Need hotel and restaurant recommendations, Wash D.C.
 

My husband and I will be in D.C. Labor Day weekend for the Boise State-Virginia Tech football game. Looking for a nice hotel near FedEx field as well as a good place for dinner on Sunday night.

For the hotel, it needs to be very nice and in a perfect world walking distance to FedEx.

For dinner, excellent food, wine and atmosphere, near the hotel and open for Sunday dinner. For both price is not a big factor.

FedEx field, huh? There is not much of anything near there and certainly nothing with atmosphere and nothing within walking distance, either. I would research how you are going to get to FedEx field and then trace your transportation route back to a good place to stay, like in DC itself. The field is about a mile from the nearest Metro stop on the blue line. I do not believe there is any transportation from the stop to the field, but maybe someone knows definitively about this.

FedEx field is not located in an area with many luxury hotels. I recommend factoring transportation into your plans and staying in DC.

http://www.redskins.com/gen/articles...ions_51637.jsp

Fedex Field is in Maryland, in the middle of nowhere. There is a metro station "less than a mile" from the field, and you may be able to hail a cab from the station to get you to the game. Or, review WMATA's bus information, as well as the bus information for Prince George's County: http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov...sit/thebus.asp

Both bus services may offer additional lines on game day, particularly The Bus (PG's bus system. And, it's $1 fare. It also takes a Metro card)

Or, call the hotel at the National Harbor (http://www.nationalharbor.com/consumer/hotels.htm) and see if they offer courtesy transportation to and from the game, if you elect to stay there.

National Harbor is a good idea.

National Harbor is a bad idea. It is in the middle of a different nowhere. If you want a nice hotel with access to good restaurants and the game, downtown DC works.

But DC isn't very close to the FedEx field, which seemed to be their top priority.

It's as close to Fedex Field as National Harbor, but you're not stuck in the middle of nowhere.

True, but IF they have door to door service to and from the game (which I understood to be the whole purpose of the trip) I think it is a viable alternative.

Let me amend that. It's closer than National Harbor (12 miles vs. 17) and you can take Metro instead of renting a car, which is your only sane option if you're stuck in an isolated development on the Potomac just below the beltway.

We will have a car (we're coming from Richmond) and since it seems there is no place close, what are the best hotels in D.C. as well as restaurants? We've stayed at The Watergate in the past but have not been there in about 10 years.

How about the Hay Adams or the Willard?

You could also look at the Jefferson (recently renovated) the Palomar, the Mandarin Oriental (not the greatest location IMO) the JW Marriott (right across the street from the Willard), or one of the newest...the W which is in the old Hotel Washington location and next door to the Willard.

Food? What kind do you REALLY like?

Although I'm sure they all ride the same tide, pay close attention to hotel prices -- I've stayed at the JW Marriott twice (both times on business). The first time was in March and the room was close to $500 a night. The second time was in January and a similar room was $179. Definitely supply and demand -- although I have no idea what was going on to make that March date so expensive.

We like a variety of foods....I like most everything. My husband prefers modern American and French. And wine. We both love wine.

I've heard lots of good things about Plume lately which I believe is in the Jefferson Hotel referenced above.

How about organic....Restaurant Nora might be a possibility; there's always the 1789 in Georgetown; ordinarily I might recommend the Majestic Cafe in Alexandria but I'm not sure one would call the cuisine "modern" (best meatloaf I ever had and after waiting three weeks to get a table...) anyway, i am sure others wil comment once I bring this back to the top...don't forget a lot of places here can be reserved through OpenTable.com..hope your trip is a great one

Janet, Based on what I've seen you recommend in Richmond, you might take a look at the following:

Citronelle (Georgetown)

Vidalia (downtown)

CitiZen (SW DC at the Mardarin Oriental mentioned above, agree it's not the most interesting part of town)

Vidalia (downtown)

Blue Duck Tavern (Foggy Bottom, also attached to a hotel but I can't recall which one)

There are so many good choices. Nora and 1789 have been around forever and are always good. I also think you'd like The Majestic in Alexandria. Another thought there would be Restaurant Eve. In your OP you mentioned wanting a restaurant near your hotel. Still true?

Since you have a car another option would be to stay in Tyson's Corner- there's a Ritz and several other hotels there with tons of shopping (two huge malls) and restaurants. Granted it's further from FedEx, but with traffic at any given time it's somewhat of a wash.

Tysons? Oh no, that's a really bad idea. If you are going to come to DC, don't spend it at FedEx field and then in a shopping mall suburb. There's so many interesting things to do and, since price isn't an issue, so many options in DC.

The drive to FedEx field from Tysons could take two hours.