Toni

I just booked a room at the Radisson Barcelo in the Dupont Circle area for $99. a night. It's a promotional fee that they are offering. Rooms are usually around $159 according to Frommer's and the AAA tour book. Just wanted to pass this info along. The number is 800.333.3333.
Thanks everyone for your help in planning our first trip to DC.

RTraveler

Stayed there Feb 2000.
VERY nice place. They bill themselves as having the area's largest hotel rooms. NO overstatement here. Convenient to the Metro, and plenty dining choices nearby.

jack

for what time period? weekend or weekday? Curious because I tried to get that rate per e-mail & by calling the hotel directly & 800 tn & all gave me different rates higher than $99. for mid sept weekend. Rates ranged from $129 (e-mail), $149. (by calling hotel directly with AAA discount)& $199 (through 800 tn). I then tried to contact Wanda the hotel mgr back to request $129.00 per night she quoted in e-mail but she never returned my call or e-mail. Very poor customer service. I hope you have a better experience once you get there. The hotel would not let me book the $129. quote she gave me. The rude employee just kept asking me over & over why I didn't book it when offered but amazingly, this was in an e-mail & she just did not understand that when I called the hotel they offered a higher price. I finally took my business elsewhere & found the Westin on Mass. Ave a block up on expedia for $119. Whew!! I will never try to book at that hotel again. I don't call if their hotel rooms are big enough for a pair of burger king feed elephants!!

Jim Rosenberg

I've stayed there at the $99 rate through the Radisson website. The number of rooms available at that level is extremely limited, so you need to lock in immediately if you catch it. It's a wonderful hotel and conveniently located.

diane

Jack, the whole point of email booking is to BOOK by email, not by phone.

jack

Diane, the website was higher priced. I sent an e-mail DIRECTLY to the hotel to see if I could get a better deal & I did but had no way to book it! When I called the hotel directly or 800 tn or thru website, the prices were higher. The mgr gave a lower quote i the reply but Radisson would not honor it.

Pete

It's in an excellent area, lots of bars & restaurants, convenient to Georgetown & Dupont Circle. If you stay there, eat pizza at Pizza Paradiso (on P Street about a block from the hotel) and try some of the hundreds of beers at the Brickskeller (on 22nd between P and Mass ave.), the food isn't that great but the beer selection is fun.

Toni

Jack...sorry you had such trouble. I just called them directly at the number I posted above and was offered that price over the phone. The woman I spoke with (I didn't get a name) was very nice. The dates are April 13-16th which is a Sat-Tues stay.

Toni

One other thing...the website quote WAS higher than when I called the 800 number. I believe that when you speak with somepme directly you can many times get a better rate and also calling back again if you don't get what you want.
I just had this happen in Williamsburg. We wanted to stay at the Williamsburg Lodge and I was told by 2 reservation people at their 800 number that there were no vacancies. The third person I spoke with was able to get me a room for the days that I wanted. Not sure how this works but I think that calling back several times will sometimes put you in touch with someone who can make things happen, especially if you plead your case..."we REALLY wanted to stay at YOUR Inn/hotel/B&B etc, is there ANYWAY at all that YOU could help us?"
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...doesn't hurt to give it a shot.

jack

Toni - enjoy your stay. I can't wait to go back. The Dupont Circle area is a very lively & convenient place in which to stay. Hope I didn't "bog" you down with my situation. Happy travels.

Toni

Thanks...it's our first trip to D.C. and I'm really looking forward to it. We are going to go to Manassas, down to Charlottesville, over to Williamsburg and then back up to D.C for the last 4 nights. I'ts a long way away, April, but it gives me something to look forward to.

Kathy

This will also be our first family trip to d.c., firt part of April. Booked the $99 price at the Barcelo with no problem. My question is how far is the nearest metro station and do they have a shuttle to it? Also, how long is the metro ride to the mall? Thanks for any help

jack

Hi, the Dupont Circle metro stop is only a couple of blocks away. A short stroll up P st & Conn. ave. The ride to the mall is short as well - maybe 10 - 15 minutes? The most convenient stop is Smithsonian on the blue & orange lines. Just take the red line from Dupont to Metro Ctr & transfer from there to either blue or orange. As you will see the metro is one of the better things about DC travel - clean, safe, convenient..... One of the better guides I have seen has been the MapEasy's Guidemap to Washington DC...look for it in your local bookstores. Has a detailed map of Dupont Circle (including restaurants, hotels, bars etc) & a metro map.

G

Hi yall!

I just got off the phone with Ginger at the 800#. She works in customer service. When I made the res back in July I called the hotel directly and was was quoted 129 a night for 4 nights. Am going in Oct. Sat-Tue. I told Ginger I wanted the lower rate. She sent my request to the the hotel and asked them to honor my request. I should hear something within 72 hours. I am going to tell the hotel that is the rate I want. Hopefully I won't have a problem. Thanks Toni for letting everyone know.

Toni

Jack..thanks for the head up about Map easy...I'll pick it up!
G...good luck. Let us know how you make out.