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.