Affordable hotels near Washingto DC

I would like to take my husband to Washington DC while we are in the states but I am having a time of it trying to pick a a nice, affordable hotel in or near Washington DC.  It doesn't have to be within walking distance of all the attractions but I don't want to be 20 miles out either.  Anyone have any suggestions?

My husband and I have stayed at the Embassy Suites in Oldtown, Alexandria (which is cool in itself). Oldtown's in Virginia, right outside of D.C., and it's a very short walk to the subway from the hotel. The subway will take you to all the attractions. I don't know what your budget is, but I think the Embassy Suites cost about $160 a night. They're really worth it, though. My husband also said you should check out Expedia, which should have a listing of all the local hotels. I hope that helps.

oh cool thanks

I highly recommend the Sheraton National in Arlington. It averages about $70 a night if you book online through hotels.com and some other booking sites. It's about $160 a night otherwise. I stayed there when I was apartment hunting a couple of years ago, and it later was just up the road from where I lived. It's next to the new Air Force Memorial and about a mile from Pentagon City, where a Metro stop that gets you into D.C. in 10-15 minutes is located. A free hotel shuttle goes to and from Reagan National Airport and Pentagon City every 30 minutes

The room I got was huge, very nice, had a king bed, writing desk, big TV, coffee maker, nice bathroom, etc. I just checked and the price listed is $47 for Saturday and $89 for Sunday two weeks from now (if you try to book too close to the date, the reduced rate rooms may be gone). I paid $70 each night when I went, and I booked that less than a week out. On a glance of the Web site, I didn't see mention of the shuttle, but I still saw it as recently as early this year when I still lived in Arlington -- if that's a deciding factor, you might want to double check that they still have it before you book, but I'm sure they would as that's a big selling point. The Web site is at:

http://www.hotels.co.uk/pageDetails.do?&destinationId=5AC4D57D-D490-4F02-9C2C-B3F6AB578F8B&hotelId=105862&arrivalDate=08/09/2007&departureDate=10/09/2007&numberOfRooms=1&adultsPerRoom=2&childrenPerRoom=0

Have fun! I used to live in Wash, DC Enjoy the a/c metro! It's so cheap and easy to use.