Convenient for the National Mall area
We stayed for one night at the Fairfield Marriott Downtown with our two teenaged kids. It’s a good choice for visiting the National Mall but the immediate area around the hotel is a little sketchy. There’s a parking lot to the right of the hotel for valet parking, and we found it a good deal to leave the car in the Marriott garage all day while we walked & took the Metro around. It’s about the same rate as moving the car to another paid lot ($25 ‘till 6 pm, $33 if you leave it after that), and it’s very secure - you can only go to your car accompanied by an attendant. the only downside to this is multiple tipping of the attendant if you have to go to your car frequently, so it’s best to be organized about what you need from your car.
The hotel is in Chinatown, so right around the hotel are several small asian restaurants, but not a lot of choices. The neighborhood looks a little decrepit. But a block or so up the road and through the large Chinese arch the neighborhood changes a lot. Once you’re on 7th St. there are lots of restaurants of all types, shopping and a Metro stop. The National Archives are at the end of the street, and from there you’re in the middle of the Mall.
The rooms are clean and comfortable. The breakfast was good, standard continental breakfast fare. Quite crowded though. Not nearly enough seats for the number of people getting breakfast, so that we had to sit in the lobby chairs. The staff is very polite and helpful.
Overall, a good choice for the downtown district.