Safe & reasonable hotel in DC area?
 

I am 70-year old planning a solo 4-day visit to DC in May and would like to stay as close to city center and subways. However, do not want to pay over $200 per night. I'm concerned about the safety of the outling areas. Can someone recommend a reasonably priced hotel, in a safe area (Arlington?), close to the subway line? I plan to visit the Mall, White House, Arlington - the usual sights.

I also plan to visit some of the Air Museum displays at Dulles Airport one day. Should I fly in/out of Dulles? Or is it best to use Reagan?

By the way, is May the busiest time of year in DC? If I can be flexible, is there a better time of year to visit?

Thank you!

EllieMay,

I would fly into and out of Reagan. A 10 minute taxi or a very easy subway ride (there is a stop right at Reagan airport).

The Air and Space annex near Dulles is tough to get to from DC. It's a $60, 45 minute taxi each way or a long convoluted series of public transport options. The actual Air &amp; Space museum on the Mall in DC may be enough unless the focus of your visit is Aviation. If the focus of your visit <b>IS</b>aviationso, then the best option might be to fly into and out of Dulles and see the Annex upon arrival or just before your return flight home.

May is an excellent time to visit. It's crowded here pretter much April through September but May has the nicest weather of the year and it's no more crowded than the other busy months.

The Tabard Inn is one nice hotel within your price range and 1-1/2 blocks to the Dupont Metro station. It's is a VERY safe area.

www.tabardinn.com

Hi:

First, I think you'd have less problems if you could come in April, rather than May. The weather is usually nice (not as hot as May) and you'd be there right before tourist season, so you wouldn't have to deal with the big crowds, and the hotel rates won't have gone up for the summer season.

As far as rates, I looked at Orbitz for April, and if you want the best deal, try to come when the majority of your stay will be over the weekend (example: Thursday - Monday). Another benefit of doing this is that you won't have to deal with the rush hour commuters. For under $200, you should be able to get something quite nice in DC. If you want to save some $$, try Crystal City in Arlington. There are plenty of hotels and there is a Metro station there.

As far as the Udvar-Hazy Center, the only public transport is from Dulles, so you may want to fly out of there. But, if you fly out of Reagan, you can take Metro to Dulles, and connect there to the local bus to Udvar-Hazy. If you decide to visit on one of your travel days, be sure to build enough time to get to &amp; from the center &amp; time to visit into your itinerary.

If you're concerned about the safety of the hotel you're interested in, come up with one or two possibilities, and those of us who live/work here can let you know. Offhand, I can tell you that if you find something in the &quot;Golden Triangle&quot; area, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown and upper Northwest, you shouldn't have any problems. Just generally avoid Southeast, Northeast and Southwest.

Hope you have a wonderful, memorable visit!

The Udvar-Hazy's proximity to Dulles (a few miles south of the airport) is useless for travelers, since there is no place to stash your luggage at either the museum or the airport. If you're intent on visiting the U-H Center, you might consider renting a car to get out there. Most of the car rental companies have offices at Union Station.

The Tabard. Lombardy. The Quincy.