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Trip to Wyndham National Harbor Washington DC

B

bshmerlie

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
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Location
CA
Just booked an RCI exchange for a 2br at Wyndham National Harbor. My concern is it is Jan 3rd - Jan 10th and since it is around the Holidays I was worried that public institutions might be closed. I can't really go at another time because my kid is out of school that week. We would like to tour the White House and things like that...do you guys think this time of year is a waste of time? And I do understand that it is going to be cold...but are we talking snow or just rainy cold? I actually like cold better than heat so maybe it won't be a bad thing....or am I kidding myself? :)

I've read all the reviews of Wydham Harbor and it seems like a nice place. I picked this resort because it seemed to be the nicer of the two in the DC area and I'm just getting too old to be roughing it on vacation anymore. Is there anything I should know about it before going?
 
It could definitely snow. Things won't be closed in DC though. It will be cold. There have been warm January days in the past, but don't count on it. It will still be a lot of fun, and the best part is that it won't be crowded.

I'd take the one in Old Town Alexandria over the National Harbor one. National Harbor is somewhat of an invented/manmade place that was dropped on the banks of the Potomac River. There isn't anything nearby except for it. Good dining and a few decent shops, but that's all. There is no subway (metro) at national harbor. Old Town will be much more "busy" during that time of year and you can walk to much more. King Street station for the metro is really close to the timeshare in Alexandria.
 
I'm sure you'll enjoy the resort. While I prefer Wyn Old Town Alexandria for an adult trip, I think Wyn Nat'l Harbor will offer a little more kid-friendly amenities. The bulk of DC museums and sights will be open in early January so I wouldn't worry about that. Last I've heard, the White House is still not allowing tours, since sequestration. Contact your congressman's office to ask about special tours and access.

Even though there's a lot of outdoor walking and some outdoor attractions, many are indoors. One of our area trips was in early March and we had a full range of winter weather on our week. Our visit to Arlington was on a rainy, cold day and we should have rescheduled - the wind was biting. OTOH, we had great fun walking between the metro stop and museums, over snowbanks left by plows, in the sunshine. The city was bustling when we walked around the monuments and on the mall. Dress in layers and plan for the possibilities and you'll have a wonderful time.
 
Thanks guys. I don't think we'll be spending that much time in the local area. We are just there as a home base to go see DC. Friends of ours are coming from Virginia to stay with us so they will have the car to help us get around. My daughter actually wants it to be snowing so it would be nice if there was a little snow on the ground but not bad weather to make it impossible to get around. We'll see. This will be my daughters first trip to the Capital. It should be a lot of fun.
 
Matt's right. Dress in layers for the cold and if the temperature is in the 50's - 70's, count it as a blessing. The temp can swing over 50 deg. in a weeks time.
 
bshmerlie said:
Just booked an RCI exchange for a 2br at Wyndham National Harbor. My concern is it is Jan 3rd - Jan 10th and since it is around the Holidays I was worried that public institutions might be closed. I can't really go at another time because my kid is out of school that week. We would like to tour the White House and things like that...do you guys think this time of year is a waste of time? And I do understand that it is going to be cold...but are we talking snow or just rainy cold? I actually like cold better than heat so maybe it won't be a bad thing....or am I kidding myself? :)

I've read all the reviews of Wydham Harbor and it seems like a nice place. I picked this resort because it seemed to be the nicer of the two in the DC area and I'm just getting too old to be roughing it on vacation anymore. Is there anything I should know about it before going?
Click to expand...

If it snows enough to close the Fed. Gov't., then the museums will all be closed. But that's unlikely at that time of the year. It usually happens a little later in Jan. or Feb. if at all.
 
bshmerlie said:
Just booked an RCI exchange for a 2br at Wyndham National Harbor. My concern is it is Jan 3rd - Jan 10th and since it is around the Holidays I was worried that public institutions might be closed. I can't really go at another time because my kid is out of school that week. We would like to tour the White House and things like that...do you guys think this time of year is a waste of time? And I do understand that it is going to be cold...but are we talking snow or just rainy cold? I actually like cold better than heat so maybe it won't be a bad thing....or am I kidding myself? :)

I've read all the reviews of Wydham Harbor and it seems like a nice place. I picked this resort because it seemed to be the nicer of the two in the DC area and I'm just getting too old to be roughing it on vacation anymore. Is there anything I should know about it before going?
Click to expand...

If you want to tour the White House, you need to start arranging it now. I seem to recall something like a 6 month lead time so you can be cleared by the Secret Service.
 
I was at national harbor in late may/early june this year. The resort is awesome, we had a 3b/3b presidential and it was beautiful. My kids are teenagers but did enjoy some of the resorts activities, there was a full schedule every day we were there, always something for the kiddos to do.

The white house is not doing tours right now, bummer!
 
We took a walk over to the Gaylord National Harbor. You can find things to do there for a little while if the weather is too bad to drive. I'd go a different time of year, myself. We traveled to Baltimore for a big ship event. It was almost too hot downtown when we were there in June, so we just visited the Mall one day.

Sheila
 
Monument watching is best done in spring or fall when you will enjoy the extensive outdoor walking. In January you will have a great time indoors enjoying the Smithsonian museums which should be relatively quiet at that time of year. Also, plan a tour of the FBI building and the Holocaust Museum. I hear the Newseumm is excellent. There is much to enjoy indoors.
 
Is there anything I should know about it before going?[/QUOTE]

ICE! at National Harbor runs from mid November to the 1st week in January. Go to you tube search ICE at the National Harbor. It is great family entertainment. If possible go during the week and not the weekend.
 
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