Which hotel in Washington, D.C.?
 

We're heading east again for a wedding in Williamsburg, VA in early October and then will spend 5 days in D.C. before heading home. I've whittled down possible hotels to the following? the Churchill Embassy Row (near Dupont Circle); the State Plaza (Foggy Bottom); The Westin City Center; and the Washington Court. The latter two have mentions on the bedbugs site, which is a concern. We plan to visit the Mall museums and others nearby, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and other old haunts and will get around by Metro and taxi. Ideas on which hotel would work best?

I have stayed at the Westin Embassy Row and Washington Court Capitol Hill. I loved the Dupont Circle location but liked the WC rooms better. If all is equal, I prefer Dupont Circle.

From what I can see, the Westin Embassy Row is now the Fairfax Embassy Row.

None of the hotels you've chosen are ideally located for the places you have listed to see, but you've spent time in DC and know it's a pretty compact city for visitors. My opinions:

Fairfax Embassy - Great neighborhood, lots of restaurant choices, walkable to Georgetown if you're interested. You'll use Dupont Circle metro station which will require a change (or walk from) from the red line at Metro Center for many of the mall destinations.

Westin City Center - 5 to 7 minute walk to McPherson Square Metro. There are a couple of good bus routes that go up and down nearby 14th Street. Very walkable to the Logan Circle cluster of good restaurants on 14th as well as more in the direction of downtown.

State Plaza - Blue Line at Foggy Bottom is a convenient line for the National Mall. You're a 10-12 minute walk from the west end of the Mall and the Lincoln Memorial. FB has some very good restaurants but you're an easy walk to West End or Georgetown where the opportunities grow exponentially.

You might take a look at the River Inn and One Dupont Circle which I think will be comparable in price to the State Plaza. Both are a little closer to the Foggy Bottom Metro and generally nicer hotels (IMO)

Washington Court Hotel - Very close to Union Sta and the red line metro. This wouldn't be my choice b/c I don't find the neighborhood as interesting as the others you've chosen (there's nothing wrong with it). It's on the north side of the Capitol. There are a sprinkling of very good restaurants.

Finally on the bed bug thing. For myself, I wouldn't be concerned about seeing a hotel mentioned on a bed bug registry unless there were just a flood of very recent complaints which might say that there is a large infestation that was going untreated.

I always stay in Kimptons when I'm in DC so can't help you there but let me know if you need any suggestions for Williamsburg. October is a gorgeous time here.

The Fairfax Embassy Row is a historical building. Reminds me of the historical sections of the St.Francis or Fairmont in SF.

I would choose the Westin City Center, for its proximity to bags of great restaurants and several colors of Metro line if you're a reasonably hearty walker. We stay with friends near City Center who are prodigiously hearty walkers and we walk to the Mall all the time. I also like Westins in general.

I use booking.com for reservations.

In Williamsburg we'll be staying at the Providence Guesthouses, an annex to the Inn.

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming!

I'm now looking at the Sofitel. We've stayed at Accor hotels in France and liked them and spent a few nights years ago at the Sofitel out by Kalorama.

JMO, Sofitel is a different class of hotel compared to the others you've mentioned so far. A great choice.

If Sofitel is interesting to you and in your budget, you might consider the Monaco (a Kimpton, Birdie mentioned and I am also a fan) in Penn Quarter. It is ideally located for the Archives and the National Mall.

Some of DC's best restaurants are in Penn Quarter - Rasika, Jaleo, MiniBar and the hotel's own Poste.

Great old building (1842 originally the General Post Office).

Before I got to obx' last line, I was going to say 'and great old building'! Add Zatinya to the list of really good restaurants in the neighborhood of the Monaco.

Yeah, I remember visiting the old post office and am sorry it moved out. I looked at the Monaco but wasn't taken with the décor. But I'll check it out again.

I like that wing of the Inn. Before they renovated the rooms in the main building, the Providence Hall rooms were some of the few that didn't have twin beds. Are they holding any of the wedding functions in the house? My rehearsal dinner was in the basement there.

The wedding will be in the botanical garden, with the reception in the interpretation center. Last time we visited Williamsburg, a long time ago in the spring, we stayed at the Inn and enjoyed the afternoon tea in the "living room."

Underhill, we've stayed at the Sofitel on our previous two visits and really liked it. It's walkable to the main areas which you mentioned. And Old Ebbitt's Grill is just down the street.

Dupont Circle is a good location, but we found ourselves taking the Red Line to Union Station everyday; accessing the main DC areas from there.

You can't go wrong with any of the hotels mentioned above.

Thanks for the info, everyone. The Sofitel it will be.

Dupont used to be the go-to recommendation for visitors because the neighborhoods close to the Mall died after 6pm. Now that Penn Quarter and Shaw et al are well and truly revitalized, I, too, would consider Dupont slightly inconvenient for a tourist, although it's still a great neighborhood.

Excellent choice on the Sofitel.

<i>Dupont Circle is a good location, but we found ourselves taking the Red Line to Union Station everyday; accessing the main DC areas from there. </i>

For your next visit if the National Mall is your destination from Dupont Circle, switch to the Blue/Orange/Silver lines at Metro Center or the Yellow line at Gallery Place/Chinatown. No need to travel a couple more stops to Union Station.

Today there's a good deal on the Willard. How would that compare to the Sofitel?

They are both lovely upscale hotels within a five minute walk of one another. I'd happily choose either but would probably give the nod to the Willard possibly as a more special stay-- historic building, more grand than the Sofitel.