Hotels within walking distance of Smithsonian
 

My husband I are headed to a Nationals game on Sunday and then plan to spend a couple nights in DC. We'd like to walk to the Smithsonians and to a couple nice restaurants. Any hotel recommendations under $200 a night?

When we went we stayed at the Holiday Inn Washington-Downtown (1155 14th St. NW), it was only 1 block from the subway entrance and once you get on the subway everything is within easy walking distance. We only did one Smithsonian, but did all of the monuments including the cemetary in Arlington (which is also right off the subway)...and we did all this when I was 5 months pregnant. The hotel was great, it was about 169. a night, I just looked for the rate now and it is at 189 a night, so thats not too bad. It was very clean, very comfortable and I felt really safe. There was a great restaurant around the corner and I cannot remember the name, but the hotel clerk referred us to it, it was a small steakhouse in a cellar, good food and wine!

Generally speaking, the best hotel deals in DC are for Friday & Saturday nights, with Thurs & Sunday next. Mon-Wed bring peak prices at most "in-town" hotels.

The Holiday inn "vegasnative" mentions is close, as is Loews L'Enfant Plaza. There's another Holiday Inn (Hill?) up towards Union Station, on NJ Ave, I think. Looking at that you might be looking for Sun, Mon, Tue nights, a hotel in that area might be tough to find at $200 night.

More important, there's not much in that area at night. If you want to walk to restaurants you may have a long hike. Don't worry about being within walking distance of Smithsonian. Find a hotel within walking distance of (or offering s shuttle to) a Metro station. Many people like Dupont Circle area. If you want to keep hotel costs low, I recommend staying in the Rosslyn Station (in Arlington VA) area, altho evening activities are sparce there as well, but you can walk (or take shuttle) to Georgetown or catch the Metro. You might have some good luck using Priceline too - but please do consider that if you are close to a Metro, you really are close to anything; it's a GREAT transportation system.

Also look into a new bus service, geared more for tourists, the DC Circulator. While having a more limited schedule and routes than the Metro, the price is lower and those routes they do have are great. Good Luck.

Hotels in the Metro Center area would be your best bet for walking to restaurants and museums. Avoid hotels on the south side of the Mall; even though they may be closer to museums, the area is mostly deserted at night. There's plenty to do at night in the area bounded by 7th, 14th, Pennsylvania and H Streets. Plus all subway lines converge in that area, so Metro will get you to RFK and to the museums if you decide it is too far to walk (6 to 12 blocks or more depending on hotel and musuem).
If you are willing to use Priceline, any 4-star in its convention center area would be fine. For the last week in August, the hotels might have very attractive offers, so check with them directly before going to Priceline.

I should have mentioned the Red Roof Inn, just steps away from Gallery Place / Chinatown Metro. Very basic lodging, but safe, clean, convenient. I've stayed there and was quite pleased.

Being within walking distance of the "Smithsonian" is not really that big a draw because of efficient mass transit and the shear size of the Smithsonian's museums, whihc includes the National Zoo. As others have said, any hotel within the core part of DC--where 90% of tourists stay--will be fine for your needs and will likely place you in a much more interesting neighborhood than those close to the National Mall.

Thank you all for your suggestions!