Washington DC - where to stay & commute
 

Any suggestions for hotels/areas west of DC where you can leave your car and take the train into DC for the day or two?

I am going to be coming from Gettysburg and then after DC, will drive south to Charleston SC so something west or southwest of DC would work. I inquired a couple of years ago where to stay where one could leave their car and take the train and I found that the parking lots filled with commuters by 6 a.m. and hotels did not provide shuttle service.

Thanks,
Karen

You could stay in the Embassy Suites in Chevy Chase, MD and hop on the Redline into the city. They have a garage, but not sure what they charge for parking. There is also a Days Inn on Conn Ave NW, very close to the REdline. They also have parking.
http://www.dcdaysinn.com

VA has hotels with parking also, hopefully someone else will chime in on those. Might be a better option for conintuing on to Charleston although MD is closer to your incoming trip.

Our DD lives in Columbia MD. For a day trip into the city, we drive to the Greenbelt station and park there (free). There are a couple hotels near the Greenbelt (green line) station.
http://hotelsneardcmetro.com/hotels-...-wasington-dc/
There is also bus service from there to BWI.

Thank you yestravel and Tom! I will check into these suggestions.

The Hilton in Rockville MD is conveniently located next to the Twin Brook metro station.

All those are good suggestions but none are west or southwest of town. I'm guessing you'll be coming down US 15 from Gettysburg into Virginia?

You can check hotels in Tysons Corner VA, where there are three new metro stations. You just have to check the hotel websites or call the hotels to find out if they're in walking distance from a station. Another possibility is the Old Town area of Alexandria, which is quite nice in and of itself. It's served by the King Street metro station.

You will pretty much have to choose between staying far outside of D.C. to find a hotel with free parking (and thus have a long Metro ride to D.C.) or staying close into D.C. and paying for parking. However, there are several hotels in Arlington which are within walking distance of Metro stations and which do not charge for parking. And being in Arlington means a quick Metro ride to D.C. These are, in alphabetical order, Americana Hotel, Best Western Iwo Jima, Highlander Motel and Holiday Inn Rosslyn @Key Bridge. Even though I live in Arlington and don't normally have need for a hotel, I did stay in the Best Western Iwo Jima a couple years ago when we lost power in our neighborhood for several days and were pleased with it.

And while Metro parking lots such as the Greenbelt station do have available spaces and free parking on weekends, these Metro station parking lots do charge on weekdays and do fill up quite early with commuter cars.

Tysons Corner has metro stops that are walkable form hotels. Look at the Sheraton (which I believe is close to Spring Hill metro stop). Also I believe there are hotels in McLean that have Metro shuttles that you can use. Good luck!

Such great advice! Now, I just need to get going on this.
Thanks everyone,

We were in DC last spring. We stayed at a Hampton Inn about 2 blocks from the White House.

The hotel was nice, breakfast was included and the rates were (then) reasonable. It was only one year old.

We didn't have a car so I don't know what the parking is like.

Excellent location with the Metro a block away.

Comfort Inn Tyson's Corner is an older, courtyard-style motor inn with blah rooms but in a good neighborhood with dining nearby and I doubt you could find anything in it's price range that would be an easier walk to metro (less than 1/4 mile).

We are staying at the Comfort Inn in Ballston -- a bit closer in than Tyson's Corner. Decent reviews, 10 minute walk from Metro and they have a shuttle, too.

The Hilton Arlington sits directly above the Ballston Metro stop...NO walking anywhere required: out the front door and down the escalator; there's also a covered walkway to the nearby Ballston Common Mall. They have a garage but have no idea what the parking charge might be.

Al alternative might be the even closer in Hilton Garden Inn which is across the street from the Courthouse Metro stop in Arlington.

I'd recommend Ballston or Arlington. Tyson's is horrible.

No it's not horrible, it's fine for a night or two.

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/hotel...-va-38314.html