Where to stay for Nats Park

As you know, choosing a hotel is an incredibly important decision when it comes to enjoying your stadium experience. But where should you stay? Near the ballpark? Closer to downtown? At the airport? Near other attractions? Well, as with anything, the answer is: it depends. It depends on the price, availability, what your priorities are, what time the game(s) are, transportation mode … it just depends!

This chapter will help you make the best decision for you when it comes to visiting Washington DC to see Nationals Park.

Where Nationals Park is located

Navy Yard

Nationals Park is located in the Navy Yard neighborhood of DC, which is on the southeast side of the city. Once upon a time, this was a bit of an empty landscape with nothing to attract tourists. But today, with Nationals Park as an anchor of the area, Navy Yard is thriving and has a little something for everyone. It is home to bars, restaurants, hotels, a riverfront walking trail, a few Michelin-star restaurants, and even another stadium (Audi Field, home of MLS’ DC United). Plus, it’s also a residential and commercial neighborhood. In a nutshell, Navy Yard is now somewhere that you absolutely can stay and explore if you want to.

Deciding where to stay for a Nationals Park visit

As we said, where you stay really depends on what your goals are. So let’s break down your choices.

Staying at the ballpark / Navy Yard neighborhood

Are you most interested in staying within walking distance of the ballpark? If so, that’s a perfectly fine decision and you’ll find plenty to do nearby. As we said, it’s a great neighborhood, and staying there makes gameday an easy experience – you can wander over to one of the bars early and enjoy the atmosphere, or head into the ballpark at gates open to roam around. After the game, there’s no need to bother with subways or buses or traffic … you can grab some post-game refreshments in the neighborhood, or just walk back to your hotel. It’s also convenient if you want to do a gameday ballpark tour, or want as much hotel time as possible prior to the game.

There are ten hotels that are easily and appropriately walkable to Nats Park, and most of them are midrange options.

Homewood Suites (.2 miles, 5-minute walk)

Homewood Suites is located directly across the street from the Navy Yard metro station at the end of the pedestrian walkway that leads to the stadium, so it’s as easy of a walk as the Hampton or Residence Inns. Like the Residence Inn, these rooms have a kitchenette and a pull-out sofa, so they’re great for having more people in the room. And it also includes a free breakfast.

Hotels that are within a 10-minute walk to Nationals Park

The Thompson Hotel (.2 miles, 5-minute walk)

The Thompson Hotel is part of Hyatt – it’s one of their boutique properties. Built in 2019, it’s a pretty darn new hotel, and more upscale than the ones right next to the ballpark. 

What we really like about this hotel is that one block further to the east is The Yards, a collection of restaurants and bars that are easily accessible and can be a great place to pregame/postgame with slightly less foot traffic than some of the bars immediately adjacent to the ballpark. In addition, there’s a Harris Teeter’s grocery store two blocks away from The Thompson, so if you’re someone who finds value in that, the Thompson is incredibly convenient. The hotel also has a nice rooftop deck, but while it can see Nats Park, it doesn’t actually have a view inside of the stadium like the Hampton Inn does. And it also doesn’t include a free breakfast, so factor that in accordingly.

Nearby restaurants and grocery

Coda on Half / Placemakr Aparthotel (.2 miles, 5-minute walk)

If you don’t know what an “aparthotel” is, it’s just that: apartments that are rented as hotel rooms. If you’re looking to feel at home on vacation, a Placemakr hotel could be a good choice. Coda on Half is walking distance to the park and comes with a full kitchen, laundry, and access to the apartment amenities like the gym and rooftop lounge. It also allows pets for an additional fee. These properties are set up like luxury apartments, because that’s what they are. That means that while there is typically a concierge on duty, there won’t be room service or housekeeping available.

A Placemakr might be a good choice if you plan on cooking or are traveling with pets and want a bit more space for them.

Cambria Hotel (.2 miles, 3-minute walk)

This hotel was built in 2020, and is directly across the street from Audi Field, home of MLS’ DC United and the NWSL Washington Spirit. It’s a quick five-minute walk to the south entrance of Nats Park, but you should note: if you want to hit the bars or restaurants, you’ll have to walk another 5-10 minutes around the ballpark to find them. Also, if you’re using the Metro for the airport or for sightseeing, the Cambria is a 12-minute/.6 mile walk from the Navy Yard station, which is a bit further to be dragging luggage than the closer hotels.

Courtyard by Marriott Washington Capitol Hill / Navy Yard (.4 miles, 9-minute walk)

The Courtyard is a little further from the ballpark, but a safe walk and completely acceptable. It doesn’t offer the amenities of some of the other hotels (no pool, no breakfast, no kitchenette, no pull-out sofa), but if you just need a traditional hotel room, the Courtyard is a perfectly acceptable option.

