Econo Lodge Metro

Recommend with caveats

My wife and I stayed here and we always try and find a motel near the Metro. This motel is about a 1/2 mile walk from a station down a dark jogging trail and then a long flight of stairs. Not recommended for elderly or out of shape. The ground floor lobby is actually the second floor. No elevators to the first or third floors. The continental breakfast was wholly inadequate and better off not even trying to provide one. Fortunately there is a national chain sandwich shop next door that serves breakfast. Rooms were clean but the bathroom and lavatory area was extremely small. Comfortable bed. No closet, refrigerator or microwave in the room we stayed in. Difficult to get into and out of the parking lot and had limited parking. Pictures on the motel description were misleading showing palm trees and a pool.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

If sight seeing get an all day pass on one of the tour trollies that will take you to all the sites. It will save you a lot of walking. Recommend starting off at Arlington first thing in the morning and buying your ticket there.

Clean - Good on Budget, but a Bit Cramped

For the cost, this room was actually great. Drawbacks: No elevator to 1st & 3rd floors (difficult to drag luggage up and down), with no note on their site about this. Room overall was nicely spacious & clean (and had a nice sized TV), but bathroom was really cramped, the bathtub was very narrow (and had one of those annoying clingy curtains that you can’t escape). Had ice machine and laundry facilities. Vending machines were somewhat bare, & product wasn’t all fresh. Great that they had free WiFi in the room, but problems with printing (printer hooked up to the public Internet access didn’t have current virus protection--you couldn’t trust logging onto your accounts, because you couldn’t trust your passwords to be safe). Front desk was able to pull up my reservation & print out my boarding pass for me from there, though. One final drawback: this is supposed to be a smoke-free hotel. When smoke was obvious all throughout one floor (and staff was notified), nothing was done to stop the smoker. The last two days of my stay were smokey without relief until I left the hotel. I would recommend this hotel, because it is really a great deal for the price as long as you are aware of some of the drawbacks & can plan accordingly. Positive: staff was friendly & arranged transportation for me. They recommended local eateries & provided a menu for the closest & were very willing to give directions to the Metro & other local stops.

Good location

Hotel is a good value for the buck. Located a few minutes walk from a metro stop which allows you to avoid being in the city (and paying for it). Short distance from Dulles so it is easy to travel. Staff was very helpful with recommendations for restaurants and travel tips.