Need advice for Washington DC/National Harbor

[jnsrusty]

I am planning a family trip to DC in July 2019 and I just got an OGS match for National Harbor through RCI. We are flying into Reagan Int. and will not be renting a car. I am concerned that Nat. Harbor may be too far from DC if we are relying on the metro for transportation, but I'm not very familiar with the area so I am hoping someone can give me some advice. While I was waiting for the RCI match to come through, I went ahead and made reservations for 5 nights at the Park Hyatt Washington DC/White House. I can cancel these reservations without any penalty so, now I'm just trying to figure out if it's better to stay at the Hyatt (using credit card points), which is close to everything, or stay at the Nat. Harbor (using timeshare points) and use the metro everyday. We will be traveling with our 14 and 11 year old. At the Hyatt, we have a standard 2 queen room and at Nat. Harbor we would have a 2 bedroom. Any thoughts?

 

[tschwa2]

https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-...utdown-on-blue-yellow-line-next-year/slide/1/
Using metro from National Harbor was never the easiest but metro closures next summer will make it even worse. I think that is why a summer week may have been deposited into RCI as they usually do not deposit summer weeks from there.

The king street metro station was the one that was closest to and linked to the National Harbor area shuttle.

 

[chapjim]

Oh, my! This could get complicated. As tschwa2 indicated, using the King St. Metro to access the District is off the table. Since every Metro station south of National Airport will be shut down, the first question is how will you get to National Harbor from National Airport? I don't know what will be the best way in July. (I work five minutes from National Airport. Give me your flight info. I'll meet you at the airport and take you over to NH. KIDDING!)

Comparing the Park Hyatt with National Harbor:
1. Location. A big plus to Park Hyatt if you are in the area to do sightseeing in DC. However, getting to the District from NH isn't all that daunting. My guess is that the National Harbor shuttle will stop going to King Street and start going to Branch Avenue or one of the other stations in MD. That's where the shuttle used to go a few years ago.
2. Accommodations. Plus to NH. No doubt the Park Hyatt provides elegant lodging but it is still just a hotel room. NH will lack the elegance of the Park Hyatt but you'll have a lot more room, a kitchen, etc. A family will be way more comfortable in a condo at National Harbor.
3. Meals. Feeding a family at National Harbor could get expensive. As has been documented here on TUG, there aren't really any family restaurants there (maybe one -- Nando's Peri Peri). The District might not be much better. You could Metro to Arlington, for example, but then you have to add all the Metro fares to the cost of dinner. Eating in is possible at NH, not at the Park Hyatt. Your call.

There's a lot we don't know about Metro's closures. There will be workarounds but I don't know what they will be. You might call National Harbor and see if they know what will be the best way to get into the District next summer.

 

[Big Matt]

I vote for neither. You will be disappointed with the location and headache of getting where you want to go from National Harbor. Park Hyatt will be too small for four people given the ages of the kids. If you want to visit just DC stuff then try to find a way to stay in DC. You don't say what credit cards points you may use.....if it is Hyatt only then go for the Hyatt House at the Wharf (new riverfront dining/shopping venue) or one of the Hyatt Place hotels. At least you can get a suite and a lot more space. If you are open to other hotel brands you can find a lot of value for your money at the Residence Inns in DC or in Rosslyn (Arlington, VA). You don't want a rental car.

 

[elaine]

I work in DC and concur with others. Also, there is a Residence Inn in SW DC that you might consider--near Air and Space and other museums.

 

[Big Matt]

To to Elaine's post, the RI is in a good location near a lot of residential streets and two blocks from a metro station. There is a Hyatt (place/house?) a block away from the RI. 15 minute walk to the Wharf. One metro stop to l'Enfant plaza and one or two the Nationals Park going the other direction on the green line.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

You could also try for an RCI exchange to HGVC The District in Georgetown which is an easy walk from the metro station.

The District is on the top floors of the Embassy Suites so if you cannot get a trade you could stay at the hotel on lower floors with HHonors points or cash rates which are not too bad for DC. Free breakfast and suite accommodations for families.

We stayed there last summer without a car and it was an easy metro ride to attractions. However not sure if this part of metro is affected by closures.

 

[escanoe]

However not sure if this part of metro is affected by closures.

