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Where to stay in D.C?

post #1 of 55
7/17/08 at 7:58pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I'd love specific recommendations on where to stay in D.C. I am not familiar with the geography/neighborhoods. I am looking for something centralized. Not the Ritz but not Motel 6 either. Preferably some place with cool bars/restaurants around. I am planning on dining at Minibar if that helps.

I will be there Oct 2-6.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 55
7/17/08 at 8:10pm
last time we pricelined $95 and $110 in the summer, (i think regular for cheapest room is like 225 or something) Grand Hyatt Washington 1000 H Street NW, Washington, D.C., USA 20001 Tel: +1 202 582 1234 Fax: +1 202 637 4781 Pretty close to places and nice hotel and things look new. Not far from this one, the regency hyatt (next to capitol hill, i mean it's like 1 block away) seems older and not as nice, but pretty decent. it's regular price was around the same for the cheapest room
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post #3 of 55
7/17/08 at 8:45pm
Not sure exactly what scene you are looking for, but I would not recommend staying downtown - it's pretty dead at night. I recommend the Hotel Helix. It's a modern boutique hotel off Dupont/Logan Circle, reasonably priced and well located. I live in DC, but I stayed there a night for a getaway with a girlfriend. The rooms are quite nice, and a great value. For more typical hotels, Hilton Washington at Florida and Connecticut is also well located and decent. Ditto the Washington Marriott (Calvert and Connecticut).
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post #4 of 55
7/17/08 at 8:56pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, that is right in the neighborhood of where I want to be. Does public transportation run by this area? Are there any tricks to using priceline? I've never done it before.
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post #5 of 55
7/17/08 at 8:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicranch View Post
Not sure exactly what scene you are looking for, but I would not recommend staying downtown - it's pretty dead at night.

I recommend the Hotel Helix. It's a modern boutique hotel off Dupont/Logan Circle, reasonably priced and well located. I live in DC, but I stayed there a night for a getaway with a girlfriend. The rooms are quite nice, and a great value.

For more typical hotels, Hilton Washington at Florida and Connecticut is also well located and decent. Ditto the Washington Marriott (Calvert and Connecticut).

I guess I am not looking for a scene per se. If downtown is dead at night, that's not cool. I am not sure public transit works in D.C. It just so happens that a bunch of places I want to visit are around 9th, 12th, and Q Streets. I just thought a hotel in the middle would make most sense for cabbing or walking places.

I will check out Hotel Helix and Hilton Washington and Washington Marriot. Let me mark them in google maps to see their proximity.

Assuming they are not in downtown, will there be any issues with reaching the aforementioned downtown streets?
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post #6 of 55
7/17/08 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicranch View Post
Not sure exactly what scene you are looking for, but I would not recommend staying downtown - it's pretty dead at night.

I recommend the Hotel Helix. It's a modern boutique hotel off Dupont/Logan Circle, reasonably priced and well located. I live in DC, but I stayed there a night for a getaway with a girlfriend. The rooms are quite nice, and a great value.

For more typical hotels, Hilton Washington at Florida and Connecticut is also well located and decent. Ditto the Washington Marriott (Calvert and Connecticut).


I believe the Helix is a Kimpton. I'm going to 2nd any of the Kimpton hotels in DC; I think there are 3 or 4. When I moved out here, I stayed at the Palomar in Dupont for a week and a half while looking for a place to live. It was reasonably priced (about $1700 for 10 days... the big jacuzzi bath room with a 2nd smaller elliptical workout room) and the Brickskeller was around the corner. It was also a quick cab ride over to Georgetown. If you're looking for nightlife, then "downtown" is the Monaco, which is across from the Portrait Gallery and the Verizon Center in Chinatown, which is where everyone seems to be on weekends because the clubs are all there. I almost stayed there, but read some questionable reviews saying you can get a musty basement room (the building was an old DC post office). It's also close to Cafe Atlantico/Minibar... the Minibar is a great experience.

If you want more classic and near the White House, there's the Willard Hotel or the Hay-Adams, but you end up with the rather boring nightlife.
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post #7 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sygyzy View Post
Thanks, that is right in the neighborhood of where I want to be. Does public transportation run by this area? Are there any tricks to using priceline? I've never done it before.
I have no clue if there's public transportation as i rented a car and was an international tourist. It is true that downtown is quite quiet at night. I am not a local, and venturing outside the downtown area in DC was not too recommended For priceline if you don't just click the price they give you (which is like expedia price), you have a choice to give your own price and choose the hotel quality (this would be a 4 or 5 star) and a approximate area, and you will know if someone accept your offer immediately. You can only try once per day for each price/quality/area combo per credit card.
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post #8 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roikins View Post
I believe the Helix is a Kimpton. I'm going to 2nd any of the Kimpton hotels in DC; I think there are 3 or 4. When I moved out here, I stayed at the Palomar in Dupont for a week and a half while looking for a place to live. It was reasonably priced (about $1700 for 10 days... the big jacuzzi bath room with a 2nd smaller elliptical workout room) and the Brickskeller was around the corner. It was also a quick cab ride over to Georgetown. If you're looking for nightlife, then "downtown" is the Monaco, which is across from the Portrait Gallery and the Verizon Center in Chinatown, which is where everyone seems to be on weekends because the clubs are all there. I almost stayed there, but read some questionable reviews saying you can get a musty basement room (the building was an old DC post office). It's also close to Cafe Atlantico/Minibar... the Minibar is a great experience.

