<p>If you go to the Spy Museum, buy your tickets on line and there is a great Chinese restaurant that has Mongolian on the bottom level and Chinese on the upper level…it is about 2 blocks down…pass the Metro and on the left side…BIG PAGODA style outside, I just can’t remember the name of it…it has been a winner for Washingtonian for eons</p>
<p>Also a great side trip if you have a car is Annapolis</p>
<p>I, too, would fly into National. I don’t know why you’d stay in Arlington or Bethesda. I would stay in any one of the DC hotels… doesn’t really matter if you stay in the Pennsylvania Avenue area, Georgetown, Connecticut Avenue/Dupont Circle. All are convenient using cabs. All but maybe Georgetown convenient using Metro.</p>
<p>Baltimore is a wonderful city as well. So you might really want to take that hotel Saturday night in Baltimore option. By the time your H drives to Balto from DC on Saturday am and then back, he will have spent too much of his day in a car anyway.</p>
<p>Lots of great restaurants in Baltimore. One of my current favorites is SALT. [salt</a> | food](<a href=“http://www.salttavern.com/]salt”>http://www.salttavern.com/)</p>
<p>If you could fly into National and out of BWI, that would be the least to/from airport driving.</p>
<p>Agree - don’t stay in the burbs - stay in DC. Actually, I’d probably fly into BWI, go to DC from there for a couple of nights, come back to Baltimore late Friday in time for dinner and spend Saturday in Baltimore.</p>
<p>post #21 Tony Chang’s Mongolian BBQ</p>
<p>Driving to Baltimore from DC can be awful on Friday evenings, but Saturday morning before 8:00, and returning mid-afternoon, should be no problem at all. The train is fine if wherever you are going in Baltimore is near the station; otherwise I wouldn’t worry about using a rental car for that. If he left at 7:00, he would have time to get lost and still be early for his 8:00 meeting.</p>
<p>As to whether the trains will be on time – it matters a lot whether it’s a train that originates in DC, or one of the ones that comes up from farther south. It is very rare (not impossible, but rare) for trains to get delayed between DC and New York, but not at all rare for trains to be late getting into DC – especially the trains that come all the way up from Florida or Georgia. You can check the schedule to find out which it is.</p>
<p>There should be cabs from Penn Station in Baltimore on SAturday am. It can take awhile to get a cab – but it’s not a very walkable area. The MARC line, alternative to Amtrak, I don’t think runs on the weekend.</p>
<p>I like Baltimore and would split my time between the two cities.</p>
<p>Has anyone every stayed in the Fairmont or the area around it? The Fairmont is at 2401 M St. at 24th St. I believe the area is called the West End, but is still close to Dupont Circle I think. I can get a really great deal there, but wasn’t sure about the area. Reviews mention it being a quiet area with not much around. As long as I can get to a Metro, I don’t think I am too concerned with the area other than safety when walking around.</p>
<p>The other hotel I can score a great price on is the Omni Shoreham which is at Calvert St. at Connecticut. Seems a bit farther out, especially since we have no plans in the area.</p>
<p>I like the idea of Dupont Circle for the evening, but don’t know how necessary that is. If the weather is nice, I can see us walking around in the evening and as I understand, Dupont Circle would be a nice place to do so. What about the Penn Quarter? I read it was an up and coming area, but then someone else said in the evening we might not want to wonder the area. </p>
<p>I am still checking out hotels but would like opinions on the above.</p>
<p>I have not stayed at the Fairmont but I know others who have and really enjoyed it. It is in a quiet area, very convenient to Georgetown. The closest metro station is Foggy Bottom - a few blocks away.</p>
<p>My niece just had her engagement party at The Columbia Residences 2425 L Street, NW
Washington - two blocks away. Upscale condominium building… used to be Columbia Hospital for Women where I was born, but I digress ;). Very nice area. We walked it at night. There is a Trader Joe’s near there… I didn’t notice what else. But it’s convenient and nice. Street parking is tough to find (which is why we were walking the area that evening), but that might not be an issue for you. Perfectly safe.</p>
<p>It’s true that the Shoreham has a “further out” feeling. If I were you, I’d choose the Fairmont location, although I can’t comment on the hotel never having stayed there.</p>
<p>My suggestions: if you (or your husband’s work) can afford to spend a little, stay at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City - right above a shopping center and the Metro stop is RIGHT downstairs. Very easy access to museums, etc. being just a few metro stops away. They often run very attractive Bed and Breakfast rates on the weekends.<br>
[The</a> Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City: Washington D.C. Getaway Hotel Packages](<a href=“Pentagon City Hotels | The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City”>Pentagon City Hotels | The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City)</p>
<p>Also, in the interest of time, do the museums during the day and take a night tour that will hit the majority of the monuments. It will help you squeeze a lot into your limited time in the city and they look really nice at night all lit up!
