Jim Lloyd

I am going to Washington DC this summer with my family for a week and I was just wondering where you would stay with a family. I was thinking of the Residence Inn Pentagon City, VA or the Embassy Suites Washington DC Downtown. I was also looking up by the Bethesda area since I would be willing to commute, however I would need a suite, so I was even thinking of the Marriott Suites Bethesda.

Also, any additional comments or help would be great!

Thank you for your help in advance!

JIll

I haven't been in the residence inn but the Pentagon city location is good. You're looking across the river to DC and may even have views of the city from your room. It would be a short ride on the metro (which has a stop at Pentagon city). It's much closer to downtown than Bethesda. Also, Virginia has some tourist attractions - Arlington Cemetary, Iwo Jima (which has great views of DC), Mount Vernon, and historic old town Alexandria. There's a shopping mall at the Pentagon city metro stop which has some restaurants and a food court. My tourist tip is to skip the long lines at the Washington Monument and instead go to the Old Post Office - although not as high, I think the view is better since the windows are huge. Other tip - go to the Iwo Jima memorial for the view of DC (day or night)

Rhonda

Hi,

We love the Embassy Suites (around M Street, right?) Great location, huge buffet breakfast and happy hour included. The kids get a kick out of the "free" buffet and poporn and soda at happy hour. Probably more expensive than staying outside DC, I don't know but we like it.

Christina

I myself would never stay in suburbs when visiting any city as a tourist, so I would choose the Embassy Suites which are very nice and a convenient location, but you obviously don't mind staying in the burbs. I'm sure you are checking rates, but hotels in suburbs around here (DC) are often not much or any cheaper than downtown; espec. expensive suburbs like Bethesda. It depends on what you want around a hotel; I would choose Bethesda as it's more a real place, Pentagon City is just a mall, but if you do not intend to do anything in your hotel area but sleep, it would not matter as much. However, that Pentagon City Residence Inn is not in the shopping mall, it is on Army-Navy Drive which is a kamikaze driving experience, but you can walk from that location to the metro stop down side streets a few blocks okay, and I guess you can get over to the mall, traffic is not too bad outside rush hours--you will not want to walk around the neighborhood for fun or window shopping, it's not like that. I would NOT choose Marriott Suites Bethesda, it is a bad location on a busy freeway artery street (Democracy Blvd, it is NOT in Bethesda itself) unless you had some way to get places without driving. You cannot get to the metro stop from there, what were you planning to do? Maybe if they had a shuttle to the metro, but what a pain, I would not even consider that location. If anything, I would choose Marriott Residence Inn Bethesda as it is in downtown Bethesda and within a few blocks walking distance of the metro stop and you could walk to bookstores, bars, restaurants around there also if you wished. I think you need to figure out your transportation issues as it's not clear what you are planning in that regard if you were considering those Marriott Suites. Some people actually do think they are going to drive a car around DC when visiting but I do not advise that at all.

juli

If you need an alternative to the Embassy Suites check out the Doubletree Embassy Row, which is convenient to everything and has excellent weekend rates. Embassy Suites is probably the best choice for you.

Jim Lloyd

Thank you for all that have replied!

I was thinking of not renting a car and just taking the Metro around the area. The Marriott Suites Bethesda does have a shuttle to the metro I found out however, I think I will stay closer to downtown more than likely at Embassy Suites or Residence Inn Marriott Pentagon City.

Any more comments would be great!

Thanks!

Ruth

I too would recommend staying downtown rather than in the suburbs, even Pentagon City which is close-in. The metro is great, but if you want to get downtown early, you'll be in the commuter crush which is not much fun these days. The Embassy Suites is nice, Marriott has a new Residence Inn on Vermont Ave. near L Street and there are some other suite hotels downtown.

Janie

Stay downtown. Definitely. Pentagon City is a nice way of saying Crystal City. It's referred to as the Concrete Jungle. There's nothing there but office buildings and the mall (which actually is nice, for a mall).

DC's a beautiful city, so stay in it!

JIll

pentagon city is not the same as crystal city - they're different places - and different metro stops. Even if you stay downtown you'll have to take the metro (or cab) to the tourist areas. Pentagon city is not some place you'll walk around (not because it isn't safe but rather there's not much there) but I would think by the time you get back to your hotel in the evening you'd be tired of walking around. However, it would be a quick trip back to the mall area to see the monuments at night.

Terry

You can throw a stone from Crystal City and hit Pentagon City. If they're not the same thing, then they are side-by-side.

D.C. is a very easy city to walk around. Nothing is that far apart. Unless you have small children or physical limitations, you can walk to the majority of tourist sites from your hotel. Of course, the metro is always handy if you want a lift. Pentagon City is sterile and boring.