AC Hotel Washington DC Capitol Hill/Navy Yard (.5 miles, 10-minute walk)

The AC is another Marriott property. Built in 2022, it is brand new, has a very solid gym, and a very nice rooftop patio. The rooms are modern with wood floors and fresh bathrooms. It’s a little further of a walk, but if you’re looking for a more upscale property, you may like the AC Hotel.

Beyond the ballpark: Where else to stay for a visit to Nats Park

If you don’t want to stay in the immediate vicinity of the ballpark, you have plenty of other great choices. You should factor in what else you’d like to do while you’re in town (i.e. what sights you might want to check out), cost, and, of course, transit convenience to the ballpark. 

If your plan is to drive or take a rideshare/taxi to the ballpark, then you can pretty much stay wherever you want. Obviously the further from the ballpark, the longer it will take to get there, and during the week, traffic in DC (especially for a 7pm game) can be insane. So even if you’re only a couple of miles away from the stadium, it could easily take 25-30 minutes to get there at the wrong time of day.

But if you’re planning on taking public transit to/from the ballpark, then we think the best options will be staying on a subway or bus line that directly connects to the stadium. That means either staying at a hotel near a Green Line station, or along a (specific) DC Circulator bus line. Avoiding a transfer could save you as much as 15-20 minutes each way, depending on how lucky you get with connections.

Staying along the Green Line of the subway

Here’s the truth: you can stay in a bunch of different areas of DC and be perfectly fine. They’ll all be reasonably convenient to the ballpark, and they’ll all be near one historical landmark or another. But if all areas are essentially the same, then the one thing that you can differentiate them on is how fast you can get to the stadium.

That’s where staying at a hotel close to a Green Line station would be helpful. The Green Line connects directly to the Navy Yard/Ballpark metro station, one block away from the stadium. That means you don’t need to switch trains, making your life easier … and your commute faster.

Here are the relevant stops along the Green Line that we believe are appropriate for tourists.

• The Waterfront: home to the DC Wharf
• L’Enfant Plaza: close to the National Mall and the Smithsonian Museums
• Archives / Navy Memorial / Penn Quarter: there really aren’t any hotels near this stop, so it’s not relevant.
• Gallery Place / Chinatown: next to the Capital One Arena (Wizards, Capitals) and the National Portrait Museum
• Mt. Vernon Square: next to the DC Convention Center

Let’s break down each one so you know why you might stay there.

The Waterfront

The Waterfront is, by distance, the next closest option if you don’t want to stay at Navy Yard and can be a great choice if you’re looking for something a bit more upscale. The Wharf area is great – restaurants, bars, retail, a concert venue – it’s always got stuff going on, and it’s a very pretty part of the city since it’s right on the river. 

What we don’t love about the Waterfront is that it’s a bit set apart from the rest of downtown DC, so to go sightseeing you’ll likely want to take a rideshare or walk to the Metro (whereas most of DC is very walkable from neighborhood to neighborhood).

In terms of getting to/from the ballpark, we like the Metro as an option during the daytime, but not as much at night. The Waterfront Metro Station is only .3 miles / 8 minutes walking from the closest hotel on The Wharf (The Pendry), but twice as far from the Intercontinental, so where you’re starting from definitely matters. 

But more than the distance, we just don’t love this walk after dark. The neighborhood between the Wharf and the station is fine, but oddly quiet and deserted at night. A 10-minute walk sort of feels more like 20, and we just don’t like that there’s nobody around.

The option we do like, both after dark and, really, both ways, is the Circulator Bus. The DC Circulator is a separate bus system from the other public buses in DC, and it’s fantastic. Clean, bright, efficient, and it runs directly from The Wharf to Nats Park. So it’s undoubtedly an excellent option for getting back to the area at night, and, honestly, we think it’s actually a bit easier than taking the Metro. Oh … and it’s just $1 each way, which is about as cheap as you can get. We’ll cover the Circulator more in the Transit Chapter.

As for walking, the Wharf is only about a mile away from Nats Park, but it’s not a walk we particularly like. During the day it would be fine, if not dull and uninspiring, but at night, it’s the same as our comments above – it’s just not a well-trafficked enough area of the city to walk after dark. So stick to the Circulator or hail a taxi/rideshare after the game. 

Pros

• Only a mile from the ballpark
• High-end hotels
• Good shopping, food, and retail
• Easy transit to the ballpark via the DC Circulator bus

Cons

• Expensive
• Less convenient to other DC sights
• We don’t recommend walking to the Metro station after dark

L’Enfant Plaza

L’Enfant Plaza is just two stops away from Nats Park on the Green Line, and is also on the Blue, Silver, and Orange lines of the Metro, giving you easy access across the city, as well as to National and Dulles Airports. It’s also the closest area to the Smithsonian Museums on the south side of the National Mall, including the very popular Air and Space Museum. 