If you want more classic and near the White House, there's the Willard Hotel or the Hay-Adams, but you end up with the rather boring nightlife.

I can't tell if you are recommending The Brickseller, Monaco as places to stay? I can't even find a hotel called Monaco in D.C.

So Downtown is bad for nightlife. What's good?

BTW, I am not stressing a night life necessarily. I am not a big bar or club person but since I'll be here for a few days, I'd like to do something to keep me entertained at night. So some night scene would be nice.
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post #9 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicranch View Post
Not sure exactly what scene you are looking for, but I would not recommend staying downtown - it's pretty dead at night. I recommend the Hotel Helix. It's a modern boutique hotel off Dupont/Logan Circle, reasonably priced and well located. I live in DC, but I stayed there a night for a getaway with a girlfriend. The rooms are quite nice, and a great value. For more typical hotels, Hilton Washington at Florida and Connecticut is also well located and decent. Ditto the Washington Marriott (Calvert and Connecticut).
I can't locate the Washington Marriott you specified. There isn't one a Calvert and Connecticut. Can you clarify? Thanks. Edit: Found it. Thanks!
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post #10 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sygyzy View Post
I can't tell if you are recommending The Brickseller, Monaco as places to stay? I can't even find a hotel called Monaco in D.C.

So Downtown is bad for nightlife. What's good?

BTW, I am not stressing a night life necessarily. I am not a big bar or club person but since I'll be here for a few days, I'd like to do something to keep me entertained at night. So some night scene would be nice.

Within DC downtown area, there's nothing for night life as far as i know, other than within the hotel. Compare to most big city, DC has nothing in this regard, and a few step outside looks like a complete slump. But at least at night you could actually move with your car!!

You would probably have to go outside further for more choices. I went north a bit towards Maryland and it seems like a pretty good place, think it's call Columbia.
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post #11 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sygyzy View Post
I can't tell if you are recommending The Brickseller, Monaco as places to stay? I can't even find a hotel called Monaco in D.C.

So Downtown is bad for nightlife. What's good?

BTW, I am not stressing a night life necessarily. I am not a big bar or club person but since I'll be here for a few days, I'd like to do something to keep me entertained at night. So some night scene would be nice.

The Brickskeller is a bar. Hotel Monaco is on F St. between 7th and 8th. There is also another hotel two blocks away on F at 8th St. I forget which hotel it is, but it is next to Gordon Biersch and across F street from McCormick and Schmick's.
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post #12 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by danyllau View Post
Within DC downtown area, there's nothing for night life as far as i know, other than within the hotel. Compare to most big city, DC has nothing in this regard, and a few step outside looks like a complete slump. But at least at night you could actually move with your car!!

You would probably have to go outside further for more choices. I went north a bit towards Maryland and it seems like a pretty good place, think it's call Columbia.


You don't know what you're talking about.
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post #13 of 55
7/17/08 at 9:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scnupe7 View Post
You don't know what you're talking about.
oops i bashed ur city... but yeah i just a tourist 2 times for about 1 week combined haha
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post #14 of 55
7/17/08 at 10:03pm
I second the recommendations for Helix. It's a good location and has a decent bar. You're close to Dupont, Logan Circle, 14th St., and U Street for nightlife and dining. You're still pretty close to downtown for getting to museums, Minibar, and other stuff. You're close to a few different metro stops, and there are tons of cabs there too. If Helix doesn't work, there are about five hotels within a few blocks of there. There's another Kimpton hotel, Hotel Rouge, just a block or two away. Kimpton hotels are usually pretty cool. There's also a few chains nearby, like the Holiday Inn, which is pretty much across the street from Helix, and a Doubletree next door to that. There's also a really small hotel, the District Hotel, right next to Helix. I basically live right in between all of these hotels and like the location.
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post #15 of 55
7/17/08 at 10:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sygyzy View Post
I can't tell if you are recommending The Brickseller, Monaco as places to stay? I can't even find a hotel called Monaco in D.C. So Downtown is bad for nightlife. What's good? BTW, I am not stressing a night life necessarily. I am not a big bar or club person but since I'll be here for a few days, I'd like to do something to keep me entertained at night. So some night scene would be nice.
Brickskeller is a bar with several hundred beers, although probably only 50 of them are available on any given night. It's a calmer scene, definitely more bar like than a club, and it's around the block from the Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle. If you go to the Kimpton Hotel website, you'll see they have a few places in DC, including the Hotel Monaco. I think one of their other places is the Hotel Rouge, which supposedly has a decent/trendy hotel bar. If you stay near one of the red line Metro stops, you can always hop on it and head up to Adams Morgan, which is more like a bar hopping/lounge crowd if you're not into club friendly Chinatown. Although, the Chinatown area also has busy upscale bars inside restuarants, like at Proof, Zaytinya, Brasserie Beck, or if you walk a few blocks, The Source. You can also take the $1 Circulator bus from the Farragut North red line stop into Georgetown. I'm not sure how busy the night life will be there since it's summer, but during the regular school year, it can get quite busy.
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