<p>I know I am planning in advance, but hotels will start taking reservations in May for May 2015. Looking for a hotel to stay at during graduation weekend 2015 - would like a suite so that an additional family member will have a sofa bed in the living area. We recently visited DC and stayed in VA; we have also stayed in Maryland. However, I am worried about the traffic on graduation morning and how early we will have to leave to arrive for the ceremonies. Any suggestions on a hotel that is not drastically overpriced but still convenient? </p>
<p>We stayed at the Chevy Chase Embassy Suites (full suites with kitchenette and sofa bed in the living room) many times over the four years our D was at AU, including for graduation. It’s a lovely hotel in a wonderful location (great shopping) with a Metro station on the lower level that is just one stop from Tenleytown station, where the AU shuttle buses run continuously to the campus. If you’re up for a 45 minute hike, you can even walk to AU from there. After last year’s graduation, we grabbed a cab back to the hotel without too much difficulty (we hadn’t stayed for the reception, so I don’t know what it would have been like later on) and had a fabulous celebration dinner at the restaurant Range in the hotel (the executive chef is Bryan Voltaggio of Top Chef fame). We always traveled to DC via Amtrak, and were able to take the Metro from the station right to the hotel without ever having to go outside–very nice to be able to forgo a car. Take a look at the hotel’s reviews on Trip Advisor; it’s very highly rated. But I do recall they they boosted the rates quite a bit for graduation weekend. (The rate does include a full buffet breakfast, though.)</p>