mass transit into Washington DC

Old Jan 22nd, 2006, 06:58 PM
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mass transit into Washington DC

Our family, including four teenagers, will be spending two days in the DC area in late March, before heading down to Williamsburg. I was wondering if the metro goes into Alexandria? If so, how long is the ride into the City and does anyone have any recommendation for a hotel in Alexandria? We prefer a hotel similar to Embassy Suites, which has 2 queen beds, plus a fold out sofa. Any suggestions?
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 02:32 AM
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Yellow line has a King Street stop. It is quite a walk from Old Towne but it should be no problem for teenagers. Only hotel I remember in Old Towne is Holiday Inn right on King Street. You may want to consider Holiday Inn in Rosslyn, VA (over Potomac from D.C.) which is extremely close to the blue line subway stop. That same blue line has a Smithsonian stop. The yellow line does the same but you have to get off at the Archives than walk over a few blocks to get to the Smithsonians (American and Natural).
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 04:19 AM
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There's an Embassy Suites in Alexandria, right across the street from a Metro station.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 06:38 AM
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The Embassy Suites in Alexandria is across the street from the King St. metro station. King St. has yellow and blue line access and takes about 20 minutes to DC.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 11:57 AM
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We were very pleased with the Embassy Suites in Alexandria, on Diagonal St across from King St Metro station. If the walk down to the river is too much, there is frequent bus service. I know there's a free bus weekends during the summer, not sure if it's offered in the spring. Do some of the walking tours suggested by the visitors center, and check out the Torpedo Factory.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 06:22 PM
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Yes, I know about the Embassy Suites in Alexandria, but it's booked up. There is a "Homewood Suites", also in Alexandria, although it's not in the Old Town area. Has anyone stayed there? Any comments?
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 06:38 PM
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THe Homewoods Suite is not at all close to a Metro Station.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 06:42 PM
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Therre are other Embassy Suites, and other suite hotels, that are reaonsably priced and handy to the Metro. Do you have your heart set on Alexandria?
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Old Jan 23rd, 2006, 08:19 PM
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We would prefer to stay in Alexandria, but it's not absolutely necessary. We only have two days in the dc area. I know if we don't stay there, we probably won't have time to see it at all. At least this way, we can have breakfast there and a late dinner and poke around the town a little bit. As far as Homewood Suites goes, we will have a rental car, although I never want to drive into Washington DC again! Thus the metro... We thought if we stay at Homewood we can drive the car to the station and catch the metro into the city. On another note, we will be spending one night and day in Annapolis before arriving in Alexandria. Any recommendations for a hotel there? The Marriott Waterfront looks fantastic, but the rates for 6 people are way out of our range.
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Old Jan 24th, 2006, 03:22 AM
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I hope someone can help you with the specifics for Alexandria -- but most Metro stations do not have any associated parking. The only ones I know of that have garages/lots are at the ends of the lines, or at least in suburbia. Try www.wmata.com
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Old Jan 24th, 2006, 06:35 AM
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"We only have two days in the dc area. I know if we don't stay there, we probably won't have time to see it at all"

I'm not sure I understand this logic. You could stay somewhere closer--like Crystal City, Pentagon City, or Roslyn, Courthouse, or even Ballston--and accomplish the same thing.
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Old Jan 24th, 2006, 06:42 AM
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There is a Residence Inn (Marriott)close to the King Street metro station with some suite rooms. Also a Hilton and a Hampton Inn. The Homewood Suites is about 5 miles out King St. (route 7) from the King St. station. There is limited parking at that metro, the best metros for parking are Huntington (closest to Old Town), Van Dorn and Franconia (both farther away).

Other hotels close to Old Town and a metro station are the Alexandria Courtyard by Marriott and the Holiday Inn Eisenhower Ave. Both of these are near the Eisenhower Ave. metro station and only one stop from King St.

You might also search this board for hotel choices near Crystal City and Pentagon City. There is an Embassy Suites in Crystal City and there's been lots of talk lately about hotels in this area of VA. You're still pretty close to Alexandria.
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Old Jan 24th, 2006, 07:17 AM
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Mike T: When I said "If we don't stay there" I meant in Alexandria. If we stay in DC, I know we'll never make it over to Alexandria, since our time is so limited. Are the cities you mentioned close to Alexandria? From what everyone has said, it sounds like it's important that we stay within walking distance to the metro line. Homewood Suites probably will not be the best bet. Thanks for everyone's input! This is so helpful.
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Old Jan 24th, 2006, 07:53 AM
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Ahhhh. Now I understand. Alexandria probably wouldn't be high on my list of things to see in DC, but it has its charms. One could get to Alexandria quickly from Crystal City or Pentagon City or Roslyn.
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Old Jan 24th, 2006, 08:23 AM
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It seems like some time ago someone posted about a Doubletree Suites over in the New Carrollton area - Landover?? and were quite pleased with the hotels' shuttle service. It would be convenient too for a trips to Annapolis & Baltimore.

MUST you have suites? There are Comfort Inns at/near end of Blue Line (serves Alexandria) (Comfort Inn Alexandria-Van Dorn and Comfort Inn Springfield / Franconia) that have the breakfast and free shuttle to Metro station. Not too far from King St (Old Town) Alexandria and about 1/2 hr to central DC. Lots of parking usually avail @ Springfield/Fran station, so you might even stay south of Springfield & drive to metro.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2006, 11:34 AM
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Homewood Suites is 1.25 miles from the Eisenhower Avenue Station. I used to live in the townhouses next door to the hotel. It's about a 25-30 minute walk. There's a DASH bus stop right across the street. The fare used to be $1 to either the Metro or into Old Town.

There's a Residence Inn on Duke, very near the King Street metro. Someone else may have mentioned this. I didn't read all of the posts.

It is not a long walk from King Street metro stop to Old Town. You are in Old Town when you get off the train. All the way down to the river will only take 20 minutes if you don't make any stops. I used to work less than a block from the metro and walked to the river everyday.

If you do stay in OT, try Hard Times Cafe for chili and the Rock-It Cafe for breakfast on the weekend. The Rock-It doesn't look like much, but their breakfasts are really good. Also try Union Street Station, on Union Street, just around the corner to the right from King. Your teenagers will love it. Southside 815 is great, too. Going south on King, turn right on Washington. 815 S. Washington. A bit of a walk.
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