Very quick trip report....DC
 

Went to DC for two days. Stayed at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Their webpage makes it look very swanky...it is not. The rooms are outdated and drab. It was clean though and the staff was pleasant. It's also very convenient to the metro. But I wouldn't stay there again.

Had dinner at Clydes. It was fantastic. Salad was fresh and the dressing tasty. Had the NY strip steak and my DH has chicken saltimbaco. Both were excellent. Had cheesecake for dessert...good but didn't love the crust.

Didn't get to do much sight-seeing as I was there for business. But I did spend about 2 hours at the botanical gardens...it was very nice.

And for those of you who aren't aware of this, the public can go into the senate and congress buildings until 7pm. You don't need an appointment. You can just walk around...pretty much anywhere.

Take a tour of the capitol building...it's great. In 2008 they are opening a new visitors center and you will only be able to go on official tours. Right now you can still set up a tour with your congressman's office staff which may not be a historically thorough...but you can view places the tour doesn't take you.

It's a shame that L'Enfant Plaza went down hill. I stayed there in the early 80s - and it was unbelieveably fabulous.... Also, you're right about Clydes - there are several around here, and the food is really good. I'm from DC, moved away in '73, and moved back here in 2004 - HUGE change, and I'm sorry that the L'Enfant Plaza fell down - it was one of my favorite hotels ever (and I travel all the time) - it's now off my list....... There's a Ritz Carlton at the Crystal City Metro station that is awesome.....

Thanks for posting, rizzo. It is a shame that the L'Enfant Plaza isn't what it used to be, because it's so well-located. Did you at least get a good rate? I'm thinking "shabby but clean and well-located" is OK for most people if the rate is appropriately low.

Regarding walking around the Capitol and House and Senate: until the cloakroom bombing(s) in 1987, anyone could go anywhere in any of the office buildings, completely unrestricted. Only after those bombing did they put certain measures into place, like ID's for staff, but the guiding principle is still that those buildings belong to the people and should be as open to them as possible.

(The White House grounds used to be open to the public, as were the downstairs rooms, but this ended in, I think, the early 20th century--someone who knows the history better can correct me.)

The room was $189/night. It wasn't bad, but the website does not accurately portray the hotel.

The glory days of the L'Enfant Plaza were when the hotel was owned by Loew's...no longer, alas, as the location is so good.