Metro travel

We are thinking of staying at the Holiday Inn Express near Branch Ave Metro Station. Can anyone tell us how near to the station this place actually is?

We will not have a car and need to rely on public transport.

Can we go to the usuall sights using the Metro or bus system from here.

Many thanks.

Metro travel

Did you check with the hotel before you booked your room? And did you find out whether they provide a free shuttle, and during what hours it operates? Once you get to the station, you can take the Metro everywhere you want to go - see www.wmata.com for fares, times, and distances. Just make sure you%26#39;re back before midnight - the last train leaves DC around 11:30 pm weeknights.

Metro travel

I live 10 minutes from this Holiday Inn Express. And 7 minutes from Branch Avenue metro station. This is the station I get on every morning. The hotel is very clean and nice well-maintained. Ample parking spaces.

First things First: This hotel is directly across the street from the main gate of Andrews AFB. So.........Heavy congestion at the main entrance. There is a McDonalds next the hotel. And directly above the hotel is DC%26#39;s famous ';Beltway'; 495 or 95 whatever you want to call it. It is very noisy in this area once outside, I don%26#39;t know if inside your room is as loud. No fancy restaurants in this area at all. There is a Metro bus that will take you to the Branch Avenue station you will have to call the hotel to see if it is a shuttle bus for that purpose. The station is about a 5 minute drive up Allentown Road and over on Auth Road/Place....

-The closest cities nearby with any type of sit down restaurants and or shopping would be Clinton, MD 5 minutes from the hotel just south on Branch avenue. No metro, no buses. Then there is Waldorf, MD 15-120 minute drive south on Branch Avenue just past Clinton. Tons of shopping. Tons of Restaurants.

The train station itself the parking spaces are filled by 7:30 am unless you have reserved parking or if you park in the meters. Check out metros website www.wmata.com and see what time you can start parking in the meters and see how long you can park there. I park at the regular spots so I don%26#39;t know much about the meter ones. That is if you decided to rent a car. Which could help you because of your location of the hotel. There are several rental car places in the local area. Thrifty, Enterprise to be exact. If you do enterprise, they will pick you up from the hotel. Thrifty is straight down the same street as the hotel and you could walk (1/2 mile) or catch a cab.

Let me know if you need more information, but this is a start.

TYPO: 15-20 minute (not 120 minutes)

Ha ha - after 120 minutes, they%26#39;d be in the Bay! :-)

Thank you very much for all your replies. I have not booked the hotel yet but I have done further research on the forums and it seems that this area is not a safe one to stay.

I came across quite a few negitive replies when I typed in Branch Ave Station so I don%26#39;t think I will stay there.

Still looking for a decent hotel that is not very expensieve near the sightseeing spots.

Thank goodness for TAs support before I jumped in the deep end.

MrsMaryland, who lives in the area where you were planning to stay, probably has a much better perspective than some of the others on this board, many of whom immediately reject any notion of staying in Prince George%26#39;s County. The county does have a higher crime rate than the other surrounding counties, but most of it is not going to affect a tourist. Some of the comment sand negative reaction to the county border on the racist, so take them with a grain of salt. And, unfortunately, by posting this I%26#39;m probably going to start up another whole thread on the matter.

Check the reviews for the hotel--assuming you mean the HIE at Camp Springs, the reviews aren%26#39;t bad. That said, this is not going to be a particularl convenient place to stay because you aren%26#39;t actually at a Metrorail station, and if you want to take Metro into the city, you%26#39;ll need to get to the parking lot very early in the morning (on weekdays--weekends aren%26#39;t a problem) or take a Metrobus, which probably won%26#39;t run very frequently. Plus, as noted already, there are no real restaurants anywhere near hotel.

If you can find a hotel in your price range within walking distance of Metrorail, you should alter your plans. Check Arlington, Virginia, for hotels near the Crystal City, Pentagon City, or Rosslyn Metro stations. Some good deals pop up now and then, and even if you have to pay a bit more, you may find the convenience worth the extra price. (Note that many of these hotels may charge extra for parking.) One budget hotel that might work for you if you know what you%26#39;re getting into is the Americana (in Arlington), which generally is rated as a good value by reviewers.