I’m going to DC for the Jeopardy auditions, but my aunt who lives there won’t be in town. I do have a cousin I could stay with, but evidently she isn’t close to a Metro station, and I really don’t want to have to rent a car. I suppose I could take cabs, though.
What I was thinking might be smart is to fly in, stay at a hotel right by the airport (I assume they have some kind of transportation?) and hop the Metro from there to the tryouts and back. The tryouts are at the St. Regis, two blocks away from the White House, so I definitely can’t stay there (cheapest room is $700 a night!) or nearby.
Is that a good plan? Is it easy to do that without getting a damned car or a cab anyway? I figured I could then meet my cousin for drinks or something after the auditions.
Oh, I should have said what airport - it’s a tough one, the cheapest from here by far is BWI but that’s way too far away, right? If I drive to Charlotte I could go to Dulles for about the same. National is a bit higher.
BWI and Dulles are about equally inconvenient in terms of getting to downtown DC, so unless it costs a lot more, you should try to go to National. And there are fewer options for BWI at the weekend, since the MARC trains don’t run then.
The bolded part of your plan dictates you fly into National, as the shuttle to/from Dulles is IMO horrific, and a cab from BWI to DC is about $100.
I would advise you fly into National and book a hotel in Arlington. Arlington is only a couple of stops from the National Metro station and the hotels there will be significantly cheaper.
And besides, when you win $20,000 on Jeopardy the expense will seem trivial.
Getting downtown from Dulles by public transportation is not convenient at all. If I were you, I’d find a hotel close to an orange-line Metro station in Arlington. You’ll still probably have to take a Washington Flyer taxi (they have a monopoly on airport service) to get from the airport to the hotel and back. Once you’re close to the Metro system, it’s very convenient to get to the White House area by train.
There are ways to get from BWI to DC without taking a cab:
(1) Amtrak, with a shuttle to the Amtrak station.
(2) MARC train, with a shuttle to the MARC station (which is right next to the Amtrak station), but only Mondays to Fridays.
(3) Route B30 bus to Greenbelt Metro station, then Metro train to DC.
For maximum economy, I would fly into BWI, take the B30 bus to the Greenbelt Metro station, and stay at any hotel within walking distance of a train station.
This. Arlington isn’t particularly cheap, but it’s still better than most of DC proper. Depending on when you’re coming in, you might be able to get the Radisson in Crystal City for under $100. (That’s one metro stop from National, and seven stops - call it fifteen minutes - from McPherson Square, which is probably the closest metro to your tryout). More likely, you’ll be paying around $150-$200 for a room at pretty much any hotel, especially if you’re coming in soonish. Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Ballston are all good places to look.
If you want to stay someplace a little difference, there’s the Tabard Inn: http://www.tabardinn.com/rooms/tour/private_bath . I’ve never stayed there, but I keep meaning to check it out, and the food is supposed to be excellent. Prices seem comparable to the chain hotels. It’ll probably be a good half-hour Metro ride from the airport, though - and while the ride from the hotel to your tryout won’t be long, you will need to transfer between the Red and the Blue/Orange lines. (Though, actually, you could just walk - should only be about twenty minutes.)
Congratulations on making it to the tryouts! I hope you stay long enough to see a bit of DC - this is a great city, and not enough people get a chance to see the things that make it a great city (as opposed to a collection of monuments and Important Historical Sites.) Grab some Ethiopian, grab a friend and check out one of our speakeasies or jazz bars, go to an outdoor movie night, see one of our smaller art galleries - whatever. Have fun!
Agreed that BWI is generally better than Dulles - but the OP can still easily find herself taking the better part of two hours to get from the airport to downtown DC if she’s unlucky with the train schedules. (And the B30/metrorail combination can be even slower). Unless you absolutely need to save the money, I never recommend flying into BWI.
And actually, Dulles might be slightly better than BWI for the OP - she can take the 5A to Rosslyn, short metro hop to Crystal City or Ballston, and then she’s at her hotel on the Orange or Blue Line - which means a short trip to McPherson. National would still be much less of a pain in the ass, though.
(Sorry for the transit-nerdery, OP - I derive a perverse sort of joy from thinking these things through).
Agreed, this is a good choice. Right on the Orange line. Call it a seven-minute walk to Ballston Station, then fifteen minutes to McPherson Square.
By the way, an important note: Metro is in the middle of a lengthy series of system repairs and upgrades. Delays are very common on the weekends - sometimes trains are single-tracking, and sometimes portions of the system are even shut down. If your tryout is on the weekend, you must check www.wmata.com (or DCist, at www.dcist.com) to see if you’ll need extra time to get to your destination.
If you do fly in to Dulles (IAD) or BWI, then I would take supershuttle instead of a taxi. It is a hell of a lot cheaper and they run very frequently. I’ve never waited for longer than ten minutes for them at the airport. You can make reservations as well. The cost is much cheaper than taking a cab. I recall paying 30 to get to my place in DC from IAD.
Like everyone said, look for a hotel near the orange line or the blue line in Arlington.
