Hi All--

Always plan our trips with the help from those who frequent these boards, so thank you.

We are returning home from DC on an early AM, flight. Can anyone recommend a nice, clean & moderately priced hotel, near the National airport for our last night?

Also, family is hoping for a nice dinner in town, before we are dropped off for the night at our hotel. Any nice moderate to moderately expensive seafood restaurants, or any other recomendations for a meal on our last night in DC? We do love Greek food, & it seems to me I recently saw note of a well know Greek restaurant in DC.

Also, has anyone been to the Building Museum in DC, & if so what can you tell me about it? We have a home builder & an architect in the family & I thought it might be of interest to them. Thanks for you help-- Sandy in Oregon



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Sandby, since you are flying out of DCA, then I would tend to recommend simply staying in the district on your last night. It's not that much of a cab ride there anyway, so staying out near the airport really doesn't offer much of an advantage for an early morning flight (because I'm assuming you will be out ahead of traffic.)

As for seafood places, here's one that I will into a discussion that others are sure to join:

http://www.marketinnrestaurant.com/Home%20WB.htm

The Market Inn is a fabulous place to go for seafood in Washington. You won't have to dress up and it is a comparative bargain, too. Although you'll find it well-advertised, it's not a fancy place; more on the order of eating in a comfy pub than some of the high-end gastronomic adventures available in the Capital City. Oh, you'll still get a nice linen napkin, but much of the seating is in booths and the ambiance is about as un-ostentatious as it gets.

Start with the she-crab soup. It's thick and generously chunky with succulent morsels of crab. A lobster bisque is also available and it is equally well-prepared. (You may find yourself cleaning out the bowl with a piece of the wonderful, crusty roll provided to you, as I did, since I couldn't bear the thought of missing ANY of it.)

There is a lobster tank with plenty of candidates of various sizes for fans of fresh, whole lobster. It was tempting, but we chose the "3-Way Seafood Combination: Lump Crabmeat, Lobster & Shrimp." It's available sautéed, Norfolk, Newburg or au gratin; my pick was Newburg and it was prepared perfectly. The side of vegetables was excellent, too. Like the seafood, it is not over-cooked -- the hallmark of people who know what they're doing with fine seafood.

Seafood is the main feature of the restaurant, of course, and so there is a plethora of oustanding seafood entries and appetizers from traditional crab cakes to exciting combinations, scallops, oysters, clams, seafood soups and casseroles. We were unable to nod in the affirmative by the time the dessert selection came around because we were more stuffed than the lobster with imperial crab featured item.

If you happen to have someone along who isn't into seafood, please note that you can also order from a selection of steaks and other choices.

The Market Inn is $11-$12 taxi ride from Dupont Circle or you can take the Metro to Federal Station and it's less than a two-block walk. If you're driving, they have an on-premises lot with valet parking. However you get there, it is going to be a celebration. Bon Appetit!

Ooops! Make that "Sandy". (Nothing worse than messing up a person's name with no edit function!)

I agree with Flyboy -- National is so handy to the city, you can stay anyplace and be just a few minutes from the airport, especially if you're using the Metro.

The Building Museum is one of my favorites in DC. It's not just for architects and builders. Spectacular building, fascinating exhibits, engaging tour guides, and one of the best gift shops in DC!

Here's a secret for you: one of the least expensive but most handy places you can stay is the Americana Hotel (or maybe Motel) in Crystal City (Arlington). It's about 3 minutes to the airport, and it's about a 5 minute walk to the metro. It's clean and neat and inexpensive. When we lived in Crystal City, that's where family would stay - around $60/night although that was a few years back - and they were always happy there.

I would not bother changing hotels for a flight out of DCA, since a cab ride from almost anywhere in the city won't take more than 15 minutes anyway, non-rush.

Hi Sandy,

You don't mention where you are staying for the trip, but the others are right. DCA is so close to the city (15 minutes by cab or metro), that there is no point in moving for an early flight.

