My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC this summer. My parent were very nice and watched our oldest daughter while we adventured to DC with an eleven month old!
I had a Delta companion pass so my wife flew free and our 11 month was infant in arms so it turned out to be very cheap travels to the city.
Next we had to find hotel for three nights but I didn’t have enough points for all three nights at the same place if I wanted to stay close to the city within a short walk to a Metro station. So I found a Marriott’s Residence Inn in Rosslyn that was about 3 blocks from a Metro and just across the river from DC. I selected Residence Inn for the simple fact of the kitchenette and living room to allow for the keeping all the things for an eleven month old. The living room area was perfect for her to crawl around and climb up on the couch and desk and chairs. Keep that in mind when booking hotel with young kids, sometimes the fancy full service hotels aren’t best for kids but nice for adult life.
The other night we stayed at an Embassy Suite near the airport in Crystal City because of similar reasons on knowing there would be a fridge, microwave and living room area.
I highly recommend looking at hotels with a kitchenette and living room separate when traveling with small kids to allow them to spread out and feel more like at home. When they get older, speaking from my experience when I was kid, just being in any ole hotel is an adventure!
Brian K Inman 