<p>Okay, an overly broad question, but H has to go to Rockville for business classes for a week. Son will be home from college, nothing to do this summer, so thought he and I would tag along. Would like to do some sightseeing, but also, something productive, like college visits for grad school, biomedical engineering, and perhaps even some internship prospects for next summer. I have no idea where Rockville is in relation to what airport, hotel locations, tourist attractions/DC, industry and colleges. Oh, yes, and the transportation issues. Is it on a Metro line or should we rent a car for the week?</p>
<p>We will probably go at the end of May, as H has to complete his courses before June.</p>
<p>I work in Rockville and live in a nearby community.</p>
<p>Rockville is a suburb of DC. You can fly to any of the DC-area airports – National, BWI, or Dulles. </p>
<p>Although there is a Rockville metro station, much of Rockville and the surrounding area is not within walking distance of that station. I would rent a car, but if you’re going to go to DC on a particular day, it makes more sense to go by Metro rather than driving. Be aware that the Metro is currently undergoing substantial repairs, mostly on the weekends, leading to delays in weekend service. You will get where you want to go, but it may take longer than usual. You can check on the locations of Metro delays here. The information is posted several days in advance. [Metro</a> - Home page](<a href=“http://www.wmata.com%5DMetro”>http://www.wmata.com) Also, parking near the Rockville metro station is not abundant. You would be better off going to Shady Grove or White Flint. (Shady Grove has two large parking garages; White Flint is next to a shopping mall that’s in the process of going out of business – if the Metro lot is full, you can park at the mall). </p>
<p>There is not much in the way of tourist attractions in Rockville itself or the other surrounding suburbs (although there’s a cute new Rockville Town Center, if you have a few hours to kill). There is plenty to do in DC, though, and it’s easy to get there by Metro. </p>
<p>The University of Maryland at College Park is not far away if you drive (you can also get there by Metro, but it’s very inconvenient because you have to go all the way into DC on one line and then come back out on another). And of course, DC has Georgetown, GW, American, and Catholic Universities. Baltimore (home of Johns Hopkins, which has an extraordinary program in biomedical engineering) is a little more than an hour away by car (or a lot more, depending on traffic). </p>
<p>I used this hotel in Rockville when the power at our house went out for several days after major storms. It’s cheap and there’s nothing particularly wrong with it. It’s not within walking distance of the Metro, though. [Hotels</a> Near Washington DC - Rockville, Maryland Hotel Best Western Plus](<a href=“http://www.bestwesternrockville.com/]Hotels”>http://www.bestwesternrockville.com/)</p>
<p>Quite a lot of biotechnology companies are located near Rockville, and NIH is located in nearby Bethesda (it has its own Metro stop, called Medical Center). But if a student hasn’t already applied for internships at these places, I don’t know that anything useful could be accomplished in May.</p>
<p>Marian has given you excellent advise. Metro is the best way to get around the DC area, however it is like spokes of a wheel, with DC being the center, so it’s hard to go east-west on the system. Montgomery County MD (Rockville is country seat) does have a bus system that connects you to the Metro stops if you aren’t walking distance to one. </p>
<p>Visisting schools in May is probably not a great idea w graduations, etc.</p>
<p>Where in Rockville will your husband need to be? There are no hotels convenient to the Rockville Metro station, but there are two at the Twinbrook station (Holiday Inn Express and Hilton) and one at the White Flint station (Marriott). There are several near the Bethesda station. There is a Comfort Inn that is barely in walking distance from the Shady Grove Metro Station - I’ve seen groups of student-age people strolling back in the evenings, but I wouldn’t recommend it for any but the more intrepid. If you will have a car, there are some longer-stay apartment/suite hotels in the area, but none are convenient to the Metro. Call and ask if they have shuttles to the Metro stops. Some do.</p>
<p>I used to live near the Twinbrook station, and can recommend that part of Rockville for public transportation, shopping, and not too fancy but still very good dining. All my tourists have to stop at the Container Store! Bethesda is livelier overall, but generally more expensive.</p>
<p>[Metro</a> - Home page](<a href=“http://www.wmata.com%5DMetro”>http://www.wmata.com) is your best source for public transportation information. Use the trip planning feature to find out about bus and Metro connections between one address and another. You may find that you only need a car for one or two days. There are Zip cars at many Metro stations. The Circulator bus in DC has its own website: [Home</a> | DC Circulator](<a href=“http://www.dccirculator.com/]Home”>http://www.dccirculator.com/) </p>
<p>Not BME, but MedImmune is located near Rockville, in Germantown. </p>
<p>I agree with the others that you’d want to be near the metro and use it a lot to get around. If you know where your H is required/chooses to book his hotel you might get a little more specific info.</p>
<p>I know they have a large and hideously ugly facility in Gaithersburg, near the Kentlands neighborhood. Do they have facilities in Germantown, too? I know there’s some sort of genetic engineering company with a facility in Germantown, not far from Kingsview Middle School, but I can’t remember its name.</p>
<p>I don’t know if we will be able to stay with husband. His company has an onsite hotel that may not allow son and I to stay with him. Son and I may stay in our own hotel and do touring from there, perhaps meeting up with hubby for dinner, and then touring together on the weekend. Although May is too late for this summer, son may want to get a heads up on possibilities for next summer’s internship possibities, and while in the area, why not check out some campuses? We did this sophomore year in high school during a summer vacation, visited some far away colleges that we would not have otherwise had an opportunity to during the school year. Many of these schools were possibilities for undergrad, but son decided to wait until grad school. Don’t mind having a car available, for to and from airport, and especially want to see the Air and Space by Dulles if that is still open. We are Marriott Rewards members and I even have two free nights at Level 1 through 4 from a recent promotion, so any tips on those would be helpful for cost savings. My nephew is graduating from Hampden Sydney on Mothers Day Weekend and they’re having to stay in Charlottesville because of hotel costs/unavailability, so any heads up on weekends to avoid is most helpful. Thanks for any help y’all can give!</p>
