitely want to be by a metro station and not have to worry about battling rush hour traffic (the worst in the country) or finding parking. The metro goes to both Maryland and Virginia. In Maryland, Bethesda is a great near-in suburb with a metro, a million restaurants and parking. Very up-scale and safe. On the less up-scale side, you could try suburbs like Silver Spring or College Park, just find out how far the hotel you pick is from the metro as those towns are more spread out. Still in D.C., you could try an area of the city called Friendship Heights. There is an Embassy Suites there in a building right over the metro, and its another area with everything you could want to do at night. Finally, if you want to try Virginia, you might consider the Holiday Inn in Old Town Alexandria. It's an incredibly scenic area and the hotel has a metro shuttle. Have fun!

Debbie, your last question about the Metro leads me to think you'll be visiting sights in D.C. If that is the case, you might seriously consider some downtown D.C. hotels to cut your Metro commute time. If you need to be in Maryland, Kristi's advice is excellent. The Embassy Suites at Friendship Heights (D.C./MD border) is supposed to be very nice, but may be costly.

Debbie, <BR> <BR>I second the suggestion of the Greenbelt/College Park area. There are two Marriotts within a short (5 to 10 min) of the Greenbelt Metro Station. These is a safe, while not upper class, area with plenty of resturants and shopping. It is a smooth trip into DC on the Metro and easily accessible from I95. <BR>It really isn't as important how close you are to DC, rather how close you are to the Metro.

As someone who takes the metro everyday from the Maryland suburbs into DC, I disagree with Herb who says it's not important how far you are from DC, but how far you are from a metro. Yes, you want convenience to a metro, but no, you do not want to be too far from the city. Why do you want to wasted valuable time on a train where rudeness and ill-manners reign (my co-workers and I were just trading metro stories)? Kristi gave some excellent suggestions regarding Bethesda and Friendship Heights. May I ask if you would consider staying in the city? You can get some excellent hotels in safe areas in your price range.

If you're going to DC to see DC, I suggest you stay in DC. Commuting is not fun. Why don't you try Priceline.com If you don't get an offer accepted, you can always opt for the burbs.

ilisa and I must ride different metro systems. I think the DC metro is one of the best in the world. <BR>Of course, if you can find a room in the city, at your price, that is close to a metro station that is always a better choice. Just be sure of the hotel location, you could end up with a worse commute (walking) than the suburbs. <BR>If you do decide on using metro, try to avoid rush hour and you shouldn't have any problems. Weekends especially are easy.