Washington DC (Lodging)

We spent seven days visiting Washington DC during the first week of September 2012.

Because we were going to be in the city for so long, I wanted to rent an apartment in order to save some money and also because I knew we would want to have more room to spread out when coming back from our long days of sightseeing.

As with so many other trips, I looked to my trusty and reliable VRBO in order to find a place. When selecting which area of Washington DC we were going to stay in, I had a difficult time making a decision. From the sources I read, most people recommended to avoid staying in Penn Quarter, Capitol Hill, or Downtown (neighborhoods closest to the museums and main sights) as the nightlife was dead. Shyawn indicated he wanted to stay within the hustle and bustle of things, so I knew those neighborhoods were out. The Georgetown and Dupont Circle neighborhoods seemed to be the best overall choice, but the lodging options in those areas were so much more expensive compared to the neighborhood we ultimately ended up going with, which was the U Street Corridor.

The U Street Corridor is described as an up and coming trendy residential neighborhood that is filled with numerous shops, restaurants, art galleries, nightclubs, and music venues. The historic Victorian-era neighborhood developed between 1862 to 1900. Up until the 1920's the neighborhood was actually home to the country's largest urban African American community and was known as "Washington's Black Broadway." It remained a vital cultural center until the 1950's and1960's when the neighborhood began to decline as a result of desegregation when its residents began to move to the suburbs. By the 1970's the U Street Corridor was one of the most popular areas for drug trafficking in Washington DC. Thankfully, a massive revitalization began to occur about 15 years ago, which we were able to see was still in progress during our visit. It was actually fascinating and exciting to see the sheer amount of construction and restoration that was occurring everywhere. In fact, I commented to Shyawn, on several occasions, that it would be so interesting to return in a few years just to see how different the neighborhood would appear.

We ended up selecting a one bedroom apartment on T Street, in the heart of the U Street Corridor. The listing on VRBO describes the apartment as being in Dupont Circle, which I found to be an inaccurate description as it was seven streets away, in comparison to U Street, which was the next street over.  The subway station was only a few minutes walking distance away and there were numerous coffee shops, restaurants, and bars all within an easy walk from our place. The apartment, while small, fulfilled the basic needs during our stay. It contained a small kitchen, living room with a place to eat, a tiny bathroom, and decent sized bedroom. While small, it was much more space than we would have had if we had gotten a hotel room and for the same price or even less. Additionally, the building had laundry facilites in the basement we were able to use, which was helpful since we were there for an entire week.

Although we enjoyed the apartment, excitement, and constant activity of the U Street Corridor, we will likely stay someplace different on our next visit. After exploring some of the other neighborhoods within the city, our first choice for lodging on at future visit will be Georgetown, even though it will likely be a much more expensive option.

The building of our apartment on T Street.

The living room at the apartment on T Street.

The eating area at the apartment on T Street.

The living room at the apartment on T Street.

The bedroom at the apartment on T Street.

The bedroom at the apartment on T Street.

The bathroom at the apartment on T Street.

The kitchen at the apartment on T Street.