I will be visiting in late May and
early June.I like what I have read
about Dupont Circle area but none of
hotels seem to stand out above the
others. I need the hotel to be close to a metro stop. What is the surrounding area of the Mayflower
consist of and would my parents, ages 65 & 78, be able to ppople watch after a hard day of sightseeing. I received an average rate of $170 a night for 7 nights at the Mayflower. I'm assuming the Jurys Washington will be slightly less then this. If anyone has any info. to offer me it would be greatly appreciated.

Jim:

I'd suggest the J.W. Marriott at The Shops. It is connected to a restaurant and shopping complex and your parents could watch people go by for 1 or 2 hours at the end of the day w/o going outside. It should be cheaper than the Mayflower and much closer to all the major sites. Look on lodging.com for rates.

I think the Mayflower is a nicer hotel than Jury's, but the area around the Mayflower is more downtown business-y than Dupont Circle. I live in DC area and don't get around the Mayflower that much, so maybe I'm forgetting something, but it's not the cafe, people-watching type place that Dupont Circle is. There are some cafes and restaurants with some sidewalk areas around Dupont Circle (as well as the park in the circle, as well), but I can't think of any around the Mayflower. I think the Westin Fairfax and Hilton Embassy Row are perhaps the nicest hotels around Dupont Circle, myself. Jury's does have an Irish bar on its ground floor, however, that might be convenient if you want that kind of thing. There are some nice restaurants and clubs around the Mayflower, as well as stores not too far away, but it's really more of a downtown, business ambience. Not sure what kind of place you are wanting for people watching, but from what you said, I'd choose Dupont Circle. I've seen rates at Jury's around $130, but I don't know about May-June.

I love the Grand Hyatt as it's on the Metro (Metro Center so you have access to everything) - I recently took my dad along for a convention, (age 75) it was great for people watching, he did not have to sit in his room when he just wanted to rest- great paino bar, shops, restaurants, close to wonderful choice of restaurants ...we also love the Mayflower, this was by far a better choice because the location made getting to anything easy - and the staff at the hotel were superb!

Hi Jan

I notice your response to the Jim's posting and I'm thinking of staying at the Mayflower myself. However, I'm concerned about how many restaurants are walkable. We literally want to be able to walk out the hotel entrance and stoll to nearby restaurants no more than 3-4 mins away!

We also have the same dilemma regarding breakfast - I am sure the hotel will charge a painful rate, so would rather eat out.

Can you remember any breakfast places in this area?

Thank you.

The Mayflower is just about 4 blocks from Dupont Circle, so it's really very close - it's a little more in what is considered "downtown," but it's not like you no longer have easy access to Dupont if you stay there. I would not recommend the JW Marriott or Grand Hyatt if you want to be in areas that are fun and lively at night - they are both very nice hotels with good access to metro and sightseeing, but they are in the midst of mostly office buildings, and the area is pretty boring at night, altho there are some good restaurants nearby. But not where I would go for people-watching, unless you like looking at lots of lawyers in suits.

I have not been inside the Jurys yet, but it's a great location and I think it was recently renovated, so I'm sure it's nice. The Mayflower, obviously, is absolutely lovely.

Another good Dupont hotel is the Radisson Barcelo on P Stret, and people on this site have often mentioned finding good rates there. Their restaurant, Gabriel, is fantastic, and it's a terrific area for walking, eating, shopping and people watching - you can even walk into Georgetown pretty easily from there.

I wouldn't worry about not finding a place to eat within a short distance. First, there is a large underground food court right next door where the Farragut North metro stop is. There are a couple good breakfast places nearby within a block or so--one is Teaism at 800 Connecticut Ave just off Farragut Sq (that's about a block away), and about same distance is Firehook Bakery at 912 17th St. Teaism has more than just tea, but breakfasts, lunch, good desserts, some std food as well as Asian. Firehook Bakery is good for breakfast and sandwiches. Some nicer restaurants nearby are the OVal Room (expensive) next to Teaism, and the Bombay Club right nearby (Indian). There are a couple other good restaurants I know of that might be called in the Dupont Circle area but they are really a couple blocks south of it so would be only about 2 blocks from the Mayflower--Giovanni's Trattu (Italian) and Bacchus (Lebanese/midEast), both around 1820 Jefferson Place just west of Connecticut Ave, SW of the Circle between M and N Sts. A real nice restaurant is Tabard Inn at 1739 N St NW, also only a few blocks away. Finally, the Luna Grill & Diner at 1301 Connecticut (near N St, only 1-2 blocks away) is good for breakfast, lunch and casual dinners.

In short, there are plenty of places to eat around there, I wouldn't not choose the Mayflower because of that. Now I haven't worked down there for a few years so can't swear the underground food court is still there at that metro stop, but given how busy that area is with workers who use that stop, I would imagine it still is. It might be closed on weekends, though, some of those worker food court malls are.

Shelley, for breakfast near the Mayflower, you won't have a problem - if you are looking for tea and toast, coffee and bread try Firehook Bakery & Coffeehouse - The Mayflower provides coffee and tea in your room (if I remember correctly) so you may want to consider picking up a pastry in the eve while say, strolling Georgetown or the fast food markets at Union Station.
If you have not already, go to www.washingtonpost.com and click on the option for tourist - they provide a wonderful option to click on whatever is in a certain proximity to your hotel--for example, for a great Indian Restaurant, you are within 1 mile of the Bombay Club!

Mayflower's a nicer hotel, but Jury's is much closer to restaurants.

Teaism is a wonderful spot for breakfast. However, if stairs are a problem for your parents, avoid it. Most of the seating is upstairs.

DC has a distinct lack of good breakfast places. There are a million places to get a bagel and cup of coffee, but very few to get a real breakfast.

I stayed at the Jurys hotel in March and am staying at The Mayflower next weekend. Jurys was ok and at the time the rate was good especially since we were part of a wedding group staying there. The little bar was quite lively,if that matters and the lobby, although small, was good for people watching (some older folks in our group did that too!)
This next trip is just a "couple's weekend' so we opted for the Mayflower since they had such a good rate ($129 +tax) and we enjoy staying in historic properties. I've read nothing but good comments regarding the Mayflower on all the posts. Marriott
(including Renaissance and their other properties) are having specials now so you may want to check out their website!