[Night</a> Tours Washington DC](<a href=“http://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/night-tours.asp]Night”>Washington DC Night Tours | Washington DC Monuments Tour)
[Washington</a> DC Night Tour, Washington DC Night Tours | Viator.com](<a href=“http://www.viator.com/tours/Washington-DC/Washington-DC-Night-Tour/d657-3411LIGHTS]Washington”>http://www.viator.com/tours/Washington-DC/Washington-DC-Night-Tour/d657-3411LIGHTS)</p>
<p>This may just be me, but here is my opinion.</p>
<p>If I were to stay in Pentagon City, or Bethesda, or Arlington… I would not feel like I was in Washington. Maybe that is because it is my native city. But I would want to stay in a location more like you are contemplating… On M Street or similar. Gives you a real feel for the city, as well as being convenient to walk/metro/cab to restaurants, shops, museums, monuments.</p>
<p>BTW, we drove to the location I mentioned in post #24 from Baltimore on a traffic-laden Saturday evening. Took a long time due to actual stopandgo traffic. But on an early Saturday am, if your H decides to drive to Baltimore from the Fairmont… around 45 minutes could do it. Even if he gives himself an extra half hour for traffic, he wouldn’t have to leave at the crack of dawn.</p>
<p>I agree, we want to stay in the city. Yes, we will pay more for the hotel, but I want to be able to walk around and feel DC!</p>
<p>My problem with finding “the” hotel, is my husband is a fitness addict and always wants a hotel that has more than just a tiny exercise room with crappy equipment. The Fairmont has a gym which seems like it will work for him, plus we don’t have to pay for it as we are Fairmont members. I joined when we stayed at the Boston Fairmont for a family wedding. On that stay we were able to get rooms for $129!</p>
<p>Of course my gym rat needs breakfast after his work out and doesn’t want to pay to eat a hotel breakfast! I don’t eat breakfast, so if he can get a cup of coffee, a bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit, it will hold him off until an early lunch. Usually we have a refrigerator and he keeps milk and juice in the room with individual bowls of cereal. Or, if there is a small cafe around, that will work too.</p>
<p>I swear, I spend more time looking for hotels when we travel than I do figuring out what to do on the trip!!</p>
<p>After a conversation with a family friend, we decided to stay at the Fairmont as we will be within walking distance to Georgetown. As we might have dinner with a couple of GW and Georgetown college students that are family friends, I thought the Fairmont would be a great location. My gymrat will be very happy with the gym at the hotel which keeps him from having to leave in the morning to workout elsewhere.</p>
<p>We still haven’t figured out the driving vs train to Baltimore, but hubby is wanting to drive so I bet that is what he will do. If so, he will rent the car the night before and return it when he gets back Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Yes, the drive on a Saturday will be a piece of cake. Or he could take the MARC train from DC Union Station to Balto Camden Yard, and walk to the hotel (a short safe walk) or catch a cab.</p>
<p>The MARC train only runs Monday-Friday, but it would have been a good idea.</p>