We are planning on visiting Washington, DC. We had a bad experience staying in DC several years ago, and were thinking of staying in Arlington, Falls Church or Alexandria and just taking the Metro. Are any of these cities better than the others to stay and catch the Metro? Any hotel suggestions that are close to the Metro?

I post a short rundown of my trip to D.C.
We did a lot in the time and some times only got a flavour of the place but it was a great trip, thank you D.C.

Day 1 7th. July
Arrived around 6pm. Traffic busy as security in D.C. had been stepped up due to the London bombing that day. Booked in to hotel (Capitol Hilton on 16th.) room was great, looked right on to the White House 2 blocks away. Then went to eat then had an early night after long day travelling.
Day 2 8th. July
Went to American History Museum (V. Good) Then on to the Old Post Office, went up lift to top and had great views over city. Then on to the Aquarium this was the only disappointment of our trip, not a lot to it. It may be better for family’s with small children. On way back went past White House to get some photos.
Day 3 9th. July
Took a Trolley Tour and went to Arlington Cemetery, when in Arlington Cemetery I would recommend using the Tourmobile buses as it is quite hilly and a big area to cover. After Arlington we continued with the Trolley tour of the City. Great interesting day.
Day 4 10th. July
Walked from hotel to Lincoln Memorial then on to Vietnam memorial, Korean Memorial, W.W.II Memorial and Washington Monument. Finished off at the Holocaust Museum which was incredible and very moving. This was our longest trip and quite tiring but well worth it
Day 5 11th. July
Took metro and spent the day at the National Zoo. Great day out!
Day 6 12th. July
Took Metro to Union Station, beautiful building, plus shops and restaurants. Went on to Library of Congress and had a guided tour. What a magnificent building, a must see! Then walked round Capitol building.
Day 7 13h. July
Walked to F.B.I. Building but closed to public for renovation. Went on to Spy Museum, really good, spent over 4 hours there. Then on to Fords Theatre and the Peterson House. Interesting talk at Theatre on history of building and events.
Day 8 14. July
Took bus to Georgetown. My wife enjoyed that! Plenty of good shops and places to eat!
Day 9 15h. July
Went to Air and Space Museum and American Indian Museum. Both great and a must see.
Day 10 16h. July
Visited the natural History Museum. Great place for families, so much to appeal to all ages.






For breakfast we went to Starbucks, Cosi, Firehook Bakeries, Corner Bakery, Union Station
& Caribou Coffee. I thought the best was Caribou Coffee but they were all good.

For Dinner we went to Bertuccis, Luna, Californian Pizza House, Heritage Indian Restaurant all on Connecticut towards Dupont Circle, also went to Hard Rock Café on my Son’s birthday which as great . When they found out it was his birthday they gave him a free sundae and made him sit in a chair in the middle of the café and got everyone sing happy birthday to him. He will not forget that night!
I thought the best was Luna, great food and tremendous service. We went there three times!
Our server Alice is going to Paris shortly on vacation, have a great one Alice!
My son would of course argue for Hard Rock Café but he thought Luna was great too.

Hope this is of help, I would also suggest staying in Georgetown as there is more to do at night and all the shops and resturants seem to be there. getting in to the city was easy on the metro or the Circular bus seem to run every 15 min and only cost $1

We are going next month to Washington DC and the Residence Inn Arlington-Pentagon City came highly recommended to us. The Metro is only 2/10 of a mile, and the hotel even has a shuttle that will take you there if you don't want to walk or there is inclement weather. We saw pictures of the hotel on Marriott.com and it looked very nice. It had also recieved very good comments on Tripadvisor.com

ttt

Check out Old Town Alexandria. King Street is a great area in the evening for walking, restaurants, pubs, shops, and just plain old strolling.

The Holiday Inn Select in Old Town has free shuttle to the King Street Metro, or you could take the Dash (bus) to/from the hotel to the metro. It's free on Sat & Sun. A dollar all other times.

chris,

Do you mind sharing what happened on your previous visit that has soured you on staying in DC?

I would suggest Rosslyn (part of Arlington). There are several hotels within walking distance of the metro there, and it's right over the Key Bridge (10 minute walk) to Georgetown. There's a Marriott and a Holiday Inn, among others.

I also like the King St. idea, as I live in Alexandria and happen to love walking around in Old Town.