SLC - Washington DC

We want to tour Washington DC in mid July. Which airport would be best to try and fly in to from SLC?

Any hotel sugestions?

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Washington-Capitol/Smithsonian. Great location, maybe a block from the Air & Space Museum, walking distance of the Capitol and a Metro station.
Ask for a room facing the courtyard away from the train line, it‘s much quieter.

Not a lot of restaurants in the area, ( I recall a McDonald’s) and the food at the hotel, like at most hotels was overpriced.

DCA for sure!! metro is so easy to get around. You can get transport passes if they suit your needs. Dupont Circle area. If it's budget, you can stay Comfort Inn Pentagon (discount for DL) and ride metro

or if you have kids and want to splurge with some good perks: 2 adults/2kids:
Savoy Suites Hotel in Washington, District Of Columbia - Hotel Vacations | Family Getaway
new customers can get discount code for $ off. It nets out $900 tax incld for 4 with 1 day DC Power Passes and BFasts--all atop Georgetown (oooh spoooky, you can see the exorcist house and steps!!) It also has a Nightitme tour that sounds pretty interesting included

Yeah, IAD is really about 45 minutes away by bus, but DCA is right along the subway system. If you can plan your trip so you go to DCA instead, do it.

I stayed in the Dupont Circle area years ago when I went with my parents, but when I tried to get to MAD via IAD and that flight cancelled, my girlfriend and I stayed in DC for a few days instead and stayed at the Capitol Skyline hotel (Washington DC Hotels, Washington Hotel - Capitol Skyline Hotel, Downtown DC Hotel near Smithsonian, Capitol Hill, Nationals Ballpark). Nothing too fancy, but the location you get for the money is pretty good without totally breaking the bank. It's between the Navy Yard and Waterfront stations, I'd definitely use the Navy Yard station - while the walk between there and the hotel is pretty good (I saw 2 corvettes pull out of a condo garage within 2 minutes of each other), on the other side between the hotel and Waterfront station is a little sketchy, especially at night. Otherwise, if you don't mind a hotel that looks like it was designed by Ikea a few years ago, go for it!

DCA all the way! It's all right there. That's where you want to fly into. But seriously, you couldn't have picked a worse month. It's very humid, hot, and lots of tourist. FOGGY BOTTOM. They get that name for a reason. It's litterly on a swamp along the banks of the Potomac. Best time to visit DC is in the spring time or fall.

The approach to DCA from the north offers a great view of all the must see monuments as you fly down the Potomac. IAD offers way more flight options going home. It feels like the tropics in July - August, but well worth the heat.