Nothing in the District (DC proper) should be impacted by the yellow line patial closure discussed earlier in this thread. That is just the Yellow line South of Reagan National Airport (all in Virginia.) I am an HGVC member and “the District bHC” has good availability during the narrow club season that exists for HGVC members but I have not seen much availability on RCI. I think an OGS there would be the only way using RCI and still face long odds.

 

[jnsrusty]

https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-...utdown-on-blue-yellow-line-next-year/slide/1/
Using metro from National Harbor was never the easiest but metro closures next summer will make it even worse. I think that is why a summer week may have been deposited into RCI as they usually do not deposit summer weeks from there.

The king street metro station was the one that was closest to and linked to the National Harbor area shuttle.

Thank you for attaching this article. This makes me very nervous to stay at National Harbor. Even if they are rerouting their shuttle to another station, it just seems that we would be wasting too much time getting to and from the city.

 

[jnsrusty]

Nothing in the District (DC proper) should be impacted by the yellow line patial closure discussed earlier in this thread. That is just the Yellow line South of Reagan National Airport (all in Virginia.) I am an HGVC member and “the District bHC” has good availability during the narrow club season that exists for HGVC members but I have not seen much availability on RCI. I think an OGS there would be the only way using RCI and still face long odds.

I have an OGS for The District through RCI but I'm not sure how realistic it is to expect to get a match. I guess I am stuck waiting for the club season to open up.

 

[jnsrusty]

Oh, my! This could get complicated. As tschwa2 indicated, using the King St. Metro to access the District is off the table. Since every Metro station south of National Airport will be shut down, the first question is how will you get to National Harbor from National Airport? I don't know what will be the best way in July. (I work five minutes from National Airport. Give me your flight info. I'll meet you at the airport and take you over to NH. KIDDING!)

Comparing the Park Hyatt with National Harbor:
1. Location. A big plus to Park Hyatt if you are in the area to do sightseeing in DC. However, getting to the District from NH isn't all that daunting. My guess is that the National Harbor shuttle will stop going to King Street and start going to Branch Avenue or one of the other stations in MD. That's where the shuttle used to go a few years ago.
2. Accommodations. Plus to NH. No doubt the Park Hyatt provides elegant lodging but it is still just a hotel room. NH will lack the elegance of the Park Hyatt but you'll have a lot more room, a kitchen, etc. A family will be way more comfortable in a condo at National Harbor.
3. Meals. Feeding a family at National Harbor could get expensive. As has been documented here on TUG, there aren't really any family restaurants there (maybe one -- Nando's Peri Peri). The District might not be much better. You could Metro to Arlington, for example, but then you have to add all the Metro fares to the cost of dinner. Eating in is possible at NH, not at the Park Hyatt. Your call.

There's a lot we don't know about Metro's closures. There will be workarounds but I don't know what they will be. You might call National Harbor and see if they know what will be the best way to get into the District next summer.

You list a lot of great points to consider! The Metro closures make me very nervous to take a chance on National Harbor. I also don't want to spend too much time on the Metro. I can see that wearing my kids down and making our family vacation a lot less fun. On the other hand, I do like the fact that National Harbor has a full kitchen and that we can eat in if we choose. At the Hyatt, we will receive free breakfast every morning, but after that, we are on our own.

 

[jnsrusty]

I vote for neither. You will be disappointed with the location and headache of getting where you want to go from National Harbor. Park Hyatt will be too small for four people given the ages of the kids. If you want to visit just DC stuff then try to find a way to stay in DC. You don't say what credit cards points you may use.....if it is Hyatt only then go for the Hyatt House at the Wharf (new riverfront dining/shopping venue) or one of the Hyatt Place hotels. At least you can get a suite and a lot more space. If you are open to other hotel brands you can find a lot of value for your money at the Residence Inns in DC or in Rosslyn (Arlington, VA). You don't want a rental car.

I actually misspoke when I said we have reservations at the Park Hyatt. We have reservations at the Hyatt Place Washington DC/White House. I think the location may be better, but honestly, I have looked at so many different options, they are all starting to run together.

 

[Big Matt]

Given that, I vote that you stay in Hyatt Place. It may be cramped, but you have plenty of sleeping options and free breakfast. The location is deceiving. It is a great central location for a lot of things, but a pretty far walk to the museums. Very busy mostly business oriented area during the day with not much going on at night. You will find that metro and Uber are cheap and easy ways to go 5-10 blocks quickly.