Most economical lodging in DC
 

Where is the best area to stay that is the most economical in the DC area?

Hard question to answer because one variable is how far out into the suburbs you're willing to go.

Most people seem to turn to either Rosslyn or Crystal City in Virginia for the best deals.

What's your idea of economical?

Hotel Harrington is right in DC, and is economical.

We would like to keep the room rate under $200/night. Any suggestions for this price range?

We would prefer to stay no further out than Arlington, VA if possible. We won't have a car, so we would prefer to be close to public transportation.

Depends on when you are traveling....can make a huge difference in price.

There is a Holiday Inn in north Georgetown--I would also check out the Georgetown Inn. The Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City Mall has Metro access which would be great so you would not be dependent on a car. What do you want to see in Washington, DC? There are charming B&B's in DuPont Circle and Kalorama as well.

Jen

Crystal City just outside National Airport and a metro stop.

Check out Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Marriott.

Don't know what rate you're looking for but we did very well at Jury's Washington Hotel on Dupont Circle and it was very nice.

jk, you'd do well to google any of the hotels suggested in this thread, although I don't think the Ritz is in your price range of $200.

Try priceline for DC. Priceline has zones for DC, so you won't end up too far from where you want to stay. We recently bid for a 4 star in the Georgetown/Foggy Bottom area for a Saturday night in January and got the Renaissance Hotel for $72. Check out Bidding for Travel and Better Bidding to see the zones and hotels usually won. Wouldn't bid less than a 4 star. I really wouldn't want to stay outside of DC -- the metro is getting more crowded and expensive all the time. Of course, all this depends on when you are going -- things will more expensive if you're trying for Cherry Blossom time, etc.

Oh, sorry -- I missed the part about $200. We paid $179 at Jury's Washington.

Just be careful to stay in a good area in DC. The most economical lodging is probably not where you want to be!

Hotel Harrington 2 blocks from thye Mall.PAul

I agree with Leslie: The way to get the best price is to think in terms of which booking resource to use, rather than specific hotels or locations. IMHO you can't go wrong with Priceline in DC if you stick to the zones that cover the downtown and White House areas.

You haven't mentioned how many you are trying to fit in the room - 2 or more?

You also haven;t mentioned time of year or days of week. Prices tend to be much lower when Congress isn't in session and on weekends. Weekdays are higher and esp when Congress is in session.

I just spent a night at Jurys on Dupont for a room rate of $119, booked straight from their website. It was excellent; staff were incredibly helpful and let me check in at 9am! That was great value.

We stayed at the Taft Bridge Inn a few years ago. It was about $90 a night back then. It's in a good location, just a few blocks north of Dupont circle. It's an old victorian mansion that has been converted to a b&b. Not a 4* hotel, but perfectly fine for the price.

I think you should be able to find lots of good options. Even the new Embassy Suites in town was less than $200 when we looked.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

There is a group of 6 of us. We are planning on going Sept 8th thru the 13th. I'll follow up on your suggestions.

Hotel Harrington is cheap for a reason.

What's the reason Hotel Harrington is cheap.

Also, on Price line what are the zones I should be looking for.

I got really excited about Jury's hotel but when I look up the rate it's $354 per night. I put in all kinds of fictitious dates and it still came up at that price.

Has anyone stayed at Days Inn on Connecticut Street. The price isn't too bad there, something like $159.

Which of the Embassy Suites is the best choice for price and location.

Wow, suze, that's just an enormous price hike! I can't understand hotel pricing at all. Why would we have gotten a rate of $179 in October -- a nice travel time of year -- and now it's $354 in February?

I feel so lucky that we went when we did!

Our trip is planned for October, how far ahead of time did you make the reservation. Maybe when the time gets closer the price will drop. I hope so, we're planning 5 nights around the DC area and we can't afford those outrageous rates.

Room rates in DC can fluctuate quite widely depending on what is going on in the area. For example, around cherry blossom time and Spring break there are lots of tourists, and at the start and end of Congressional sessions lobbyists and their posses are there in throngs.

I'd suggest to the OP to do a search on a site like Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz to see what is available but make the actual booking directly with the hotel. You can also get a sense of what location would work best for you - for example, the Georgetown Holiday Inn is a nice property but not within walking distance of a Metro stop.

Sorry, suze, I can't remember when we planned the trip. I'll look at home tonight and see if I have anything on it. It might be worth a call to the hotel, though, to see when their rates drop.

October is prime time for conventions in DC, so if your dates conicide with a big gathering that could account for higher than expected prices. Also, Columbus Day weekend is a huge draw for tourists.

I'd just keep looking, and make a cancellable reservation as soon as you find something acceptable. Then contnue looking and cancel the first if something better comes along.

There are hotels around the Orange line stations in Arlington just beyond Rosslyn that might be worth a look. That's only a few stops/minutes difference from Rosslyn on Metro. Hilton Garden Inn at Courthouse comes to mind; they show rates in the $220 range for mid-october.

$200 a night (and more) is not at all outrageous for DC hotels in October especially if your visit is during the work week. It's a big city with big city prices.

That aside, I just checked the Jury's website for the dates you said you were traveling in October and got rates of $129-159. I checked random dates in July, August and September and got similar or better prices. Those are **great** rates and, BTW, justifiably non-refundable.

The Hotel Harrington is cheap because it's an old tourist class hotel that caters to tour and student groups. Rooms are small and bare bones but the location is great for tourists.

A lot of tourists stay at the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn, VA, which is located across the river from and fairly easy walking distance to Georgetown. Its your basic Holiday Inn and is conveniently located about 1 block from the Rosslyn metro stop, which will take you all over Washington. Sign up for a free membership to Holiday Inn's Priorty Club and you will get a free breakfast with your room.

Lots of folks end up in Crystal City but I'll put a word in for Bethesda, MD, which is a much more pleasant area to stroll around, and has loads of good restaurants. Picking random dates in February, the Residence Inn, which is right at the Bethesda Metro stop, has rooms for $169. Don't know the makeup of your six, but you might think about two one-bedroom suites at the Residence Inn for $189 each.

The Bethesda Metro station is on the Red Line with direct access to the Zoo, Dupont Circle, Metro Center (near the White House and many Mall attractions) and Gallery Place (near Spy Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and the Archives), and to Union Station (good kickoff point for the Old Towne Trolley or Tourmobile).

Hi suze,
I found our booking confirmation for Jury's and it was dated September 6 for a stay from October 6 to 9. It seems we got some sort of 'promotional' rate of $179/night.