Zaytinya is a "happening" mediterranean restaurant that is very good. Not sure if it's the one you read about, but it serves mezzes as well as a full dinner menu. It's very good has a very interesting decor. The website is www.zaytinya.com

Have a great trip! When is the trip?

Karen

I visit the National Building Museum almost each time I visit DC. The ever changing exhibits are always fascinating, and be sure to take a guided tour of the building - you'll visit places the public doesn't normally go to, as well as learn the history of the building itself, originally the "Pension Building", where the pension payments to veterans was administered & disbursed.

They do ask (but don't enforce) a $5 donation (really worth it), have a small sandwich shops with some standard & unusual sandwiches, salads & soups. I love sitting out in the main hall while eating lunch.

I stayed at Motel50 (now "the Inn at Rosslyn") awhile back, owned by same people who own the Americana. A bit old, but large rooms, quiet, and clean - which I suspect the Americana is too. However, I tend to agree with those who say it should be easy enough to stay at the hotel you plan to be for the rest of your trip -- unless the cost or room availability is a factor.

Hi Again--

Thank you all for your replies, the information is great. We are leaving Oct. 1 and hubby & I are staying in Fredricksburg, VA with my sister & family. We are excited about trip, as it is our first visit. Family will drop us off at our hotel, after dinner. So we won't have a car. I was thinking of a hotel close to the airport & just using their shuttle in the AM. Our flight leaves at 9:00AM and we were told we had to be at the airport at 7:00AM.

One other quick question, I found a cruise on the Potomac with the Spirit of Washington. I'm thinking of booking the lunch cruise for 6 adults. Has anyone taken this lunch cruise. It looks good. The hotels and restaurants mentioned definely will be checked out. Do you think we need reservations for a Friday night (4, possibly 6 people) at the seafood restaurant? Thanks Again Sandy in Oregon PS Thanks a bunch re: info about the Building Museum, it will be at the top of our list because of your recommendations.

Have to agree with FlyBoy about Market Inn. I think it is Mrs. MileKing's and my favorite restaurant. Not only for seafood, but also for steaks. They rank right up there with Mortons. Mrs. MileKing loves the lobster bisque and rates it ahead of Capital Grille's.

We first visited here because it was in the Entertainment book. When we drove up to the place, we almost didn't go in....it looks like a real dive from the outside. But inside is as FlyBoy describes and food and service are excellent.

Strongly suggest visiting on Saturday night and not Friday. The Happy Hour crowd on Friday nights makes for a noisy and crowded place, much different than on Saturday when you can listen to the 2 piece jazz band.

You probably don't need to be at National Airport two hours ahead of time. I fly in and out of the airport a lot and rarely find lines or a wait.

If you want to stay near the airport, there are also plenty of hotels in chain hotels in Crystal City--a sheraton, marriott, and Hyatt, I believe--which would all be convenient. I would probably avoid the Americana and such unless you REALLY need save the $$.

The Americana isn't the Americana anymore it's the Crystal City Motel and I wouldn't recommend that either unless you really need somewhere cheap.

The Crystal City/Pentagon City Doubletree is great and they have a shuttle that goes extra early to the airport because the Northwest crews stay there.

Otherwise, there are tons of hotels in Crystal City right at the Metro (depending on the time and day of your flight) like the Marriotts previously mentioned.

The building museum is a cool building, but you should check their website to see what the current exhibit is since that is the ONLY exhibit. Depending on what time you are arriving in DC, you may want to check out the Octagon House run by AIA. It's supposedly the first house built in the city or something like that (I've been 12 times but never remember LOL). You might be able to get info on the AIA website.

