I'm going to Washington DC with my girlfriend for Labor Day weekend. I think I'm going to book my hotel via Priceline. I think we're going to do some touristy stuff, but also want to check out the night life.

Priceline has the following areas to choose from:

Convention Center - Capitol Hill
DuPont Circle - Woodley Park
Georgetown - Foggy Bottom
White House - Downtown

We're not going to rent a car so we'll be using public transportation.

Thanks,
shahnm77

My order of preference would be:

Woodley Park
DuPont Circle
Foggy Bottom
White House
Downtwon
Capital Hill
Convention Centre

The first three are kind of tied, I like Woodely because it has a real neighborhood feel and there are lots of good restaurants and shops in the area and you can walk in Rock Creek Park. Du Pont also has a lot of restaurants and shops, and is a bit more convenient for touring than Woodely. White House is very convenient for touring, a bit more dead at night. Georgetown is lovely but no metro, you would have to take buses (not as conveninet) or taxis. I like Capital Hill but there are some dodgy areas and not as many good hotels there IMO. Convention Center is not really an intersting neighborhood and is "transitioning".

The Priceline zones for DC are so large as to be almost meaningless. If you are set on Priceline, however, Dupont Circle is the best zone (just don't be surprised if you end up 10 blocks away from Dupont Circle).
Reading www.biddingfortravel.com can help you increase your chances of getting just what you want on Priceline.

The Churchill has a great Dupont Circle location and rates around $79 on quikbook or expedia.

www.thechurchillhotel.com

Among those four Priceline zones, eliminate Georgetown-Foggy Bottom if you want to rely on Metro because some areas of Georgetown are a mile or more from the FB Metro station.

Dupont-Woodley would be my first choice because Metro's red line runs through the middle of it.

WhiteHouse Downtown and Convention Center Capitol Hill could also include hotels that are not very convenient to Metro or are located in areas that are office canyons with no nighttime activity.

I got a hotel in DuPont Circle via Priceline. I'm staying at the Washington Hilton for $50 a night...not bad!

Thanks for all your help.

Nice work! Depending on how the occupancy is and where your room is located, look for the "pool" elevator as a possible alternative to the heavily used main elevators. ;-)

Cicerone: Dupont Circle is just as "dodgy" as parts of Capitol Hill, if not more so.

shahnm77,
Good for you. You and your girlfriend are in in a good location for nightlife: close to both Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. It's a short walk down Conn Ave to the Metro (@ Conn & Q st.) - which will put you at the major tourist sights within 4-5 metro stops. Have a great time!

Meant to add - the Hilton is also right next to Visions: http://www.visionsdc.com/dyno/index.asp

Two things - do a search here for hotels in the Washington DC section. Someone just asked this question a few days ago. Just perusing the Washington DC section will see the answer to this question several times over. Also before bidding go to www.Biddingfortravel.com in order to get your best price.

~gnr~

Oops. When I read this yesterday you hadn't bid yet. Then I didn't have time to read the new responses today. Just came back to finally read them all. You'll like the Washington Hilton location. We'll see you here next week.

The Symphony always plays on the U.S. Capitol steps on Labor Day (I think on Sunday, not Monday - not sure) so if you are in that area, try to catch the concert.

~gnr~

Thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate it.

I did check out BiddingForTravel.com and it helped me find the best deal. Thanks.

Take care and have a nice Labor Day!