I live a few miles from Old Town, and it's great, but I don't quite understand why you want to stay there vs DC if you really want to see the city. IMO, you will miss a lot of the DC experience if you don't stay in the city.

I would not stay in Alexandria, either. If the various museums of the Smithsonian are of particular interest, I would focus on Penn Quarter (in the District), a neighborhood within easy walking distance of the National Mall.

I stayed at the Embassy Suites between the GWU campus and Dupont Circle this April and liked the location (and proximity to Vidalia and Founding Farmers, which was my favorite eating experience in DC this time). We even walked over to view the White House one evening. So I think the West End is a good location. The Penn Quarter is closer to a higher concentration of restaurants and closer to the Mall, and since that's where you are mostly going, it may be a more convenient location that will require less walking. There are scores of hotels in the Penn Quarter.

Thanks again to all for your help.

I just printed out a map and circled our top choices and they seem to be concentrated one area. I am not sure what the cognizatti or the locals call it but some surround the Capitol while others are south of Penn Quarter.

We are also enjoy walking the places we visit so that area seems to make sense. Alexnadria seems quite pleasant however, so thanks for the suggestions.

I am going to give my usual suggestion of the Woodley Park Guest House. You can see the Metro elevator from the front porch. Woodley Park is on the red line so you can get on the Metro at Union Station and proceed to Woodley Park without changing trains.

Woodley Park has many nice restaurants. Although there are many people wondering around in the evening, the neighborhood is quiet. The Woodley serves a nice continental breakfast with many choices and good conversation.

I will take a look at Woodley Park Guest House. Thanks

My husband, daughter, and I stayed at The George in April. It's very close to Union Station which is convenient, and we loved the hotel.

I do agree with other posters who told me that the area is pretty corporate and there aren't a lot of interesting restaurants. We ended up taking the Metro out of the neighborhood for dinner most nights. We liked the Foggy Bottom area a lot, but we found a good deal at the George, so we stayed there.

I have stayed at the George and found the staff to be exceptionally nice, and I had a nice room at a really good rate for a spring weekend. On the way down on Amtrak I posted a shout out on the George's site on Facebook and was pleasantly surprise by a fruit and cheese platter and bottle of wine in my room on arrival.


I highly recommend Zaytinya for lunch or dinner. lots of small plates of Greek and middle eastern food. and its conveniently located across the street from the Gallery Place Metro stop, and the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museums.

union station is truly a beautiful building. other favorites are the library of congress and the national building museum ( btw entry tothe great hall is free )

I am currently wrist wrestling with my wife as to where to stay. She got insulted when I said Foggy Bottom.

Maxima, I had called three weeks before to confirm our reservation, and the person at the front desk remembered. My husband borrowed a bike to visit a farmers market. And the wine guy remembered our fave wine in the evenings. Great customer service!

There are some good restaurant suggestions near the National Portrait Gallery/Penn Quarter area:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...it-gallery.cfm

Thanks.

They have not invented a cuisine we do not eat. But since the Capitol is filled with Embassies, it would interesting to eat some types of food we don't ordinarily eat.

In that case, IMD, you should know that DC has always been known for good Ethiopian food, at all ranges of price and ambiance. I think there was a thread here about that, in fact. Central American food, too.

Ethiopian and Central American sound good.

Are there particular cuisines in which you are interested?

I have stayed in/near Foggy Bottom several times while our son was at school at GW. I enjoyed the area, being able to walk to the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, etc. There are more restaurants if you stay closer to Dupont Circle. We have stayed at the Marriott near the Embassy Suites mentioned by Doug Stallings.

I enjoyed staying in that area more than at hotels near Union Station at where I have stayed several times for conferences.

Since you are interested in the architecture of Union Station, you might also enjoy the National Building Museum. You can visit the Great Hall and have a tour for free.

KJA

All cuisines are of interest to us. We also try not to spend a lot for our meals, unless necessary, and when traveling we often have lunch as our big meal. This is rare for us to visit a US city and be on our own, because we have relatives all over the country and that is with whom we usually stay or near. Thus we rely on them for restaurants, unless we have read about some place that seems special.

Thanks Vtt-We will see if we have time for the National Building Museum.

I looked at National Building Museum and it is the old Pension Building and modeled after an Italian palazzo.

You might look at the Mitsitam Cafe, which is inside the Museum of the American Indian:
http://www.mitsitamcafe.com/home/default.asp

Thanks Kja, sounds interesting.