~gnr~

We were in Ocean City, MD this past summer & flying out of DCA. We made reservations to stay at the Hampton Inn in Crystal City. At the last minute we were offered an extra night in OC, so we canceled the Hampton & drove from OC to DCA the next morning. But with AAA discount, I think we were scheduled to pay $80 for the Friday night at the Hampton. & they also have a shuttle to the airport. We have been to Ocean City a number of times & have always used DCA, & for the flight home we have always stayed at a hotel in Crystal City (actually part of Arlington VA) the night before our flight out. We just look for the best deal at any of the hotels & if they have a shuttle to DCA. Have stayed at the various Marriotts or Sheratons there for a good price, but that is usually on a Friday or Saturday night. During the week it usually costs abit more. There is also an Embassy Suites in Crystal City.

The website for the Building Museum is

http://www.nbm.org/

and I must disagree with the reader who said there is only one exhibit at a time. Usually I find four, all on the second floor, unless one is currently being setup or dismantled. The three currently are: "Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete", "Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio Community Architecture" (ends Sept 6), and "Symphony in Steel: Ironworkers and the Walt Disney Concert Hall". "Reclaiming the Anacosta" was also on exhibit in June when I last visited. I enjoyed the #2 the most and #3 the least.

"gnr" *IF* the red/pink text was intentional -- well maybe no one else has trouble reading it, but I do. Could you keep color limited to words you're trying to emphasize? Thanks.)

rb - The pink was intentional. It is my signature color in all my forum postings throughout the web. However, if it bothers you, I'll just limit it to my name.

As for the building museum, whenever I've gone there has only been one exhibit unless they had them hiding. We often went for class trips and I had a class in the building for a semester.

~gnr~

I have to agree with rb: (1) the pink is very hard to read -- remember that it will look different on different computers; and (2) there are usually several exhibits going on at the same time at the Building Museum, easy enough to check.

More support for the National Building Museum as a building with a spectacular interior with interesting exhibits. I have also found several exhibits open whenever I've been at the Building Museum.

Re the issue of the number of exhibits at a time there: it does occur to me, since the building is many floors of offices opening to an atrium, that it would be very possible to miss the exhibits on the second floor if you didn't know they were there, and assumed that it was just another floor of offices.

It is a sad commentary on the lower esteem with which public service is held in the contemporary U.S. that at one time we built palaces such as this for people doing such unglamorous but valuable work as auditing claims in.

Along the same lines, you might want to see the Old Post Office in D.C., another magnificent old office building with a huge atrium, but this one with a glass elevator running up to the roof and beyond, to a tower with perhaps the best high viewing area in D.C., since the only higher ones are the Washington Monument with its tiny windows and the much less centrally located National Cathedral.

Why should someone avoid the Americana? Of course, it may have declined since I lived near it (at the Bella Vista Condo) - I guess it was 8 years ago. But if it's clean and safe, and you only need it to sleep in for one night, and it's close to where you need to be, that sounds fine to me. I tried to pull rates on it but couldn't find it. If it was $70/night, isn't that better than the $169/night, the lowest I could find for any of the nicer chain hotels? Granted, if I could get one of the Marriotts for only $10 or $20 more, I might choose one of them. But $100 more? I wouldn't. Of course, the assumptions here are that a) the Americana is still clean and safe and b) the other hotels are a lot more expensive. If either assumption is wrong, it changes the decision calculus. PS I also found the pink very hard to read, even though it was cool!

Birder - It's not the Americana anymore. Plus, the general location immediately makes you uneasy as it is on a poorly kept side road with nothing but warehouses and tall grass. The road probably hasn't been repaved since you visited the hotel. Granted there is some sort of theater in that area as well, but your first impression isn't very good. Too bad I can't post a photo. I'd take one on Monday when I drive by it.

~gnr~ (sans pink )

Actually, I drove by the Americana today and it is still there. Right next to the off-ramp if you are coming from DC and going to Pentagon City. Still think it looks questoinable, especially since there are probably 9 other hotels within 1 mile from the Americana. There's a Courtyard by Marriot, Holiday Inn, Days Inn and Hampton Inn (all probably in the same price range) closer to the airport and less sketchy looking.