gazsax

Hi guys,

Im travelling the east coast of America during july on my honeymoon and would like some advice of where to stay for 2/3 night in Washington DC, Ive heard alot of bad storys about the place but i come from South London so cant be much worse

Regards and hope someone can help me..........

Gary

Bob

I've no idea, but there was a thread a couple weeks back asking about places to go and the like in DC, might have some recommendations but probably have to look back a page or two.

Certainly a starting point anyway

SanDiegogirl

Plenty of recommendations on Tripadvisor.com

rpjs

We stayed at the Hyatt Capitol recently and it was very nice. Not cheap, but we got a good rate through hotels.com. It's within walking distance of the main attractions and Union Station which was convenient for us as we went by train. If you'll be driving I believe they charge extra (about $20 p.d) for valet parking (the only option), but I understand that's par for the course for city centre DC hotels.

Basically anywhere close to the mall and the main government buildings will be safe.

MarylandNed

I live in DC's Maryland suburbs so I don't stay overnight in DC hotels. Not sure what your budget is but tripadvisor.com is a good place to start. DC has some very nice (and expensive!) hotels. The Willard is world famous and is probably somewhere I'd want to stay on my honeymoon - expensive though!

Washington DC is safe - unless you wander into south east DC and there's no reason for any tourists to do that. I've wandered in and around downtown DC at all hours of the day and night and never had a problem. DC has lively nightlife - lots of clubs, bars and restaurants.

You don't need to be right downtown although that's probably preferable. You could be on the subway ("Metro") at somewhere like Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan. Georgetown is interesting but is not served by the subway.

penguinsix

DC is a very segmented city. There are parts (i.e. the tourist) bits that are extremely safe, and then there are parts that make South London look like a primary school playground in comparison. You won't be going to those bits of DC unless you are extremely lost or looking for no good.

Here is a map of murders over the last five or six years, though it's been getting better every year so that might scare you a bit. You can see the NW quadrant is pretty calm.

2005-present http://www.burgersub.org/totals/washingtondctotal.htm
2011- http://www.burgersub.org/murders2011.htm

Most of the tourist hotels will be in NW DC, the further away N&W from the Capitol building the better. You can also look at places in Rosslyn, just over the river (though a bit boring), Crystal City (near the airport, very boring) or in areas like Clarendon (Arlington, VA) or Bethesda, MD, both of which are technically suburbs but a bit urbanized with bars, restaurants, shopping, etc.

What is your budget? Do you want just some place to crash and dump your bags or are you looking for more full-service pools, spas, room service, etc?

Another thing you might consider is a 'day trip' to Annapolis, only about 45 minutes from DC by car. It's the home of the US Naval Academy and is one of the older cities in the US, with narrow streets and good seafood down by the waterfront. Huge sailing city with lots of boats and racers making their homes there.