First time visiing Washigton D.C.

Gonna sticky this thread.. My kids have never gone to DC and the older teens were actually asking to go. I went when I was in highschool but that was years ago!

We will be driving out to Virginia over the summer for a wedding, and will be about 5 hours from DC so, we were thinking of going for a few days.. or maybe Williamsburg, VA.. Haven't decided yet. The thought of depending on public transportation is a little scary for me because I am used to driving everywhere, but I have heard so many horror stories about the traffic and parking.
Is the cost of the metro reasonable?

It's very reasonable and the only way to go in DC IMHO. You can pay by use or get a 1 day or 7 day pass if you anticipate using it a lot.

I just stumbled across this thread and I know it's too late for the OP since his trip was in early March, but want to put my .02 in. I have been to DC many times in my life. I would disagree with some of the suggestions. I found the Spy Museum to be a complete waste of time. None of the exhibits were too exciting, certainly not worth the wait or cost.

Ben's chili bowl, tastes great while eating it, but make sure you are close to a bathroom. It was worse than drinking a glass of Tijuana tap water for me and my friends.

I am a beer geek and on my most recent trip (which was about 2 years ago), some friends and I went to some of DC's horrible excuses for beer bars. The church key/birch & barley, what a joke. They claim a large beer list, but it is all readily available craft beer. The prices are absurd (300-400% markups) and they were sold out of many of the beers I attempted to order. There are other places to avoid, but i will end my rant.

I wont name all the expensive restaurants and doubt people are looking to go to a Jose Andres owned place. One place I went, that I liked was thunder burger to eat. It was a great burger and cheap too.

Quote from the.J129 : Here. This one should work. http://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/g...-_-EM10625

Thank you VERY much for sharing the link. Substantial savings over what I was just going to book. Quick question before I book the room - it appears that it is a no refundable reservation. Is that correct? Thanks in advance.

Quote from antsmarchn : I just stumbled across this thread and I know it's too late for the OP since his trip was in early March, but want to put my .02 in. I have been to DC many times in my life. I would disagree with some of the suggestions. I found the Spy Museum to be a complete waste of time. None of the exhibits were too exciting, certainly not worth the wait or cost. Ben's chili bowl, tastes great while eating it, but make sure you are close to a bathroom. It was worse than drinking a glass of Tijuana tap water for me and my friends. I am a beer geek and on my most recent trip (which was about 2 years ago), some friends and I went to some of DC's horrible excuses for beer bars. The church key/birch & barley, what a joke. They claim a large beer list, but it is all readily available craft beer. The prices are absurd (300-400% markups) and they were sold out of many of the beers I attempted to order. There are other places to avoid, but i will end my rant. I wont name all the expensive restaurants and doubt people are looking to go to a Jose Andres owned place. One place I went, that I liked was thunder burger to eat. It was a great burger and cheap too.

You obviously went to some of the crappier bars in DC then. The better bars/clubs are in Georgetown, which is not really close to Metro. RFD in Chinatown used to be one of my favorites, but they've gone downhill lately.

The paid museums are overpriced, but look for ticket discounts online or around the city and you'll make them worth their price.

Quote from antsmarchn : I just stumbled across this thread and I know it's too late for the OP since his trip was in early March, but want to put my .02 in. I have been to DC many times in my life. I would disagree with some of the suggestions. I found the Spy Museum to be a complete waste of time. None of the exhibits were too exciting, certainly not worth the wait or cost. Ben's chili bowl, tastes great while eating it, but make sure you are close to a bathroom. It was worse than drinking a glass of Tijuana tap water for me and my friends. I am a beer geek and on my most recent trip (which was about 2 years ago), some friends and I went to some of DC's horrible excuses for beer bars. The church key/birch & barley, what a joke. They claim a large beer list, but it is all readily available craft beer. The prices are absurd (300-400% markups) and they were sold out of many of the beers I attempted to order. There are other places to avoid, but i will end my rant. I wont name all the expensive restaurants and doubt people are looking to go to a Jose Andres owned place. One place I went, that I liked was thunder burger to eat. It was a great burger and cheap too.

Each person has their own tastes. You can't really advise someone by saying, "I didn't like these places and therefore you won't either".
As for the Spy museum, how much did you pay and how long did you wait? We paid $5/person (had a voucher) and there was no line...so maybe that makes a difference.
And as w3kn said, Georgetown is where some of the best stuff is at.

Quote from mikeshecky : Thank you VERY much for sharing the link. Substantial savings over what I was just going to book. Quick question before I book the room - it appears that it is a no refundable reservation. Is that correct? Thanks in advance.

Yes. It would be a non-refundable reservation AFAIK (it was when I used it...unless something has changed). You won't earn any points either.
They do mention that you have to have the form on you, but I didn't and nobody asked me.
The savings ARE amazing aren't they? Where are you thinking of staying?

