Priceline Hotel: Planning a trip to Washington DC - Need hotel location suggestions

[amchi]

Hello all,

My wife and I are planning a trip to DC with our 2 small kids aged 5 and 1. We want to spend time looking at the touristy historical sites. I looked at priceline and they have quite a few areas to choose from. Can anyone guide me about the best locations to choose from? We want to be able to walk around a bit during the night and it should not be too far from the important sights, hotel cost should be about $60-$70 for 3 star (is that reasonable for DC?)

Any info or suggestions welcome.

[AaronJB]

Good evening. :)

What are the dates of travel?

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links.

[slygirl]

What touristy historical sites are you planning on going to? There are a few hotels that are walking distance from the Smithsonian museums. For example, L'Enfant Plaza Hotel and Mandarin Oriental are about a 12-15-minute walk to the Mall, but they are usually not listed on Priceline/Hotwire. They're a bit pricey and the food options in that particular corner are limited.

You may want to check these hotels out:

- Renaissance Mayflower

- Willard InterContinental

- The Hay-Adams

- W Hotel (right next door to Willard and Hay-Adams)

- Grand Hyatt Washington

These are about a 20-25 minute walk to the sites and there are more family-friendly food options available. You don't even have to pay for wi-fi because nearby there is a Borders and Barnes & Noble, not to mention Corner Bakery and Cosi, all of which offer complimentary wi-fi.

If you are planning on going to the zoo, the Omni Shoreham or the Marriott (I forget the name of it) in Woodley Park is convenient, but it is not exactly walking distance to the other sites. You will have to use the Metro.

[Doubleplay]

For Priceline name your own price, the areas closest to most of the tourist sites are (in preference order IMHO):

#5: Convention Ctr - Capitol Hill area

#13: White House - Downtown

#8: Dupont Circle - Woodley Park

#9: Georgetown - Foggy Bottom

Stay away from #7: DC Suburbs - Northeast Area

If you're doing name your own price, hopefully you'll get lucky and get a hotel near a Metro. The Renaissance on 9th St, the Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott and Willard are all walking distance to Metro stops.

$60-$70 for 3 star is a little low in general. But, depends on your travel dates. For that budget, you're probably better bidding in #6: Crystal City which has a Metro stop and the hotels have free shuttle buses to Reagan Airport where you can also catch the Metro.

You can get all day Metro passes that are good after the morning rush hour (930a). I don't think the 1 year old has to pay for Metro. Not sure about the 5 year old. Details about the subway at www.wmata.com