I am looking for a nice hotel in D.C. that is very convenient to the "sites". I have never been to Crystal City but i have heard that there are nice hotels there that are convenient to the Metro. Would love a hotel within walking distance and possibly with an indoor pool. Any advice would be great!

Not sure of your budget or your definition of nice (luxury??). The hotels most convenient to the "sites" do not always have swimming pools. However, many hotels out in the suburbs, like Crystal City, have pools. Do you swim every day? For convenience, the best DC hotels are:
Marriot Metro Center
Hotel Washington
Willard (luxury)
Harrington (budget)
All are a short (5 minute) walk to the sites and are right at a metro station.

I'd add the Grand Hyatt to the above list--right around the corner from the Marriott and you can get to the Metro from inside the hotel.

Capital Suites is very convenient, located next to the Library of Congress. It is very nice but without amenities such as pool, restaurant, etc.

I've heard horrible things about the Harrington! Just do a search on here and everyone has called it nothing short of a dump.

If you're looking for a hotel near a Metro, check out stationmasters.com which lists each metro stop and the hotels near it.

Arlington and Alexandria are also areas to consider by a Metro.

The Harrington Hotel IS budget and IS very old. It is certainly not the quality of a Marriott or a Hyatt but for someone who wants a true budget hotel in a really good location it's the Harrington. It's right downtown by 10th and Pennsylvania (if I remember correctly). You can walk to everything - the Old Post Office Building is steps away. Turn the corner and you can view the White House and turn the other way and you can view the Capitol. Budget it is, old it is, and in a great part of town.

There's a number of areas like New York Ave NE and almost all of NE locations that I would be hesitant to stay in.

Yikes, forget the Harrington, it's a dump and full of noisy tour groups of high-schoolers. For the same price, you're better off with whatever Priceline gives you. In fact, for $60 I got the Marriott Metro Center, which made bardo's list of best places.

Crystal City has a nice-sounding name but is actually an urban area full of offices and hotels and not much else. Since you'd have to take the Metro anyway, there's no particular advantage to staying there.

Here's a link to the Holiday Inns in DC. I stayed at the one of C Street and it was very nice. But no indoor pool. I notice though that the Holiday Inn at Rosslyn has an indoor pool. But I don't think there's a metro stop in Rosslyn...or is there?

You're right that the Harrington is about as basic as it gets and the only thing going for it is its location. I only included it because some people come to DC and expect to get a place for $100 like they do back home. Also forgot about Capitol Hill Suites - great location and very nice. To Anonymous: I'm glad you got a $250 room for $60, but obviously not everyone gets that rate, depending on what's happening in town at the time.

Yes, there is a Rosslyn (part of Arlington) Metro stop, and the Holiday Inn is a stone's throw from it. Even closer to the Metro is a Hyatt (I think they have a pool), and not as close, but still walkable (10-15 min) is the Quality Inn Iwo Jima, with a pool and free parking. Rosslyn is the FIRST Metro station stop in Virginia on the Blue and Orange lines. It's much like Crystal City, in that there are many office buildings, and expensive high-rise apartments, but not much in for dining or shopping. A good value, really.

bardo, my comment about the Marriott was meant just as an illustration of the good values to be had via Priceline. But as a mattter of fact, earlier this week the same deal was reported on Biddingfortravel, for the week of the Cherry Blossom festival.

Tahnks all, i think that the Marriott or the Grand Hyatt would be a good fit for us.

Hyatt on the Hill has indoor pool and walking distance to sites/metro

We held a ship's reunion at the Crowne Plaza in Crystal City the end of September 2001 and were treated royally. It is located across the street from an underground mall, the metro is walkable, but it does not have an indoor pool. The hotel shuttle provided comp service to the Pentagon Mall. It is just minutes from National airport.