I will be staying at the Lincoln Suites and I wanted to know how safe the area is around the hotel. Will it be safe to go to Dupont Circle for dinner at night (walking or the metro)? What would be the best route to take?

Lincoln Suites is in "downtown" DC in a very busy business area. While it may feel a little more lonely after, say, 10pm, it's on a very well-travelled street. You will be perfectly fine if you are used to cities. You will likely encounter homeless people but beyond that there should be nothing to create anxiety.

As for getting to DuPont Circle, you will be a very short walk (less then 10 minutes). Any of the numbered streets (20th or 21st) will take you directly into the heart of DuPont Circle. Or, you can walk two blocks east to Connecticut Avenue and walk north from there.

As mentioned above, Lincoln Suites is in an area with lots of office buildings. Perfectly safe to walk to Dupont (19th st is the most direct route - walking to Dupont is quicker than Metro). Actually no unsafe areas anywhere near you hotel. For metro: the Red line is two blocks east (@ Conn. Ave. & L st.); the Blue/Orange line is two blocks southeast (@ 18th & I st.). There are a million places for breakfast or lunch Mon-Fri. Some places in the immediate area are closed nights & weekends when the office crowd is gone. The exeption is 19th st. between L St. & Dupont Circle: full of resaurants - most of which are open nights & weekends. The Dupont Circle area is lively everyday, 24/7 and has very heavy pedestrian traffic around the clock. K street is pretty empty after dark, however.

On these same lines, my wife is joining me in DC in early June while I attend a 2 day conference at the Fairmont. She wants to see the sites including the Halocaust Museum and the Smithsonians during the day. We are planning on doing the tourmobile at night. Are they in the same general area?

Which "they."

The Fairmont is in a slightly different neighborhood, surrounded more by other hotels then lots of offices. It is perfectly safe.