I'm planning to visit Washington with a girlfriend for 2 nights the end of September. Has anyone hear of The State Plaza, Washington Hilton or Ramada Governors House? They are all being advertised on the hotel discount network & thought I could get a deal. Are they centrally located? Any other recommendations? Is there anywhere that's decent for less than $100?
Thanks.

A good hotel in Washington for less than$100 per night is going to be hard to find. The Government's single night lodging allowance for employees traveling to Washington is $124 per night. I've stayed at the State Plaza and I wouldn't recommend it unless you could get a room for less than $100 per night. It's on the out skirts of the GWU campus. If you can take the price I like the St. James Hotel. It's also close to the GWU campus. It's a older building probably an old apartment that was converted to a hotel. It is all suites and is within a very short walk to the Foggy Bottom Metro station, and about a 20 minute walk into Georgetown or to the Kennedy Center.

All the hotels you mention are fine. However, none of them represents a particularly good value. You could likely find better accomodations for the money or the same quality for less. If you are on such a restricted budget and you'll have a car, you might want to try a place in the suburbs. Arlington, Virginia is a particularly good choice. Many locations in Arlington are more convenient to downtown than locations in the District. One of my favorites is the Comfort Inn at Ballston. It's very nice, within walking distance of the Metro, and you can probably get a room in the $80-$90 range. If you're coming in the on the weekend, shop around for weekend rates. Since most D.C. hotels cater to the business crowd, they tend to discount steeply on the weekend.

In May I got a very good weekend rate at the Crystal City Marriot in Arlington. It was between $65 & $70 a night. Crystal City is a hotel/apartment/shopping complex and Metro stop, so you couldn't ask for a more convenient location. The Marriot has a nice pool area with a whirlpool, which is a very nice thing to have after a long day of walking. I got this price through either Quikbook or some other booking service I found at the Frommer's website. Good luck and enjoy.

Since you appear to be on a budget the most reasonable prices can probably be obtained in the hotels/motels in the Maryland suburbs particularly Silver Spring. They are located a couple of blocks from the Silver Spring Metro station and in 20 minutes you will be downtown and ready to tour/explore. By the way, use the Metro to get around town and the Tourmobile to go around the Mall where the main attractions are located. Have a nice trip.

A cheap place to stay close to D.C. is the Days Inn Crystal City. 2 blocks from Metro stop. Nice area. I went running in neighborhood around hotel every am and felt very comfortable. This is also close to airport, Pentagon and Pentagon City mall. Price was $79/nite.

A cheap place to stay close to D.C. is the Days Inn Crystal City. 2 blocks from Metro stop. Nice area. I went running in neighborhood around hotel every am and felt very comfortable. This is also close to airport, Pentagon and Pentagon City mall. Price was $79/nite.

Message: Iīm planning to visit Chicago with a friend
for 5 night the begin of September. Has anyone hear of McCornick Place. Is there anywhere thatīs decent for less than $100?
Thanks