This was my 3rd visit to D.C. My first trip was about 10 years ago with my eldest son and my 2nd about 5 years ago with both sons. Although each previous trip was filled with things to do we still were able to find new areas of interest. This time was our first visit to Old Town Alexandria (more on this later) and we visited a lot of areas my youngest son had not yet seen. The D.C. area remains one of my favorite places to visit as the whole area is just bursting with history. I am a huge fan of the historic brick building look so Georgetown is probably my favorite area within the city.
Backing up a bit, the first decision one has to make for a trip to the area is what airport and airline to fly into / take.The first time we went to D.C. I was less travel savvy and wasn't one to shop around for flights / best options. We were stuck on a "Southwest Airlines or bust mindset", which has since changed drastically for me. Back then my son and I flew into the Baltimore airport then took a train into D.C. Although it was fun having what was really our first commercial train ride it was by no means the most timely of approaches. I had no idea that Ronald Reagan Airport (DCA) even existed at the time and only found out about it on a whim as the hotel shuttle to downtown stopped there first. I HIGHLY recommend flying into this airport as it is the closest to all of the sights and even has a subway connected to it, which is easily accessible to pretty much any place you're looking to visit downtown.
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One of the Watergate towers
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I recently upgraded my American Airlines credit card to Executive. Although there is a hefty annual fee it gave me 50,000 additional points and, most important, includes access for me and 2 guests to all of the Admirals Clubs (and partner clubs in other countries and states that don't have Admirals Clubs, most notably it allows access to Alaskan Airlines clubs). This was the first trip we were able to take advantage of the clubs. Since there are still some pandemic closures in the airports, what is usually 3 Admirals Clubs in Phoenix was limited to 2. If all 3 were open I presume there wouldn't have been significant issues but what resulted with 1 being closed was an overcapacity. It was hard for us to even find open seats when we entered. This experience made me a bit leery as to what we would expect at the club in D.C.; however, that was a very enjoyable experience. The club offers an array of snacks, drinks, comfortable seating, nicer bathrooms than what you would come across in the terminals and a bar with additional food items for purchase. Seeing that almost every flight we have going into next year (including international) is through American Airlines it made sense from an economic and comfort standpoint to get access to the club as we are going to be spending some significant time in airports and airport food / snacks are ridiculously priced as-is. That's not to say the annual cost of the credit card is worth it for everyone.
Now that we have my airport recommendation and Admiral's Club spiel out of the way I can get back to the actual trip. Let's start off by just focusing on the holistic experience of the Watergate Hotel. If you visit their website they self-advertise being a luxury hotel and they definitely have luxury hotel prices. There was a bit of a discount the days we went; however, it was still a premium amount, even for the usually expensive D.C. area. The best way to describe the hotel is that it is 5 stars on every level, except for the actual rooms. The employees were great, the lobby was beautiful, and the location perfect, all in a complex with beautiful architecture and a history everyone at least somewhat knows at little about. We were upgraded to a room with a balcony due to a bit of a mishap with the initial room (bolt lock didn't work on the door and curtains were broken) which was nice and actually made the experience much more enjoyable (most notably due to our room having a view of the Potomac River). To say there was anything actually wrong with the room would be incorrect but knowing the prices and that the hotel is clearly striving for "luxury" status I was expecting something more than above standard. Having the actual luxury of staying at places like the Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons I couldn't help compare the room to those 5 star experiences and I can say with confidence that Watergate wasn't in the same tier.
This room has a hefty price tag but also seems to transport you back to the era with its decor. This is what I was hoping for throughout the hotel - to be a luxury hotel solidly embracing it's history. Instead, it seems to seek a modern luxury in which the history is somewhat tucked away. All things considered, I would say it is a solid 4 star hotel.
The only restaurant we took advantage of was the Top of the Gate, which is an open-air bar with appetizers on the roof. The views were fantastic but be prepared for the padded prices of the food and drinks to get the view. Also keep in mind that weather is not always hospitable. The day we went the weather was disgustingly humid. It cooled down a bit by the evening / when we had our reservation but I can't imagine being up there a few hours earlier.
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View from Top of the Gate
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| Watergate Lobby |
If you get a chance to spend an afternoon wandering the Georgetown area I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful area of historical brick buildings which has more than ample choices for shopping and eateries. I feel every agenda in the area should include a walk through the stunning Georgetown University campus, eating at The Tombs and seeing the famous steps from The Exorcist. Luckily, all three of these places are in very close proximity to each other. On an interesting side note, the movie Exorcist 3 actually has some scenes filmed inside the Tombs restaurant. I actually recommend doing an Exorcist film series viewing before you take your trip - although the original Exorcist film has quite a few scenes at Georgetown University the third installment allows you to see a lot more of the surrounding Georgetown area.
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| Hogwarts...I mean Georgetown University |
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| Exorcist stairs - I recommend going at night |
The Tombs was (unfortunately) still shutdown due to COVID restrictions but their sister restaurant (Clyde's) was open. Although it is not as cool of a feel it has a similar theme and menu. If you are in the area for more than one meal I would place Martin's Tavern second to The Tombs, mainly from the historical aspect. We went there our 2 previous trips and made sure to fit it into our schedule again. I set-up a reservation online and specifically asked for the "Kennedy Booth". Do this if you can as it is the restaurant and booth where JFK proposed to Jackie.