Quote from w3kn : You obviously went to some of the crappier bars in DC then. The better bars/clubs are in Georgetown, which is not really close to Metro. RFD in Chinatown used to be one of my favorites, but they've gone downhill lately. The paid museums are overpriced, but look for ticket discounts online or around the city and you'll make them worth their price.

I was going to mention Georgetown but you beat me to it.
Such a vast difference when compared to DC, isn't it?

Quote from w3kn : You obviously went to some of the crappier bars in DC then. The better bars/clubs are in Georgetown, which is not really close to Metro. RFD in Chinatown used to be one of my favorites, but they've gone downhill lately. The paid museums are overpriced, but look for ticket discounts online or around the city and you'll make them worth their price.

I went to a ton of bars in both DC and Georgetown. First off, the Church key written up as one of the better bars in the country. Secondly, I have lived in or around NYC my entire life. I go to NYC or Brooklyn almost every weekend and the bar scene here is just so much better than the bar scene down there.

I have also been to RFD and another bar I believe is affiliated, the Brickskeller. Was not impressed with either. The brickskeller claims a guinness record for most beers, but having every variety of bud, coors, and miller does not make a beer bar good. Where are my rare beers, my Belgian lambics, various vintages of barrel aged stouts? I have traveled all over this country and hit up many amazing breweries and beer bars, and I felt the DC beer and bar scene was just lacking.

Quote from antsmarchn : I went to a ton of bars in both DC and Georgetown. First off, the Church key written up as one of the better bars in the country. Secondly, I have lived in or around NYC my entire life. I go to NYC or Brooklyn almost every weekend and the bar scene here is just so much better than the bar scene down there. I have also been to RFD and another bar I believe is affiliated, the Brickskeller. Was not impressed with either. The brickskeller claims a guinness record for most beers, but having every variety of bud, coors, and miller does not make a beer bar good. Where are my rare beers, my Belgian lambics, various vintages of barrel aged stouts? I have traveled all over this country and hit up many amazing breweries and beer bars, and I felt the DC beer and bar scene was just lacking.

RFD used to have a great selection and a large variety of beers. Not so much anymore.

Adams Morgan isn't bad for bars/restaurants/night life either. I agree that it's not nearly as good as New York.

Quote from w3kn : RFD used to have a great selection and a large variety of beers. Not so much anymore. Adams Morgan isn't bad for bars/restaurants/night life either. I agree that it's not nearly as good as New York.

Adams Morgan was ok as well, I guess I am just spoiled where I live. Although it's an hour away in Baltimore, Fells Point used to be fun as well, but I haven't been there in at least 10 years.

Every beer bar in the DC area has been a huge let down for me. My first visit to the brickskeller during its prime was such a disappointment. They had a huge list, too bad I had to attempt to order about 30 different beers before they actually had one in stock. The same thing happened at church key. What bothers me, is so many places have beer lists that are either printed on-site or written on chalkboards. Would it kill someone to update these lists weekly or even monthly?

Quote from the.J129 : Yes. It would be a non-refundable reservation AFAIK (it was when I used it...unless something has changed). You won't earn any points either. They do mention that you have to have the form on you, but I didn't and nobody asked me. The savings ARE amazing aren't they? Where are you thinking of staying?

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We were looking at the Kimptons, they were VERY kid friendly for us in the past. Problem with traveling with kids is things change at the last minute, so the non refundable part about your F&F makes it difficult for us. The Williard at that price is tempting to take the chance...

We are looking to go mid June, mid week so the prices are killing me.

Quote from w3kn : Tonight they were saying the peak will be around April 5. So you might be in luck.

How many days around the peak are good viewing? We're going in a week, which was the original peak date, but don't know how much we'll be able to see at that point.

Quote from mikeshecky : . We were looking at the Kimptons, they were VERY kid friendly for us in the past. Problem with traveling with kids is things change at the last minute, so the non refundable part about your F&F makes it difficult for us. The Williard at that price is tempting to take the chance... We are looking to go mid June, mid week so the prices are killing me.

For a second there, I thought you found a Kimpton using the F&F link and I was like...What?!?
I could be wrong about the non-refundable part. Did you try going a dummy booking?


Speaking of The Kimptons...Here's how you keep customers happy and coming back for more. [imgur.com] Just amazing service!
Do you have elite status with any other chain? You could get Kimpton to status match you to their "Inner Circle" status [boardingarea.com]-Which apart from being awesome, gets you a free night at EVERY NEW HOTEL THEY OPEN (after 3 paid nights)! This year they opened 6. So that's 6 free nights.

Quote from lifeisgood111 : How many days around the peak are good viewing? We're going in a week, which was the original peak date, but don't know how much we'll be able to see at that point.

If you arrive next Friday, you should have a good show all week.

Quote from w3kn : If you arrive next Friday, you should have a good show all week.

Unfortunately, I'm thinking the snow in DC will only delay the blooming further.

We're only in town for the weekend, so it seems we'll miss out this year.