<p>And the names of any nearby towns to Rockville for help with hotel and job searches would be most helpful. Thanks for the heads up on Germantown. I had seen that in a job search and was not familiar with the town. We will check that area out!</p>
<p>I highly recommend the Marriott Residence Inn in Bethesda. Convenient to the Metro and a great full breakfast and decent manager’s reception M-Th. (we’re from the area and that’s where we stay when visiting the family. Only negative is parking is ridiculously expensive during the week. You could consider Zipcar for quick trips in the area).</p>
<p>I don’t know why Germantown isn’t on there. It should be on I-270 (the central highway), just north of Gaithersburg. And Clarksburg is north of that.</p>
<p>Poolesville, Clarksburg, and Damascus are in the semi-rural middle of nowhere. Bethesda is the exact opposite: it’s very urban (translation: you have to pay to park). Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown are suburbs (translation: you won’t have to pay to park in most places). Silver Spring is an interesting place with an urban downtown, but it’s a bit out of your way. The University of Maryland at College Park is in Prince George’s County, just a bit east of Silver Spring.</p>
<p>The Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center is a Category 4 and is right at the White Flint metro station. I’ve been there many, many times for conferences but haven’t seen the guest rooms. It’s relatively new and quite nice. </p>
<p>That stretch of Rockville Pike is very commercial (all of Rockville Pike is, truthfully), but I think it would be a reasonable location to facilitate your access to metro/downtown while leaving you close enough to wherever it is your husband will be in Rockville.</p>
<p>“North Bethesda” is, more or less, an extension of Rockville. (The divisions are irrelevant for anything other than paying taxes and signing up for City of Rockville rec department programs, as far as I could tell, living for 9 years across the street from Rockville, with a Rockville mailing address, but technically in North Bethesda.)</p>
<p>The Marriott Washingtonian (in Gaithersburg, just north of Rockville) and the Marriott Bethesda are also Category 4. The Bethesda location is probably nicer and more interesting (Washingtonian is basically a shopping mall), but if your husband is staying in Rockville, Bethesda can be a bit of a schlep…traffic can be remarkable in this area.</p>
<p>Germantown isn’t incorporated, so it may not show on the map. It is basically the area between exits 13 and 16 on I-270, with the “Downtown” on the West side of 270 at exit 15. There are a Homestead and a Fairfield near the big commuter lot in Germantown (exit 15), where there is an express bus to the Shady Grove Metro.</p>
<p>That Marriott at White Flint is very nice, but there are fewer restaurants right there. I think that the hotels close to Twinbrook are a bit better situated for dining. There are a pair of Marriotts on Democracy Boulevard just off I-495/I-270 in the northern reaches of Bethesda. They aren’t near anything at all (well except for Marriott’s headquarters and a large shopping mall), but are well located for access to the beltway. If you are going to be travelling by car, and are happy eating most of your meals at the hotel, this location could be good for you.</p>
<p>And yes, traffic here is remarkable. Almost 14 years here, and I am still constantly amazed.</p>
<p>You will need a car for at least a day to get to the Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles. [National</a> Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center](<a href=“http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/]National”>http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/) It is just much too difficult to try to get there by public transportation if you are starting in Maryland.</p>
<p>^^^Yes, we have been to DC twice for short family trips, both times without a car, and have never made it to Udvar-Hazy. I don’t mind getting a hotel where I’ll need a car since I’m resigned to getting one this trip. Don’t want to miss the Dulles museum again. American History was closed the summer we went before, so we will try to get to the Mall this time around, but are willing to park at Union Station and catch the Metro to hit the museums. We enjoyed eating at Union Station as well, so will catch some meals there, too. Hotels near the freeway are great suggestions. Thank you so much! I will definitely check out that Germantown location.</p>
<p>I recently spent several nights at the Springhill Suites in Gaithersburg. It’s a pleasant 10-minute walk to the [Washingtonian</a> Center](<a href=“http://www.washingtoniancenter.com/homepage.cfm?id=5]Washingtonian”>http://www.washingtoniancenter.com/homepage.cfm?id=5), which is nice for a day of shopping, lunching, movie-going, etc. It’s a category 3 Marriott, which made it a good points deal (the nightly charge was fairly high for a Springhill Suites). Newish hotel in good shape, though, as with many Springhills, the breakfast area gets crowded and the business “center” really isn’t much.</p>
<p>It was about a 10-minute drive to the Shady Grove Metro station, which I liked a lot because it’s the first stop on the line into the city and I knew I could get a seat even on a weekday morning. Lots of parking - I remember two garages and two lots. I found traffic in the area congested, but not as challenging/confusing as driving in NoVa.</p>
Union Station is being renovated, so eating there isn’t as pleasant right now. The food court is still open, though. If you stay near Metro, I would advise you to take Metro to the Mall rather than driving to Union Station.</p>
<p>You can still park in Union Station, but I would still recommend using Metro to go downtown just because it will take you so long to drive (and to drive back).</p>
<p>Driving time to downtown depends on the time of day, day of the week, month of the year, route chosen, etc. Leaving Rockville (Twinbrook Metro area/Exit 4) after 9:30 in the morning on a weekday, I could be at the mall in about 45 minutes by taking I-270, I-495, Georgetown Parkway, and US 50. Leaving earlier than that was usually a bad traffic experience. From Germantown (Exit 13) I’d add 20 minutes onto that estimate.</p>