Washington DC safe areas
 

We are staying at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in September. I would like comments on the hotel and the safety of the area. I am concerned that the hotel is run-down and in a bad area. Thanks!

I have no comment on the hotel itself. The area is ok during
the day and it has the benefit of being close to museums on the mall and has its own metro stop for easy access to other
areas of the city. At night, however, the area is rather disserted because the office workers have gone home. That is when you need to be concerned about crime. If it were me, I would take a cab when returning to the hotel at night.

Pat

I highly doubt you will come to any harm taking Metro to the stop that is right at the hotel. The area is not in a neighborhood, as stated above, but in an office building area.

Oh, please....I can tell you LOTS of places in the city where you'd come to possible more harm than around L'Enfant...you need to be concerned about having a good visit...since that area is "deserted" what criminal would bother to hang around waiting?

It's all about what you are used to. I agree that the area around L'Enfant Plaza is perfectly safe; almost anywhere a tourist is going to be in DC is perfectly safe.

If you aren't used to urban areas or big cities, the emptiness near L'Enfant Plaza after say 9pm may feel a little odd. If you aren't used to encountering street people, it may feel a little odd. But it doesn't mean it is perfectly safe.

Dukey is 100% correct.

Thanks for all the comments about safety around L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. We are a senior couple and chose the hotel because it is above a metro stop. Does anyone know of other hotels that are very close to metro stops? We are trying to minimize the walking to get to the metro.

The Grand Hyatt, the DuPont, the Embassy Suites Chevy Chase, Hilton Garden Inn DC, Red Roof Chinatown, Hotel Monaco, the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Crystal City, the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City

Also Marriott Metro Center, the Mayflower, Marriott Crystal City, Sheraton in Crystal City--all within one block of a Metro station. And there are more.

If you stay in that area you are in severe danger of being bored after 5 pm.

Don't plan on going back to the hotel by 5 p.m. -eat dinner FIRST, because there's nothing around the hotel. (We stayed there once, years ago. It's great that it's on top of a metro station, but I otherwise would NOT stay there due to the "desolation"). Stay near DuPont Circle or someplace with some energy!

We chose L'Enfant Plaza Hotel because of its location on top of the metro, and it is running a special of $99/night including free parking. Since we are seniors on a limited income, the price was right, but we don't want to stay in a run-down, dirty hotel. Has anyone stayed in the hotel recently? Thanks!

Have you looked at reviews on any sites like tripadvisor? They usually have plenty of comments about recent stays.

As far as I know, it is not rundown or dirty. Uniformly, Washingtonians warn visitors away only because it is in the middle of big ugly federal office buildings and there is zero activity around it at night. If the price is right and you don't care about the one factor we warn against, go for it. I'm sure you'll enjoy your visit.

It's a perfectly fine hotel with lots of fans. I'd caution that the location on top of the Metro is a little deceiving since it will be about a block or so walk to the hotel, but it is still a great location right near the Mall.

I found an attractive deal at the Georgetown Suites Hotel. Is that a good hotel and is it in a safe location? How convenient is the transportation to the major visitor sites?

You said you wanted to be close to a Metro. Georgetown has no Metro station and you will have to either take a bus or walk about 10-15 minutes to get to the closest Metro.

I also don't really think of Gtwon as being all that convenient when it comes to tourist things. L'Enfant Plaza is a much better choice on that account.

Agree-u don't want to stay in Georgetown if u want easy access to the metro. Georgetown is essentially one shop after another with restaurants sprinkled in here and there.

See if you can get a "city view" room at the L'Enfant Plaza. All of the rooms have balconies, but from the balcony of a city view room you will see the Washington Monument to the left, the Capitol to the right. We have stayed there several times (in rooms 15-113 and 15-115) over July 4, sitting on the balcony sipping wine and watching the fireworks.