we are going april 23-25...touring on the 24th...we don't mind driving about 20minutes to campus..we thought about maybe going into dc or baltimore...haven't done a lot of research so not sure how far away we would be. We are coming from Mass. Thanks for any help you can give us.

I'd look at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bethesda. It's a fairly new property in the heart of downtown Bethesda, an area loaded with shops and restaurants. From there, it's a 20-minute drive to UMCP.

It's also an easy drive to the tourist sites of downtown Washington, or a short walk to the Metro if you want to take the subway there. $87 rate on Orbitz as of this writing.

Here is a link with hotels in the area. I would not go to Bethesda as it is past College Park from where you are coming from.. I would suggest the hotels near the intersection of 95 and 495 which are close to campus and not going out of your way from Ma.

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=beltsville+md+hotel&fb=1&gl=us&hq=hotel&hnear=beltsville+md&ei=uqi7S_KVB4P48Aa169GZAg&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQtgMwAA

This is truly a case of where the extra distance is well worth the effort, especially since the OP has stated a 20-minute drive isn't unreasonable. Ability to zip on and off the interstate close to UMCP may be great in some circumstances (like if you're not going to have any free time and are just looking for a bed for the night), but that's not the case here.

If you decide to stay near 95/495, then enjoy the hotel's restaurant for all your meals and the free HBO. 'Cause you'll need to get in the car and drive at least ten minutes to experience anything other than a few chain restaurants or get to a Metro station.

Given a tolerance for a 20 minute drive, you'll get a vibrant atmosphere loaded with amenities and easy access to downtown Washington if you choose Bethesda. Downtown Silver Spring hotels would offer the same sort of amenities on a much smaller scale and would be a ten-minute (vs. 20) detour, a couple of decent ones are available there <$100. Both of these would be far superior choices to staying near 95/495 IMHO. Enjoy your trip!

The hotel closest to campus is the Marriott Inn & Conference Center, University of Maryland University College, which you will find searching for the Marriott in Hyattsville, MD (although it's on campus, not in Hyattsville). It's on campus, so I wouldn't call the surroundings unattractive, but you would need to drive to get a selection of restaurants.

You don't say why you are visiting the campus. If it's for a one-time event, then, sure, stay in Bethesda, where you'll have more upscale surroundings and a much wider selection of restaurants. However, if you're visiting because a child is thinking about applying to the University of Maryland at College Park, I recommend staying in College Park so you can get a feel for the campus and its surroundings. Be sure to visit the Route 1 drag south of campus where students hang out on weekends and evenings.

I suspect, however, that you won't be able to get a room at the Marriott for anywhere near $100 a night, although you could try calling directly to see if they have anything better than the Marriott website. (It's showing $179 for the night of April 23.)

We just stayed at the Holiday Inn on Baltimore Ave (just north of 495 onUS 1) and the rates were 109 to119. It had excellent interstate access and the hotel itself was very nice- recently remodeled. It is in what I'd call a new construction area - new condos to the east and north, an IKea to the south. There are several chain restaurants around it (Buffalo Wild Wings, Einstein Bagels) and then directly tothe south of 495 there is a mall with an excellent pizza restaurant (Mama Lucia's) and the Hard Times cafe. The Holiday Inn has a full service restaurant and bar. It felt suburban, so not trendy, but good access to the University on US 1.

Thank you for your response. We are going to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in Landover,Md. It is probably a little further out but sounded like the most decent one in the area and we got 1 night free with points. So we are all set with the room just want to find someplace nice and relaxing for dinner Sat night...not sure if we should go into DC or will we be too tired from touring campus and just want to lay low for the night...I want to do more but I know when the time comes that a day of touring is pretty tiring.

"We are going to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in Landover,Md. It is probably a little further out but sounded like the most decent one in the area and we got 1 night free with points. "

"The most decent one in the area" considering that area is not exactly a ringing endorsement. I'm familiar with that property, it's in the middle of an office park and industrial area close to the New Carrollton Metro station. If it's only one night I'm sure you'll be fine. Just be careful, and don't walk to Metro from the hotel, take the hotel shuttle both ways.

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