Activities on Christmas Day

Other than visiting Mount Vernon, do we have any other options for Christmas Day in Washington D.C. ? What about dining options? Are we going to end up at Denny%26#39;s? I am assuming that if our hotel has a fine dining establishment it will be open? Maybe that is assuming too much...Any ideas?

Thanks!

Activities on Christmas Day

There are some bars and restaurants that are open Christmas day for those of us who want to escape family. I would call ahead to be sure, but there are options. I would agree with your assumption that the hotel restaurant will be open.

I think you will find that most museums are closed. But, a lot of the monuments can be enjoyed without the gift shop being open. A walking tour of the Mall may just be the thing to work off some of the huge meal. Driving around the monuments at night is also a favorite of mine so that is an option as well.

Activities on Christmas Day

As Christmas gets closer, restaurants that are open on that day tend to advertise in the local papers re: their Christmas offerings. Many offer brunches, for example. So if you post this again closer to Christmas, you will get more info.

Bumped up several posts from last year on the same subject..

As stated before all of the government sponsored activities on the mall are closed on Christmas (Museums, Galleries, etc.). That is usually the only day that they get a chance to close all year.

-Their are a lot of restaurants opened on Christmas, especially in downtown. They also have specials that they give like a 4 course meal for a certain price. Check out some restaurants you would enjoy and call them and ask. It won%26#39;t be crowded at all downtown so you can still walk up to the monuments and look at it. You will not have to end up at Denny%26#39;s. And yes if your hotel has a restaurant they are usually opened on Christmas and if not go to another nice hotel and eat there.

I don%26#39;t know for sure, but I think that Arlington Cemetary usually does something on Christmas (check their website to make sure) You can still go up to the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial any walk up no entrance type things.

advice on living

Hilton or Westin

After reading some of the reviews on the Westin Grand, Westin Embassy Circle, Capital Hilton and the Hilton Embassy Row, I cannot decide which hotel is the nicest. Doesn%26#39;t seem like one is better then the other. Does anyone have any input? We are only there 2 nights and our purpose in visiting DC is to look at colleges in the area. I am trying to stick with one of the above 4 hotels so I can use my points. Thanks

Hilton or Westin

Well--they%26#39;re all 3-diamond properties. The Westin Grand is on the edge of Georgetown. IMO, this would be a good place to stay if you are looking at both GU and GWU--although it is closer to GWU. Otherwise, all the hotels are near Metro stations so getting around will be easy.

Hilton or Westin

Westin would be better. There are a lot of universities and colleges in the area and the majority of them are metro accessible/metro bus or a short cab ride from your hotel. Not that the Hilton isn%26#39;t good and not near the metro it just isn%26#39;t what it used to be.

-Georgetown University isn%26#39;t metro accessible but there is a Shuttle bus that runs every 20 minutes at the Dupont Circle Metro Station on Q Street exit. At the corner of 20th and Mass. Avenue, that will take you directly to the main campus. They used to ask for Student/Staff ID but they haven%26#39;t in about 1 year visitors are more than welcomed to get on these shuttles. Good convenient and no stops. This stop is a block or so away from the hotel. You could see a lot of the side streets of Georgetown and Dupont Circle as well, nice ride.

-George Washington University is right on the Foggy Bottom Metro Station so that would be good.

-American university is on the Tenleytown/American Univ. Metro station.

-Univ. Of Maryland College Park is on the Green Line and then get off at College Park-UMD station

-George Mason Univ is on the orange line in Fairfax, couple of stops for them look at the map for the closer one.

They%26#39;re all about equal, but I agree that the Capital Hilton would be the first one to get ruled out. It%26#39;s a good location for visiting the sites, but if you plan to spend more time at the colleges, you%26#39;re probably better off at one of the other properties. If the points are equal, I%26#39;d probably go with the Westin Embassy Row, but if you can spend less points at one of the other properties, I think you%26#39;ll do fine at any of them.

If you visit American Univ, you will need to take a shuttle from Tenleytown to the main campus. But I don%26#39;t think you need a student ID (at least you didn%26#39;t last time I used it a few years ago).

At the Univ of Maryland, you will also have to take a shuttle to the campus. For the shuttle from the metro to campus you definitely don%26#39;t need student ID. (I know that for sure because I went to grad school there when I first moved to the DC area!)

Place to stay near Gaithersburg ??

Hi Everyone -

I%26#39;m spending 2 weeks in Gaithersbiug doing an internship in the Fall. I%26#39;m looking for a place to stay that is not an expensive hotel which is all I could find online.

