Alia's place was wonderful! I live in the area and had a visitor from out of town and their place is extremely well-located on a main street in DC and is (quite literally) a 5-10 minute drive from Maryland and a major bus station/train stop giving you access to just about everywhere. The place is considerably bigger than the pictures show so you won't be stepping on anyone's toes. The neighbors are also very friendly - one of them bumped into me one morning and we spent a good 10 minutes talking about the area!