travel52

I was very excited to get a great airfare for our trip to the South East for my husband and I
at the end of April. My excitement has dimmed now that I am looking for a hotel in DC. I checked the Embassy Suites, which was listed at an affordable price on trip advisor. It was 6 miles out, but easy access to the metro. It is actually $259 per night. Apparently being there on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday night is more expensive. I was hoping spend closer to $150 ($200 tops). Is that possible?

MoonGirl

Yes, those are regarded as business travel days, and the rates are charged accordingly. Also, April is also generally more expensive, as it is one of the prime travel months here. In your situation, I might try bidding on Priceline, people have reportedly had some good results. If you do a search on this forum, you'll see tips for choosing neighborhoods and * rankings that will help ensure you are someplace decent. Good luck!

MoonGirl

p.s. also try Hotels.com, my new favorite tool! I just did a quick search guessing at your dates and saw several decent choices under $200, including the George, at a low (for that property) rate of $179 -- luxury hotel, walking distance to Union Station and its metro stop. Comfort Inn/Convention Center and the Washington Plaza hotel also popped up -- I can't speak to the properties themselves, but their locations are halfway decent. Not right on top of the Metro but within walking distance. There is also a place called the District Hotel that shows up for $99 a night; I don't know anything about the hotel but it is in a nice residential neighborhood. Metro again not super close but there are a couple of major bus lines nearby that will take you all the way downtown. Good luck!

betsbw

I think under $200 in DC is not likely. The hotel that I just recommended to another poster, Washington Suites Georgetown does offer a rate of $211, but remember that there are lots of taxes added on.

You are correct - midweek is more expensive because that is when business travellers are most likely to be there.

You might check for B&Bs in the nicer neighborhoods or maybe something like Homeaway or VRBO?? Worth looking.

travel52

Thanks for your help. I was actually able to book The George for $161 per night with a AAA discount. It had good reviews on trip advisor, so I am thrilled! Now on to Charleston hotels.

Dukey1

Good thing because the Plaza is under a very MUCH needed renovation.

HImom

If you're adventurous, I have gotten some very good hotels in DC at Hotwire. You can check Better Bidding to get an idea of what the hotel will be and can choose the area. I got the Willard Hotel, a very hotel in Crystal City and a new hotel in Alexandria (for different parts of that same trip) all at a significant discount from the on-line advertised rates.

Josh_MacDonald

You can stay outside of DC just as long as you're close to a Metro, just a caution though, the Orange line will be delayed most if not all weekends. A good hotel outside of DC would be the Courtyard Merrifield, it's a 30 minute train ride into DC, and it's right next to a metro station.