The downside of L’Enfant Plaza is that it’s sort of no-man’s land. There’s no restaurants, bars, or retail to speak of, so it’s just sort of quiet, and even more so at night. 

If you were to get a fantastic hotel deal, we’d say it’s fine. But it’s not our top choice.

Archives / Navy Memorial / Penn Quarter and Gallery Place / Chinatown

There are only a couple of hotels near the Archives/Navy Memorial station, and they are equidistant from the Gallery Place/Chinatown station as well, so we’ve combined these together since you could stay at either one. 

The Penn Quarter area is another great option if you want to use the Metro to get to games while still being close to many D.C. landmarks. From the Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter Metro stop you’ll have a five-minute walk to the National Portrait Gallery, a 10-minute walk to the Smithsonians, and a 15-minute walk to the Capitol. This area is also home to some of the city’s best known restaurants. 

Meanwhile, the Gallery Place/Chinatown station is connected to Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Capitals and Wizards. It’s a fun area with plenty of bars and restaurants (including fast food options), and it’s also on the Red Line, which connects to Union Station, Dupont Circle, and the National Zoo. If you’re doing any sort of Nats/Arena doubleheader, this would be a good option. Just note: the area around the arena can be pretty busy and loud when events are happening.

Mt. Vernon Square / Convention Center / 7th Street

Mt. Vernon is a quintessential D.C. neighborhood. It has tree-lined streets with brick row homes, local bars, and heaps of neighborhood charm. If you enjoy living like the locals when you travel and want to be in a residential area while still being close to the action, this area won’t disappoint. 

Once you get past the Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center/7th Street station, the further stops won’t have very many hotels located nearby, so we would suggest that this is the farthest stop on the Green Line that you should stay at. 

Our advice for staying on the Green Line: When you find a hotel that looks interesting, use Google Maps to plot how far that hotel is from one of these Metro stations. If it’s within 10 minutes walking distance, then it’s a convenient option for a Nats Park visit.

Beyond the Green Line

If you are ok with making a quick transfer on the Metro system, then that opens up a ton of other hotel options for you. That will include a host of hotels in the District, as well as options across the bridge in Northern Virginia. Those areas will include:

Orange/Blue/Silver Lines: Downtown DC

These stations include the Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Metro Center, McPherson Square, Farragut North, and Foggy Bottom stops. The areas around all of these stations are completely appropriate for you to stay in, but each one will require you to transfer to the Green Line to get to Nats Park.

Yellow/Blue Lines: Crystal City, Pentagon City, Old Town Alexandira

These stations include the Crystal City and Pentagon City stops in Arlington, Virginia, right across the bridge from DC. Both of these stops will be very close to Reagan International Airport, so this is a convenient area if you want to be close to the airport. Pentagon City is a good-sized shopping mall, with a smaller retail center across the street, so if you feel like doing some shopping (in stores that are probably all the same as the ones you have at home), this is a good option. 

The Yellow and Blue lines also connect to Old Town, Alexandria. This is a nice area located five miles south of Reagan Airport. The King Street metro station is surrounded by hotel options, and the Alexandria Historical District is just 1.5 miles to the east of the station. It’s a great area for walking and restaurants, and has a nice waterfront. And if you’d like to start your or end your journey at the Waterfront, there’s a water taxi that runs directly to Nats Park (more on that in the Transit chapter).

Orange/Silver Lines: Rosslyn, Courthouse, and Clarendon (all in Virginia)

These stations across the Potomac in Virginia are close to hotels, walkable, and quite nice. Rosslyn is a bit sterile (dominated by high-rises and is sort of a concrete jungle), but the Courthouse area has some nice restaurants and walking areas. We don’t think this is the most strategic spot for a Nats Park visit, because it will take you too much time on the Metro system to get to Nats Park (after transferring), but it’s fine if you have a specific reason to be there, or if you find a great hotel deal.

Bottom Line

Our advice to visitors to Nationals Park is:

A) Stay close to the ballpark. If you can find an affordable hotel from the above list, it will make your experience as easy as possible if your primary goal is to see baseball.

B) Stay on the Metro system close to a Green Line, as far north as Mt. Vernon Square. It’s a straight, easy shot from your station to the ballpark with no transfers. (Don’t stay south of the Ballpark station).

C) Stay elsewhere in DC, as long as it’s close to a metro stop. 

• On the Red Line, stay between Dupont Circle and Union Station
• On the Blue Line, stay between L’Enfant Plaza to the east and King Street/Old Town to the south. 
• On the Orange/Silver Lines, stay between L’Enfant Plaza to the east and Clarendon to the west. 

And if your goal is to see other attractions in DC during your stay, staying in the District itself (rather than Virginia) will just make your experience more convenient.