Can you please suggest something reasonably close and not too expensive? It%26#39;s my first time there so I don%26#39;t know the local area. Thanks very much!

Place to stay near Gaithersburg ??

Well most hotels in that area are approx. $75-$100.00 p/night. I don%26#39;t know your budget but that is a good deal for a room but for 2 weeks you are going to spend $2,000 at least.

-Oakwood Corpoarte Apartments rent on a montly basis. You would have to stay at least 31 days (301) 527-2866. This could work if you found someone who wanted to take over the lease, otherwise you would have to pay for the 31 days. It is a fully furnished apartment in Gaithersburg. This could actually run you cheaper than a hotel only problem you would be paying for the apartment and you wouldn%26#39;t be staying there, unless you decided to stay a little longer.

Some hotels that are nice and comfortable, just check their websites for rates and availability:

-Towne Place Suites by Marriott

-Springhill Suites

-Summerfield Suites

-Extended Stay America

-Courtyard (2 locations) there is a new one as well on the lakeside in a nice area of Gaithersburg.

Hope this helps.

Place to stay near Gaithersburg ??

The $2,000 would include the taxes and fees and that is at the high-end of the price. $1,000 could get you a nice hotel room in one of the listed hotels I submitted.

Hi:

I think you%26#39;ll do best with one of the long-term stay hotels suggested by MrsMaryland, but you may also want to try www.craigslist.org or www.washingtoncitypaper.com and look for a sublet - maybe you%26#39;ll get lucky. Good luck!

Also try Studio Plus. Good for extended stays and business travelers.

Surrounding Cities to Gaithersburg:

Germantown

Rockville

Qunice Orchard

Olney

Probably won%26#39;t find much in these areas either, just about the same as Gaithersburg. Rockville may be a second option.

If you choose the hotel route--rather than booking online, I%26#39;d call the individual property (not the national toll-free reservations number). For an extended stay, you should be able to negotiate a better rate than what you%26#39;ll find online.

courtyard embassy row ro convention center

My husband and I would like to go to DC for July 4th next year. We would like to walk to the momuments to sight see and walk to the fireworks. Which hotel would be a better base for our trip?

courtyard embassy row ro convention center

In terms of being near a Metro station and closer to the major attractions--the Courtyard Convention Center.

courtyard embassy row ro convention center

I also just came across the Renissance Hotel near the convention center. The rate there is $98.00 and the rate at the Courtyard is $134.00. How would the reniassance be in terms of the metro and the major attractions?

The Renaissance at 9th and K Sts., NW is about 3 blocks away from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station while the Courtyard is one block away--so it%26#39;s up to you.

For the price difference, I say go with the Rennaissance. It%26#39;ll be a long walk to the National Mall, but not too bad if you don%26#39;t mind a long walk, fine for the fireworks, and it%26#39;s not too far from the metro or the DC Circulator bus.

And the Renaissance is a higher class of hotel as well.

Generally speaking, yes, Renaissances tend to be 4-diamond properties. However, the one at 9th and K (for some reason) is a 3-diamond property as is the Courtyard by Marriott-Embassy Row.

eye liner

only one day

Hello,

I will be coming to town in a few weeks for business, and only have one day off- a Monday-

What would you say would be the must see(s) to do in a day....?

I have never been here before

Thanks for any info

-s

only one day

With only one day and you%26#39;ve never been here before, here%26#39;s what I suggest---Take a walk along the Mall and see the monuments and memorials. Walk by the White House and the Capitol. If museums interest you, check out the Smithsonian%26#39;s website --- www.si.edu -- to see which ones interest you most. Then perhaps, spend some time visiting one of your choosing.

only one day

Thanks for the info,

I just found out that I will be staying at the Grand Hyatt- from the map it looks like it%26#39;s close to everything....

What is good to see in that area?

-s

I would spend the morning doing some type of tour, either Tourmobile or Old Town Trolleys or similar. This will provide the most ';bang for the buck'; in terms of making use of your limited time. You%26#39;ll see a lot of sites in a couple of hours, and get a sense of where things are if you want to go back in the afternoon and see one or two particular things.

The Grand Hyatt isn%26#39;t particularly close to any of the major tourist sites. Having said that, it isn%26#39;t particulary far either! :)

You can walk from there to the White House and you%26#39;ll be a lot closer to it then you will on the Tourmobile or other tours.

I think you can do a combination of both ideas.

I like the idea of picking one or 2 Smithsonians (depending upon how fast you can go through museums) to do during the day and then doing a late afternoon/evening tourmobile of the monuments at night. You can get to these by foot, cab or metro.

