DC Lodging Advice Please

Oops!
Debbie posted a very similar question while I wasn't looking. I will review all of the responses in her thread.

Absolutely highly recommend State Plaza Hotel. 2 blocks from the Mall, you can walk. It’s on the end with the Lincoln Memorial. Huge rooms with kitchen. Loved our 6 night stay there in 2019.

Thanks Tammy!
Checking it out now.

Look at the DC Metro lines and see what accommodations, near a station, you can find in Maryland and Virginia. I haven't been there for in a while, but I used to stay in Arlington, Virginia and you could walk across a bridge into DC. We just walked to the Smithsonian.

I'm local so have no experience with DC hotels. However, I believe you'll find $200 is not a generous budget in any nice neighborhood not too far from the center of the city. The car is going to be an albatross once you get here. I have a feeling hotel parking rates may be somewhat lower than they once were, since there's still a lot of working from home going on and the nearby commercial parking garages probably have better rates than were typical pre-pandemic. Even so, the parking cost may well be over $50 per night.

If you stay 4 nights, wouldn't that give you 5 days? I would suggest you look outside central DC where you might find more budget friendly accommodations and can park your car and take the metro into see the sites you want. There is no way you want to have a car in DC.
Enjoy your trip!

Oops again, that was a typo, I meant $300.
It will be a 6 hour drive, so day one is driving and day 5 is driving.

You might want to compare the cost of parking, gas, and tolls to the cost of flying, A lot of the hotels charge about $50 a day for parking. At 4 nights, you are already up to $200. Both National (DCA) and Dulles (IAD) are served by the metro. However, a car could be convenient if you want to explore beyond DC (e.g., Mount Vernon).

The Cherry Blossom Festival starts the third week of March and if your trip is in the second half of March it can be crowded so reserve early. The cherry blossoms don’t always cooperate with the festival schedule :)

I can’t recommend any specific hotels but I have spent most of my life in the DC suburbs. If you narrow down your selections, some of us locals can probably comment on the locations.

Thank you for your comments.
I have booked a room with 2 queen beds at the Hyatt Centric in Arlington. Parking is included for $295/night, just making my budget. It is across the street from the Rosslyn metro stop.

If we flew, I would either have to pay for transportation to the airport (expensive) or park my car at the airport. It would definitely end up costing more than driving. But the main reason to drive is that DS wants to!

Rosslyn is a short Metro ride to the area around the Smithsonian museums; you chose your location well.

Ditto--great choice for transport. If you have a lovely day and want to stretch your legs, walk over the key bridge into Georgetown for great views (you can see the Exorcist church in the background plus the Watergate). You can walk all the way to the mall or hop on a bus or in a taxi at whatever point (you'll eventually come to a metro).
If you are doing a non-Smithsonian day, Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown has some interesting exhibits (Byzantine and pre-Columbian) and a nice garden (this is where we go to see the cherry blossoms, so if your visit is mid to late March, they could be blooming).

Thank you!

I think I will start adding some smaller, shorter US trips to my international trips. They should be easier on my arthritic body. I might move my typical September trip into October next year. My year starts October 1st.
I can't take two long trips in back to back months, so I will have a lot of extra vacation days to use between now and October.

I want to make a strong plug for a Smithsonian museum that is outside the DC core, in case it may influence your lodging for one night. The Udvar-Hazy Center is close to Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, and I think it's a most worthy substitute (or complement) to the Air and Space Museum in DC. The space itself in the old hangar is huge, airy and feels so much less crowded in comparison to the one on the Mall. The exhibits inside are first-class, and you and your son can easily spend a half day there (or even more) depending on your interests and how much time you want to spend reading the descriptions or seeing an IMAX film, etc.

Here is the link in case you wanted to stay overnight in Virginia closer to the museum for at least one night:
https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center

Agnes.
Thank you for the suggestions. I was actually planning on stopping there on the way into DC on driving day. We could be there by 2;00. If we love it and want more time there we can go back!