where to stay in Washington DC

Try staying near a Metro station in VA. rosslynva.org/visit/hotels maps some motels or try staying near the Crystal City Metro stop. The Washington Marriott Wardman Park is near the zoo and a few blocks from a Metro stop.

I'd recommend the Homestead Suites in downtown DC or Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle. There's also the Woodley Park Guest House right by the Zoo and the Woodley Park Metro.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria, Virginia. It's directly across from a Metro Stop and about 20 min from downtown DC. It allowed us to also explore Alexandria which is a very cute town with a nice waterfront. Very safe, lots to do/eat around the hotel. Plus, hotel as free breakfast & happy hour! You can take a boat ride from the waterfront up to Georgetown. You see several of the monuments and it's just beautiful.

I highly recommend the Embassy Suites Convention Center. The rooms are very comfortable (we have a family of five) and there's a nice indoor pool so the kids can relax after a day of seeing the Smithsonian. There's a metro station within a block or you can walk four blocks to the Museum of Natural History - everything, including Chinatown where we like to go for cheap eats - is within walking distance and you always have the Metro option if kids get fussy. There's an incredible breakfast buffet included in your hotel price which offers customized omelets and pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit, yogurt, etc. We tended to load up heavy on the free breakfast and then just eat snacks for lunch which was good since we wanted to see as much as possible. Every afternoon they have a manager's reception with free alcoholic drinks for the parents and juice/punch for the kids plus snacks (popcorn, pretzels, chips) and sometimes more significant appetizers. We felt the location, ambiance of the hotel, pool, and all the free food made this the best and only place we'll want to stay when we're in DC.

We go to the DC area quite frequently. I'm in the process of reviewing a bunch of hotels in the Dulles-to-Tysons Corner area. The Hilton Garden Inn at Tysons might be a good option for you.