Since the museums close early and the monuments are open 24/7, doing the Smithsonian stuff during the day and taking something like the Grayline Washington After Dark tour which will take you to all the memorial and let you out, and then do a drive-by of the other stuff, this will help you get the most out of your day.

Tourmobile stops at 4:30.

Grayline%26#39;s Washington After Dark tour starts at 7:45 so you can take a break, have a nice dinner and then take the tour.

www.etix.com/travel/servlet/onlineSale鈥?/a>

Sometimes hotel concierge%26#39;s have discount or free passes for you for different tour companies. It never hurts to ask.

How does quilt wizard work

IAD to White House?

My wife is flying into Ronald Reagan and I am thinking about flying into IAD because it is 50 bucks cheaper. Do you think this is a good idea? We are staying at The Madison and I am wondering about the price of transportation to there. Any suggestions?

IAD to White House?

It all depends on how you want to get from Dulles to DC. The cheapest way is $3/round trip. It involves taking a Metrobus--the 5A route. This bus only runs once an hour, is often late and crowded. The Washington Post referred to it as ';The Dreaded Dulles Link';. The second cheapest way involves taking the Washington Flyer bus (www.washfly.com) ($9/one-way) to the West Falls Church Metro station, then taking Metro to DC. The Metro fare varies depending on whether you%26#39;re traveling during rush hour or not (for fare info--www.wmata.com). Next would be a shuttle like the Super Shuttle, hiring a limo service or taking a taxi. If you want to take a taxi, then, IMO, it won%26#39;t be worth the $50 savings to fly into IAD. In that case, I would fly into National. So it%26#39;s up to you--if you prefer the cheaper transportation options, you will save money but have a long ride into the District.

IAD to White House?

Hi Scarface:

I don%26#39;t think $50 is worth the hassle of Dulles even if you take the $3 transportation route into the city. I%26#39;ve always found Dulles to be a difficult airport - you have to arrive earlier because it%26#39;s quite large and most flights (if not all) require a shuttle bus to the gate. IMO, Reagan National is much easier to navigate and it%26#39;s much more convenient to the city (easy metro ride).

Thank you both for the responses. Looks like I might as well pay the extra 50 $ for the convienence factor itself.

best places to eat in chinatown?

any recommendations on places in chinatown for dinner...that are reasonable and have a good atmosphere?

thanks!

ww

best places to eat in chinatown?

Tony Cheng%26#39;s Mongolian BBQ is fairly reasonable and a fun atmosphere--picking out your ingredients yourself is a nice change of pace from ordering off the typical Chinese menu.

best places to eat in chinatown?

If you%26#39;re willing to go non-Chinese (and to be honest, there aren%26#39;t that many Chinese restaurants in Chinatown anymore!), I would recommend Matchbox. They%26#39;re mostly a pizza restaurant, but they have a few other things as well:

http://www.matchboxdc.com/

Do you want Chinese food or just good food with a nice atmopshere? And by good atmosphere, do you mean packed with people/good people watching or do you mean mellow and loungey?

Many of the Chinese restaurants have been pushed out of Chinatown (for better or worse...), but I recommend Full Kee for the food, not the atmosphere, if you want Chinese (509 H St., NW).

Otherwise, I agree with the other poster%26#39;s rec of Matchbox. I also like Jaleo and Zaytinya for the food and atmosphere (usually on the loud and crowded side). I also liked Rasika - a new, upscale Indian place (still loud, but more mellow than Jaleo and Zaytinya), but it%26#39;s a little pricier.

Also, if you like American food, I haven%26#39;t been to it yet, but the new Clyde%26#39;s would probably be a good bet for reasonable prices and good atmosphere.

Hope this helps. Have fun!

Tony Cheng%26#39;s is split into two dining venues - the main floor is the Mongolian all-you-can eat skillet feast. The second floor is the traditional Chinese restaurant. Both are great.

For good food, try Eat First. The atmosphere is clean but not too exciting. I also like the cheesily-named Wok n%26#39;Roll - they have Chinese and sushi, bubble tea, and a trendier atmosphere than some of the other Chinatown places. For a traditional Chinese-American restaurant with good standard fare, Tai Shan is good. They are enjoying some renewed popularity because they have the same name as the baby panda. ;) For some non-Chinese tasty food in a nice and fun atmosphere, try Kanlaya, a relatively new Thai restaurant on 6th street just below H. It%26#39;s true, most of the restaurants in Chinatown aren%26#39;t Chinese anymore.