Staying at the Hilton in Silver Springs for two nights next week. Has anyone stayed here? Would appreciate comments on this hotel. And where is a good place to eat nearby for breakfast and late dinners?

How long is the metro ride to the Smithsonian?

Hi. I haven't stayed at the Hilton, but I do live in DC. The metro ride downtown is about 20-30 minutes depending on how crowded the trains are. Leave yourself some extra time beacuse the trains run every 4-15 minutes depending on the time of day. If you can, try to have your dinners downtown -- the restaurant selection is much better.

Thanks Nancy...in reading the archives, I am finding posts from 2000 that talk about Silver Springs being unsafe and disgusting. Is that true? I am a little worried now.

Silver Spring is a bit ghetto, mixed in with a college crowd that riots every basketball season. I wouldn't stay there, and I surely wouldn't want to be at the metro in the wee hours. Why did you choose that place? why not pay the same and stay in a lower-class hotel in a better area?

As i was told,they have only one spring.No word on the silver content.It is a pleasant town with easy comute to the DC. Look for the ribs.

Well, firstly I looked for hotels right in DC but they were very expensive, and any we could afford were booked up already. Then looked to the outskirts, and since we have Hilton Hhonours points, we landed a free night at that Hilton. There were no indications that the area was bad in my research, and the hotel sounds wonderful. We won't be wandering near the hotel much, basically sleeping there and heading into the City for sightseeing for the better part of the day, and then coming back for some pool time. Is it bad enough to change my reservation?

There is no S at the end of Silver Spring....

Tyrannulet:

I'd cancel the reservations if you can. Stay in Bethesda on Wisconsin Avenue. It's a very nice area with restaurant all over Wisconsin. Do some quick homework and see what hotels are in the area. The red line of subway system goes through Bethesda is 2 places.

I'd also recommend not staying in Silver Spring. I would suggest that if you want to stick to Hilton, there are 2 Hiltons in Arlington, VA. One is in Ballston and one is in Crystal City, both by metro stations; typical ride of 15-20 mins. from there. Hope this helps.

Silver Spring is not that bad. It's not great, but there are much worse places to stay. And the college riots Arlingtonian is refering to, actually took place in College Park, not Silver Spring.

With that being said, I will agree that it's not the best locale to base your touring. Someplace downtown would be much more fun and convenient.

Silver Spring (no s) is not as scummy as everyone is saying. It is undergoing a major revitalization. You won't want to spend much time roaming around, there isn't much to see; it's basically an older run down suburban city. It's is full of small family run ethnic restaurants. You have to be aware, I used to live a mile from there and commute from that metro stop and never had any problems. If you are concerned, you can take a cab from the city later in the evening, it's about a $15 cab ride from downtown DC.

If you have a car, drive down east-west highway to Grubb Road and go to the Parkway Deli for breakfast (or dinner). There is also the infamous Tastee Diner in Downtown Silver Spring. Also, Bethesda is only about a 10 minute drive, where you will find more restaurants than you can imagine.

I agree with Nancy, spend more time in DC and have your dinners down there.

Thanks everyone. Carolyn, it was good to hear from someone who is so close to the area and has used that Metro station. I went to the Silver Spring web sites to check them out also. At this late date, I think we will stay put, unless the hotel is crummy. We won't be wandering around there anyway. Our walking will be in DC. Thanks for the tips for breakfast too. Will let you know when we return how it actually was.