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Jeremiah undoubtedly soaking in all the history
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The Smithsonian museums are something everyone should check out at some time or another. My favorites that we have been to are the Air and Space and American History but you really can't go wrong with any of them, especially since they are are free with high-quality exhibits. Although we would have liked to return to the Air and Space Museum most of the museums weren't set to re-open until the end of July. Due to the closures the only museum we visited this trip was the International Spy Museum. I suggest making your way through all of the surrounding monuments before or after checking out the Spy Museum - it makes for a busy day but you should be able to fit everything in if you get an early start. Although the Spy Museum is separate from the Smithsonian and has a fee it is well worth the cost. One thing of note about this area is that you need to expect a huge amount of walking. Each of the monuments aren't far enough away from each other to justify a ride share but the distance is also long enough to get in a lot of steps. Also of note is that although there is a good subway system in D.C. none of the stops are conveniently located right next to The National Mall (area with all of the monuments). Although it is a given that people will see the Lincoln and Washington memorials don't forget to visit the others, most notably the ones for Martin Luther King Jr. and FDR.
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| We got here about a minute before they shutdown the entire area. |
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| World War 2 memorial |
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| Kennedy Center |
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| View of complete Watergate Complex from the Potomac |
I tried to make a point of visiting places that at least one of us had never seen previously. The one place we went to which none of us had been was Old Town Alexandria. Luckily, there is a boat which runs to and from Georgetown which takes you up the Potomac and right to the dock of Old Town Alexandria. The ride is about 40 minutes and is worth the price but I believe it only runs on Saturdays. There are a few other port options around the area which may be more convenient and run more often if you are in a different area. Old Town Alexandria is a cool little area very similar in feel to Georgetown in that almost every building is made of brick and there are more than ample choices for food and shopping. Although this was a worthwhile place to visit, in hindsight we likely could have fit both this and our plans for the following day (Mount Vernon) into the same day's activities. I anticipated that we would have enough to do in Old Town Alexandria for 5 hours but we ended up seeing everything of interest in about 2 hours. We found ourselves sitting on a bench in the shade near the river for about an hour waiting for our boat back. Being from an area where seeing water doesn't happen I shouldn't complain not only about the down time but also getting to watch the flowing Potomac with passing boats.
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| Typical look of streets in Old Town Alexandria |
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| Spite House built in 1830 - noted as the narrowest house in America (7 feet wide) |
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| This is the ice cream parlor we went to but there are numerous choices on this street |
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| Cobblestone Street in Old Town Alexandria |
As noted numerous times previously, I am a big coffee / Starbucks fan. I especially like to find interesting buildings that Starbucks has converted into stores. The location in Old Town Alexandria is one of the coolest ones I have been to thus far (the other one was in downtown Portland which sadly closed due to COVID). About a half a block from the river this particular Starbucks used to be The Seaport Inn Restaurant (1765).
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| Building with Starbucks |
On our final full day we went to Mount Vernon. I took my eldest soon there on my first trip to DC but my youngest had never been. We paid extra to do the National Treasure tour, which was well worth the $10 a person. If you are not aware, the second National Treasure film had some key scenes filmed on location. The tour lasts about an hour. The guide was very good / gave insight into the pre-production of the film as well as stories about the filming. The tour also allowed us to go into the basement of Mount Vernon, which is otherwise off limits. Mount Vernon has pretty large grounds so make sure to allow yourself at least a few hours to walk around the area. As notes previously, I actually recommend making a full day out of Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon as they they are within proximity to each other. I suggest taking the morning boat from Georgetown to Old Town Alexandria, checking out the area, then taking some form of transportation to Mount Vernon (ride share or rent bikes, if you are into that sort of thing). You can then head back to Old Town Alexandria and see anything you missed earlier before taking the latest available boat back to Georgetown. Putting both sights into the same day makes even more sense if it is your first visit to the DC area as there are so many things to do you'll inevitably want to shove as much as you can into the days you have. Also of note is that Mount Vernon has a cafe for quick food and a sit down restaurant. We initially planned on going to the restaurant but the wait was close to an hour.
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| Don't be deceived by the beautiful sky and surroundings...it was ridiculously humid. |
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| Basement of Mount Vernon - basis for key scene in National Treasure 2 |
Final Thoughts. This trip barely scraped the surface of what D.C. has to offer from a tourist perspective. I suggest obtaining a travel guide and pinpointing all of the points of interest you would like to see and coordinating as much as you can into each day. My highest recommendations for the area are to visit the memorials in the National Mall (trying getting tickets to the top of the Washington Monument), seeing the White House and Capitol, visiting Smithsonian museums (I recommend Air and Space and American History but admittedly have not been to all of them), seeing the Declaration of Independence (before Nic Cage steals is again), Arlington Cemetery (make sure to coordinate your visit for the changing of the guard at the Unknown Soldier's Tomb) and going to Georgetown. Even if you are not wanting to dish out the cost of the Watergate I suggest having your hotel in Georgetown, if nothing else because it seems to have the best choices for restaurants, coffee and shopping. The best thing about every tourist spot I just mentioned as that they have no cost beyond transportation fees (even tours of the Capitol are free, which I recommend once this reopens). You could probably fit everything I noted into 3 days and still have time to fit in the Spy Museum. if you have an additional day I suggest the boat ride to Old Town Alexandria and going to Mount Vernon (on the same day). If you go to Alexandria make sure to get homemade ice cream at one of the numerous ice cream shops and if you are in the mood for Mexican food the restaurant Urbano 116 - we weren't expecting much from East Coast Mexican food but were pleasantly surprised both with this restaurant and Mi Vida in the D.C. area (make sure to get the fried plantains), which is relatively close to the Spy Museum and is near the waterfront.
Next Up : Oahu
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