My 5 and 7 year old sons and I stayed 3 nights at Val's place in DC in her cozy family room unit. The family room was beautiful, immaculately clean, and truly cozy-- my 5 year old loved the walls so much ( felt soft to the touch) that he wanted to ask Val to trade for something of ours! The entire place had recessed lights on dimmer switches. The modern shag rug is just like the one in a friend's living room and we love it. The beds were amazingly comfortable air mattresses with a few layers of soft sheets and blankets. The bath had jacuzzi jets which I enjoyed during the few minutes my kids would let me. Because it's a basement apartment, even my kids slept in, which was amazing. The neighborhood is pleasant and we found the people we ran into very friendly and helpful.

Val was kind enough to accept our request on the same day we arrived (not that I am suggesting one do this on purpose). She helped us out with transportation several times, including picking us up at the Wilson Aquatic Center (amazing - beautiful lap pool for you lap swimmers, "leasure pool" from 0 to 4.5 feet with basket ball hoop for those of you with children, and a jacuzzi from which you can see the leisure pool. It was very easy to communicate with Val when we had a question or needed anything. She very generously allowed us to take towels to the pool and offered a carrying case.

This is a great place to stay. The couple things to consider which are very individual for each guest: I personally am very sensitive to being in basements without a lot of natural light - so I would be more inclined to stay in Val's upstairs room for that reason. For a first-time visit with young children and no car, negotiating bus then metro each time we went out made things more difficult and costly. DC charges for kids 5 and older. You pay for bus and then you pay for the metro. Even taxis add $2 for each child. It took long enough to get back and forth that it wasn't practical to go out for a while, come back and then go back out. So Val's place is probably more ideal for someone coming on business, no kids, or older kids. All of that said, once I got the hang of the city, we had a great time. And we would likely have been at an austere hotel far outside the city otherwise. Or maybe still at home!