I will be in Washington DC and am thinking of staying in Crystall City area and commuting to the city to see the sights as it is much cheaper and the hotel offers a shuttle to the metro. I'm saving tons but is commuting on the metro system that much of a hassel? I'm also going to Fedex Field for an evening game and need suggestions on how to get there from Crystal City.

We always stay in city center - since we like being in walking distance of some sights (but we are NYCe and use to walking a lot) and having a much greater choice of restaurants. But we go spring or fall - not summer.

You're right about getting Metro into the main area of DC once you are in the mall area you can take circular to Georgetown, but it will take a little longer to get to FedEx field on Metro. Call Metro to see where you take transit to FedEx field. Also there is a lot to see using the circular. Circular is only a $1.00.

I usually stay in one of the Crystal City Marriots, so I don't even have to go outside to take the metro. It's no problem to take the metro into the city, but be aware it doesn't start too early on the weekend. For info on how to get from A to B, see http://www.wmata.com/ or use Hopstop.

Thanks for the input, I'm a Hilton guy and they have 3 Hilton Family hotels in the Crystal City area with free shuttle to metro.

How often does the shuttle run? Do you have to call it to pick you up? I've only once stayed in a hotel (other than an airport hotel) where I needed to use a shuttle and it was a real pain. But the Hilton Crystal City says it's walking distance to the metro.

walking is an option if I stay at the nearest Hilton, I have option of Hilton, Embassy Suites and Double Tree Hotels as I'm using points

Personally, I would not want to add a shuttle to the mix, but walking distance to the Crystal City Metro should be fine. The Metro is easy to use, and it's not many stops to the National Mall (and museums and monuments, therefore).