When are you visiting and what is your budget range. That would be the best way to answer your question. DC hotel rates fluctuate by season.

A very good budget hotel within the District is the Comfort Inn on Connecticut Ave. A block from a metro station. Just outside the District in Crystal City is the Americana which has received lots of attention here. Walking distance to a metro and a short ride into the city.

Most of the hotels closest to the National Mall museums and monuments are not inexpensive. I have no experience with it but look at the Hotel Harrington.

Though it is a pain to change hotels, you may find that moving to a different hotel for the weekend allows you to stay closer to the action since many of the most central hotels have much better rates for Friday and Saturday nights. Priceline is your friend here, and any visitor to Washington needs to learn to use it.

We stayed at the Americana in October 2011 www.americanahotel.com and were very pleased with it. It has free parking, free wi-fi, a pretty decent continental breakfast, and our room was clean and comfortable.

It's about a 5-10 minute walk to the Crystal City Metro station, or you can take the hotel's free shuttle to the stop if you prefer.

A friend of mine stayed at the Harrington while we were in town and said it was fine.

Lee Ann

Priceline really doesn't work for 4 people since they only guarantee one double bed, but if you use Hotwire instead, you can specify 3 or 4 people, in which case the rooms will have 2 beds.

Please tell us your price range. We went this summer, and were more limited because we are a family of 5. I would recommend you be as close to a metro station as possible, and in summer, get a hotel with a pool.

Lee Ann is one of several Fodors posters here who has vouched for the Americana. I will not disagree. And I checked around extensively, and the few places that were as competitive in price looked much rougher around the edges.

The hotels at Rosslyn stop often have a pool and also usually have free parking--if you can get a deal and can spend just a little bit more than the Americana, that might worth considering. I found the best prices to be at the Holiday Inn-Rosslyn, but then my brother got lodgings in Dupont Circle so we made a change in direction.

We ended up staying at the Savoy Suites. The hotel itself was a nice place--not high end, but recent finishes, bedding, new kitchenettes and with parking. It was 100 degrees or more nearly every day of our trip. So walking after the metro in late afternoon in the heat was not an option. (We had been walking all day.) We waited for the shuttle, which was pretty quick. Still, in an ideal world, I'd have picked a place closer to the Metro. And the pool would have made the kids happier.

Hope that helps....

Thank you Fodors and Elendil. I now have a reservation for the Americana