Washington D.C. doesn’t have a lot of options for cheap lodging. There are a small handful of hostels, plenty of hotels and the prices range from expensive to astronomical. When Jen and I spent two days in D.C. last month, we had our first hostel experience, and it was interesting to say the least.
The Washington D.C. Guesthouse is located far from the white columns and domes that you think of when you hear D.C. In fact, the hostel is far out in a more run-down side of the city, and is by no stretch a walkable distance from downtown. This is okay, though, since the bus line heading downtown happens to stop basically right in front of the guesthouse, across the street.
Aside from being in a scary neighborhood (some cab drivers wouldn’t take us home late at night, they didn’t want to drive in that area), the woman who runs the hostel is very, very nice. She’s converted her home into a guesthouse, and has the place very comfortably decked out with couches and pillows. The capacity for guests isn’t very much, perhaps around a dozen, and she has multiple keys for the front door so there’s no curfew.
Free wi-fi, a nice community kitchen (which includes cold water bottles which you take by putting a dollar into a coffee can, gotta love the honor system), and a front porch area with a few chairs and a table add to the experience. The beds are comfortable, though the mattresses were wrapped in a plastic casing, perhaps to detract bedbugs. It made moving around in bed a little noisy, so if you toss and turn a lot you might annoy your neighbor.
The price is great at around $25 a night, which is about as cheap as you’ll get in Washington D.C. Bus fare into downtown is less than two dollars, and all the sightseeing stuff is mostly free. Bottom line: D.C. doesn’t have to break your bank at all, it can be cheap and fun, and the Guesthouse is a great place to stay while you’re there.
Be sure you don’t confuse the Washington D.C. Guesthouse with the D.C. Guesthouse, as the latter is an up-scale bed & breakfast located right in the heart of the city.
The photographs in this post are courtesy of hostels.com
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I live a couple of hours from DC and have never had to pay to stay somewhere overnight as I have friends in Northern Virginia — but I’m glad to know about this place! Will have to share with friends traveling to the area.
Heather, thanks for stopping by! The guesthouse was a great place to stay. There were about half a dozen other hostels available, but I think the Guesthouse was the lowest price. It was definitely worth it and I have no complaints.
I would always go with the free option, though.
Oh, Washington, DC! I lived in DC for about eight months while saving to move overseas again. It’s quite the city and I lived in a couple different neighborhoods while I was there – while none of them were nice, I never had a problem getting a taxi ride home! Where on earth is the DC Guesthouse?
@Matt – It’s on 24th St. NE and Benning Rd. And though the neighborhood was kinda sketchy, I still think it was ridiculous that the cab drivers wouldn’t take us there.