I will have a lot of questions as I'm just now starting this trip planning, but the most important seems to be lodging. We are driving from Tulsa to pick up our son from college near Charleston, WV. We've heard it is only about 6 hours from there to DC so we decided to go a week early and spend it there. We will have a car and coming from WV. From what I've read - is the Holiday Inn Rosslyn in Arlington, VA the best location for us? We will need free parking for the car but want to take the metro for everything while there. We're looking for cheap, nothing fancy, but clean. Any other suggestions? Thanks, Leta

The Holiday Inn would probably be a good option for you. I cannot think of one hotel in DC, or in areas of Virginia like Old Town and Crystal City, with free parking. From Rosslyn, you can then walk over the bridge to Georgetown (which does not have a metro stop) or take the metro to the other major tourist sites.

I haven't stayed in that hotel, but the location is good for getting around.

You're close to the metro, and it's just one stop into the city. Rosslyn can be fairly quiet at night (Red, Hot and Blue is a good spot for dinner), but you're an easy walk across Key Bridge into Georgetown. Or you can walk or metro down to Courthouse/Clarendon/Ballston corridor where there are a lot of restaurants. Little Viet Garden and Hard Times (Clarendon metro stop) are two favorites, and they have the advantage of being inexpensive, too.

I've stayed at Rosslyn hotels several times. For a place with free parking, you can't beat the location for being close to DC and Georgetown. Yes, it is a bit quiet at night. I usually stay further away from the station (Quality Inn Iwo Jima) but the Holiday Inn is just a "stones throw" from the Metro station. There is also the Georgetown Shuttle that regularly departs the Rosslyn Metro station, as well as Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom too. If you have a valid subway/bus transfer ticket, they accept that for the usual discount (meant we only had to pay 25 cents each for the shuttle, more now, I think).

We stayed at the Bethesda Court Hotel last May and were pleased and will stay there again. However, make sure the parking is free with your rate. We were told it would be and then there was a parking charge. However, they waived it when I told them it was supposed to be free.
The location is good -- about three blocks from a Metro stop and convenient to many restaurants (with outdoor dining in May), coffee shops, movie theaters, and some stores.

Thank you everyone for confirming what I had read on here, that the Holiday Inn Rosslyn has free parking and is close to the Metro. That works for me!