Hi,
I will be attending a conference early September located in Reston, Virginia for 3 days and then hope to do a few days sightseeing in the capital, then fly out of Dulles. Would love some advice on whether to stay in Reston, and commute to DC (and what is best mode of transportation) or should I move to hotel in D.C. for minivacation? If I stay in DC, any recommendations for moderate hotel in close proximity to Capitol(under 200)? Thanks! Have only been to DC once and would love to sightsee with husband who recently became a US citizen.

I would go into DC. Coming from Reston a couple of days in a row would be a pain in the neck.

I would check orbitz first for hotels to get an idea of price range and location.

Congrats to your husband!!

I agree with finding a hotel closer to the city (there are several threads available here, just search "dc hotel" or something similar). I won't get into the debate over whether it's more beneficial to stay in the city or in the 'burbs, but check Stationmasters.com and wmata.com to make sure that your hotel is within walking distance to a Metro line for easy access to the sights.

I also think you should stay in DC - the commute in the morning is terrible and in order to wait it out you'd lose too much time. Someone else posted earlier about a great hotel deal at the Omni - a great hotel for sightseeing. This is a fabulous deal.

Quoting: "Author: denice7
Date: 07/25/2008, 03:09 am
I live in DC and received an email from the hotel to book by this Saturday for a rate of $109 through the end of the year. The code is HOLIDAY. I was able to get a room for next weekend at the $109 as a little break to enjoy their pool and just get away from home."

I would not advise staying out in reston and then commuting into the District for sightseeing unless you like driving back and forth or taking some sort of bus/Metro combo.

I would do the thing in Reston and then move inward. Besides, just how much sightseeing are you REALLY going to want to do after attending conference seesions all day?

If you find a hotel closer in you can always ask here how far it is to the nearest metro stop, too.

Agree it would be better to stay in DC if possible.

Although, I was in Reston Town Center for work and it wasn't that difficult to get into DC via bus and metro.

Darn - it would help if I gave you the name of the hotel with the deal, huh? Sorry about that - it's the Omni Shoreham.

I would approach it a different way. It would be fine staying outside DC (I would actually prefer it) - as long as your hotel is right next to a Metro station - because you do not want to even think about driving to or from DC in this traffic. You can get anywhere you want to go by Metro - clean, nice, cheap and convenient. You definitely don't want to be attending a conference in Reston and commuting there from DC - ugly, ugly commute. I also wouldn't really work on getting close to the Capitol - I would just get close to a metro station.....

This is great information!
Thanks all, I will start checking out the hotels tonight
Ceeshell

I'm not sure where Reston is, but my kids and I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Falls Church, VA. It was cheap, comfortable, and close to DC. I didn't hit much traffic going in and out, but I'm from NY, so traffic seems normal to me.

you do not want a car in d.c.
you can get an all day www.dccirculator.com bus pass for $3. and the metro and other buses are great.

i am very happy using priceline.com or www.hotwire.com for this type of situation. you will save a lot.

check out www.betterbiddng.com and www.biddingfortravel.com for instructions of how to use the websites.

if you want to tour the national archives without standing in line go to their website to request free timed tickets or become part of the small morning tour with guide at 9.45 am.

you can get half price tickets for some plays/event at www.tciketplace.org the day of show.

also, about two hours before each performance at the box office of kennedy Center some half price tickets (if available) will go on sale.

if you like parades and ceremonial events, check out the u.s. marine corps band website. there is a lot going on certain days of the weeks at some of the memorials.

sorry i donīt have these websites on hand now.. you can google them easily.

enjoy d.c.

Thanks for the suggestions, would be great to join a tour. Also kita thanks much for the promo code, I was able to book a few nights at the Omni.