Suzyque

We are flying into BWI, 10/13 for 1 week of DC sightseeing. 4 of us wanting to stay on the cheap, but still able to get into the city without too much expense and confusion. Hotel? Airbnb?
Suggestions?
Thank you!

volcanogirl

We stayed in Old Town Alexandria and loved it. It's easy to take the train in. We stayed at Hotel Monaco, but there are probably less expensive options. It's a great area with tons of restaurants and shopping, charming and very walkable. We even took a boat from there over to the baseball stadium to see the Nats play. Mount Vernon is also worth seeing.

JanetKMR

I agree with volcanogirl. We stayed at the Lorien, which is a Kimpton hotel like Hotel Monaco is and both are great.

sf7307

Neither of those would qualify as "on the cheap"!

clarkgriswold

A room for 4, or two rooms? Apartment/AirBB is probably best for 4 adults needing some space, right?

longhorn55

Here are the three "budget-priced" hotels in the D.C. area that I consistently recommend. The Americana Hotel (being the most budget priced of the three) is located in the Crystal City area of Arlington, VA and is within walking distance of two Metro station, Crystal City and Pentagon City Stations. The Best Western Iwo Jima and the Holiday Inn Rosslyn @Key Bridge are located in the Rosslyn area of Arlington and each is within walking distance of the Rosslyn Metro Station.

As all these hotels are in Arlington, you are very close to D.C. via Metro.

obxgirl

For rooms guaranteed to be under $150/night per room: The Americana Hotel in Crystal City (Arlington) gets a lot of mention here as a good budget option close to the city with metro access. Look for posts and trip reports by tchoiniere and you can read his experiences there plus there is usually other mention of some other Arlington hotels (a Best Western and a Hilton Garden Inn I think) which are good options. Another place that gets a lot a mention here (and I think is under $150 a night) is the Woodley Park Guest House which would put you in the city in the neighborhood of the National Zoo. Also easily accessible to Metro.

October is a very popular time to see DC and rates are typically high, but it's still worth checking the usual suspects downtown to see if there is a rate you consider favorable. Not knowing your budget, can't say much more.

clarkgriswold

www.vrbo.com/224923

Christina

Those hotels in Arlington aren't optimal for BWI. I'd just look at booking.com and see what comes up. Americana isn't available anyway for those dates. This is very late to get good deals for mid-October and lots of places would already be booked up.

Surprisingly, Days Inn on Connecticut Ave. turned up with vacancies at only about $115 a night. I stayed in that place once many years ago. Typical lower-end chain hotel like that, I don't have any major complaints. It is an excellent location, right near a red line metro stop, and a nice neighborhood, also. I had a car, they have parking, but you must pay for it, I'm sure. But that's still not a bad choice if you just leave it there. Woodley Park Guest House has no vacancies and is over $200 a night, anyway, for the cheapest room (for 2 people, anyway, some singles are cheaper). there are lots of hotels cheaper than that. The Courtyard by Marriott in Silver Spring (which at least would be convenient for the airport) is just under $200 a night. The Sheraton in Silver Spring is only about $210 a night at that time and they only charge $14 a night for parking.

HI Rosslyn is also over $200 a night.

yestravel

The VRBO posted above is a good deal. It's 30% off for your dates.