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[neutralname]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably cheap and pleasant hotel or B&B to stay in Washington DC?  I'll be there for a conference near the end of the semester, and I was just looking up rates.  They are extortionate!  The Comfort Inn is over $200 per night!  Some standard hotels are over $400 per night.  I was looking for something closer to $140 per night.  I don't need a huge room, and I don't much care if I have to walk down the hall to the bathroom.  I do need to be able to get downtown by public transport though. 

[dr_dre]

Check out Hotwire. I've done really well there. You can't pick the hotel by name, but if you say "Dupont Circle," they all seem to be near the transit. I've stayed at the Omni, Madera and others for $89 that way.

[espagnole]

I've done really well booking in big cities through hotels.com, and saved a lot of money. It can be hit or miss, but definitely worth a try.

[neutralname]

Thanks.  I used hotels.com and got a Days Inn in Silver Spring MD for $75 per night, which is a 15 minute metro ride to downtown.  But the customer reviews were pretty mixed, with some talking about cockroaches and rude staff, others reporting positive experiences.  The last time I was there, Silver Spring seemed like a boring DC suburb, so I'd imagine that the walk from the Metro stop to the hotel will be easy.  But if anyone has any different info, I'd like to hear it since I've got plenty of time to book a different place somewhere else.

[cms99]

There was a place up by the zoo called the Kalorama (sp) Guest House, which was a B and B.  I stayed there a few years ago and it was nice and reasonably priced, and right on the metro line.

Website  http://www.kaloramaguesthouse.com/

[dept_geek]

If you are looking up in Silver Spring, you might also look in the Arlington, VA area. There are (or were, anyway) a few inexpensive hotels a few minute walk from the Rosslyn metro stop.

[123_abc]

Some colleagues have stayed at The Highlander Motel in Arlington www.highlandermotel.com  It's not the nicest place (you might want to check out reviews) but it is cheap by DC standards and is a 5 minute walk from the Virginia Square metro station on the Orange Line, which will take you into DC very, very quickly.  And, it is maybe a 5-10 minute walk from Clarendon, a neighborhood which has more to offer than most of suburbia.

[coneflower]

Consider booking a room on priceline.com.  I got a room at the Shoreham Omni for less than 1/2 price when I went to a conference there. You can't pick the hotel you want, but you can select the hotel class and section of the city. Guess I lucked out that it was the same hotel in which the conference was held. I booked this several weeks before the conference.

[jrscholar]

I've been able to get good rates at the Hilton near the Franconia/Springfield Metro station for pretty good rates before.  It's right next to I-95, and the shuttle can take you right to the Franconia/Springfield Metro station around the corner, if I remember correctly.  Or you can park at the garage there for free/minimal cost.

[vortex]

The Mariott Crystal City is possibly the best hotel I have ever stayed at.  Excellent service, great hot breakfast buffet, comfortable beds, plenty of nearby restaurants and absolutely safe to walk around at night.  There is a Metro line underneath.  It's an easy 10-15 minute ride into city center.