Suburbs or Cit
 

Need help finding an afforable hotel (actually need 2 suites - 3 adullts and 1 child) but after researching Dupont Circle area find rates and parking rate quite high. Should we look in Crystal City, etc. and take metro each morning and night or spend the extra money to be near Dupont Circle. Want to go to museums, etc.

Actually - go to the website for the Metro and as long as you're near a metro station (no matter where it is), you're good to go. The metro is DC is wonderful and very convenient. We're in the process of moving down there - and I still wouldn't want to have to deal with parking in DC....

If you like to walk, I'd stay in DC. There are some smaller suite hotels in Foggy Bottom (try River Inn??) which does have a metro stop and is also walkable to the museums, Natl Mall, Kennedy Ctr. and Georgetown. There is also Georgetown shuttle ($.50) that can take you to Dupont Circle. You can find some street parking but you might have to search a bit. I'd advise you to put the car away as you'll have parking issues all over and instead walk, metro, or take the tour trolley where you can get on and off throughout the day.

There are some hotels/motels in Arlington that have free parking, are either walking distance and/or shuttle service to Metro Stations.<BR><BR>Have you checked Summerfield Suites near Dupont? They have 2 br suites: 2 br, 2 bath, + lr/kitchen w/ pullout couch. Best deals often if u call direct.

if you really want to stay inexpensively, but lose more than a bit of convenience, you could stay out near BWI airport, and take the commuter train, MARC, into Union Station in DC, during the week. The MARC's about $6 rt from BWI railstation to DC. (It's about a 25-30 min ride in.) It doesn't run on weekends though, and amtrak's a bit expensive...I agree w/everyone regarding not driving in DC. Besides dealing w/traffic, it's a fairly confusing city to navigate by car.

You should be able to find inexpensive rooms in the Dupont Circle area using Hotwire or something similar. We found a suite at Embassy Suites for around $80 a night. I definitly would try and stay in this area - it's very nice. Foggy Bottom is also a nice area, we found a room there at $99 a night in a large hotel last year. Keep looking!

Hey, check out the Marriott in Georgetown. It's in a decent area, clean and there is free parking. The rates tend to be pretty good on weekends also.

In your search, try www.quikbook.com as one possibility. They often feature the State Plaza Hotel in Foggy Bottom at sub-$100/night rates and this is an all-suite hotel. Radisson Barcelo occasionally offers a low-ball rate, but more and more, I'm seeing that it is a one-night phenomenon. I recently picked up the Hilton Embassy Row for $116/night. I'm not a Priceline user, but if you can isolate down to the Dupont Circle neighborhood and higher-end properties, it may well be worth a shot. &quot;Commuting&quot; into the city is not going to be the same experience, IMHO.