DC and points
Two things here. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, New York Ave. over Thanksgiving. It is brand new, but admittedly not in the best of neighborhoods. It does border the magnificent National Arboretum. It costs much fewer points and provides a free shuttle to the convention center area or the train station. It has no parking fee and provides a pretty good free breakfast. It also has a small pool and hot tub. The staff is wonderful. There are a few fast food places around, but we stayed in the city and ate dinner or ordered out from some great pizza, chinese, etc. Menus available at desk. Each room, although not huge, has a flat screen TV and a fridge and microwave. We will definitely return. We have stayed at the JW and love it there, but the double points, parking fees, and the cost of breakfast made us opt for the Fairfield. We did take a cab back each night which costs $10-20.
Also, when considering cost of points, don't forget to add in not only the room amount but sales and hotel taxes which in many areas can approach 20% of the room rate. With points, all that is taken care of and often makes the usage of points much more attractive. We would also recommend the Spy Museum with its interactive displays. There is a fee, but the patrons all seemed to love it.
