There is a conference in Washington DC that I really want to go to. We’re trying to be economical about it so the Husband can come along too. I want to stay at The Quincy, which rates at either 2 or 3 stars depending on the website you visit, and is about 2 miles from Capitol Mall. Going rate averages to about $90 a night
However, the Husband is convinced that we’ll be raped and murdered in our beds if we’re not in one of the closer, twice the price hotels.
Anyone got the straight dope?
Well, I’ve never stayed at the Quincy Hotel (which is a new name, I suspect), but I used to live in DC and this is about as safe a location as you could want. You don’t say where the conference is being held, but the hotel is only a block from Farragut North Metro station (Red Line), so you can get pretty much anywhere in DC easily. You’d also be just a few blocks from Dupont Circle for nightlife. Without knowing anything specific about the hotel, I’d say go for it.
(Why is this in GQ?)
I also have no knowledge of the Quincy, but my permanent home is in DC and as **Antonius ** said, it is a very safe neighborhood. It is near GWU and I suspect they do a lot of business with visiting parents. It is also close to the State Dept; which means lots of uni and federal cops. Tell your husband not to worry.
Have a great time, but remember on the metro escalators stand on the right. The left sideis for people who want to walk up/down them.
Thanks for the info guys. The husband has agreed.
The conference is being held at the Renaissance, basically right across from Mt Vernon Square.
I posted this in GQ because the Husband had me thinking murder stats. It really is more of a IMHO question. <shrug>
Here is Wikipedia on crime trends in DC. Note the geographic distribution of homicides, 2004-2006. [For scale, remember that DC was originally a 10 mile x 10 mile square, but the section southwest of the Potomac River was returned to Virginia in 1847. The Hotel Quincy, at 18th and L NW, is about 0.5 miles NW of the White House, which is marked on the linked map.] Note that the vast majority of murders occurred in areas such as Anacostia (in Southeast, across the Anacostia River from downtown DC) and Shaw (about 2 miles NE of the White House). It’s trivial for you to avoid both of these neighborhoods.
So, if you’re going to stay at the Quincy, I’d say that anything within a mile in any direction is walkable in complete safety, especially when you and your husband are together. By all means walk to Dupont Circle (northwest up Connecticut Avenue), southeast to the White House and the Mall area (museums etc) and west to Georgetown. Just don’t walk more than about a mile to the northeast unless your street radar is good (i.e. it’s not a death sentence, just less safe).
The Metrorail system map is here. The Quincy Hotel is 1 block from Farragut North station, and it’s just two stops to the Gallery Place - Chinatown station, which is about 3 blocks (5 min walk) from the Renaissance Hotel for your conference. Totally safe at either end, even for a single female in professional attire.
Although the Quincy is a few blocks from Dupont Circle, and one block from the corridors of power of K St, there won’t be much nightlife in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. You’re in Davis, Pullet; imagine staying in a hotel in San Francisco’s Financial District. With a few notable exceptions, it’s not very lively after business hours. However, as madmonk28 says, there are cops of various kinds all over the place. You’ll be as safe there as you are in Davis! 
Moved to IMHO. samclem GQ moderator
18th and L is smack dab between business and pleasure - just a block north of the K Street corridor and a few blocks south of Dupont Circle. You’ll be fine.
I’ve visited Washington DC many times over the last 14 years. Practically anywhere that a normal visitor wants to go to is very safe by US standards. The high murder rates are mainly drug dealers killing each other in the poorer suburbs, particularly in the southeast quarter of the city. (But even there, in the southeast within about 10 blocks of the Capitol is safe, even walking around at night).
For those visiting the US, the same pattern is often true of other major cities. For example, Philadelphia has a high murder rate, but it’s concentrated in some poorer parts of the city – not the parts that visitors go to. In addition, analysing by gender, age, and race, you find that it’s very dangerous to be a young black man in these cities, but a middle-aged white woman is highly unlikely to be murdered.
As others have said, it’s a good neighborhood. And the Renaissance is quite the place – I stayed there a couple of weeks ago.
If you’re looking for a great restaurant near the Renaissance, try Ella’s Wood Fired Pizza across from the Gallery Place Metro on 9th Street.
I’m going to pretty much agree with everything that has been said here. I wouldn’t worry too much about crime in the area that you’re in. On the other hand there have been a spike in robberies in the Capitol Hill area, which is also leading to increased visibility by the police department. This is a good thing.
ETA: The visibility that is…not the increased crime.
Thanks for all the info and links! The husband has agreed to go and stay at the Quincy. Win for me!
Yikes, thats pretty close to me. The neighborhood that you are staying in is pretty nice. You can walk up to Dupont Circle and there are tons of restaurants near by. You do want to be aware of your surroundings. There has been some street crime in Adams Morgan which is a bit further up 18th. As long as you are aware of your surroundings and don’t try to cut through an alley late at night, you’ll be fine. I would argue that the Quincy is in a nicer neighborhood that the Renaissance although the neighborhood that the Renaissance is in has gotten much nicer in the past ten years.
