We have stayed at the Harrington Hotel two times. The latest being this past October. We love the location. You are half a block from Pennsylvania Ave. and just two blocks from the White House. The hotel itself is old, but that adds to the historic nature of being in DC. The rooms are clean, don't look too close at the baseboards, the beds very comfortable. Very safe location. We walked back and forth to the hotel several times at night. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Both times we stayed we ran into tour groups of kids from other countries. You can easily walk to all DC sites. We have stayed at all types of hotels, B&B's, etc. Yes, the Harrington is not a 4 star hotel but hey, with a family of 4 who wanted to enjoy DC and not spend all day soaking by a pool, it is the right location for us.

The Harrington Hotel opened on March 1, 1914 making it the nation’s oldest continuously operating hotel. Just a half block from Pennsylvania Avenue and two blocks from the White House, the Harrington is within walking distance to many D.C. attractions and the Metro.

While not in the luxury class of other D.C. hotels, the Harrington is clean, tidy and has some excellent family-friendly room rates, although the decor is a bit outdated. The hotel also houses a full service restaurant and pub.

The hotel may be nothing spectacular, but what it lacks in charm is made up for by location and staff. Yes, it is older, but the rooms are clean and it is very safe. Many students, but also a lot of foreign tourists wisely saving their money on hotel rooms so they can enjoy all the DC nightlife!

Given the decor (think '70s drab), you expect the local police and coroner to be regulars at the Harrington Hotel. I'm pretty sure I've seen my hotel room on reruns of CSI featuring a strangled prostitute. But that's just the decor.

The hotel staff are exceedingly pleasant. When I stayed last fall, most of the guests appeared to be high school students on field trips. The odds of a finding beer vomit in a potted ficus far exceeded the strangled prostitute scenario.

If you're looking for a clean (I'm very picky about this), safe, and ideally located DC hotel then Harrington is for you. If you want glam, then go crazy at a Marriott.

Oh, shockingly excellent water pressure. Felt like I was an elephant being hosed down at the circus.