Do not despair, Barack Obama fans. The global hype over president-elect may have sparked record-high tourism demand in the US capital, but anyone intent on a last-minute trip to Washington for inauguration day can still find a diamond in the rough.
One compelling housing deal, unearthed by the Washington Post this week, accommodates up to 50 people in a mansion that comes with a swimming pool, heated spa, full-size movie screen, bowling alley, and petting zoo. The stately home is located 90 miles away from the centre of the action in the city, but the offer includes transportation.
The price tag for such stellar digs: $50,000 (£32,200) per night – which comes out at a less eye-watering $1,000 per person, if you manage to round up 49 of your closest Obama-loving friends.
For those with more practical visions of a crowded hotel room or couch-surfing adventure in Washington, the dream may still be within reach. Hotels within 100 miles of the city have technically been booked solid since before Obama's victory last month, but some rooms are slipping through the cracks as guests default on their pre-arrival agreements.
If you're determined to avoid staying in a stranger's living room, call Destination DC for advice at (001) 800 422-8644. Just expect to pay at least $650-700 per night for even the most prosaic, Holiday Inn-type rooms (that mansion's looking better and better, no?).
For the more adventurous inauguration partygoers, the US rentals site Craigslist is a good place to start hunting for bargain accommodations. Keep in mind, though, that Craigslist has no filter to deter scammers who lurk about seeking money for nonexistent rooms.
Your maxim should be "trust but verify"; even that nice family offering a dream setup for $150 per night isn't telling you about the transportation nightmare that inauguration weekend is already becoming. Rented parking spots within the city of Washington – or the District of Columbia, in local parlance – are almost as expensive as hotel rooms, and relying on public parking is highly inadvisable.
That said, any couch-surfing or room rental located in Virginia or Maryland should be evaluated for its proximity to public transport. Try entering the address in the Trip Planner function at wmata.com, the home page of the Washington transit authority, to map out a route.
Even then, trains and buses are expected to suffer massive delays starting on the weekend of 17 January and continuing through Obama's inaugural on the 20th. (Monday 19 January is a national holiday in the US, which has exacerbated the tourism mania surrounding the event.)
Two good alternatives to Craigslist are Obama DC Bound, run by local entrepreneur (and Republican!) Deana Bass, and the inauguration classifieds page in the Washington City Paper, a quirky local journal.
Once you locate the right housing, the next question is which of the city's multiple inaugural parties to attend. By the Obama inaugural committee's count, there are 10 official and 45 unofficial balls celebrating the president-elect. Here's the rundown.
But that total doesn't include the cavalcade of popular bars and clubs that will be open for revelry until 5am on inauguration weekend … unless some party poopers in Congress convince the mayor to scale the alcohol cut-off back to 2am.
Three popular Washington watering holes with inauguration parties in the works are the Hawk'n'Dove, an old-school pub featured on an episode of The West Wing; Station 9, a cavernous bar/club in the popular U Street area; and the Park at 14th, the swanky spot of choice for downtown scenesters. No matter where you choose to raise a glass to change, just remember to take a cue from Obama and keep a cool head – police will be on high alert for any booze-soaked shenanigans.
Do any readers know of other good housing tips or partygoing opportunities for inauguration weekend in Washington?
