Hilton Garden Inn Fairfax

The smoke-free Hilton Garden Inn sits in the Washington suburb of Fairfax, Va., and the high-tech corridor nine miles from Dulles International Airport. Eighteen miles from Washington, the hotel puts guests close to numerous office buildings, the Vienna Subway, an air and space museum, Fair Oaks Mall and more than 250 restaurants and shops. The area is close to suburban Tysons Corner, Vienna and Reston, other major malls, plenty of recreational activities, historic towns, horse country, and the music and theater of Wolf Trap Farm Park. Dulles Tollway and Interstate 66 offer straight shots into Washington. About 10 miles away, outdoor lovers will discover Great Falls Park, an 800-square-mile park featuring views of the Potomac River, which is known in these parts for waterfalls and ferocious rapids rather than the pristine body of water in the Nation's Capital. In the park, explorers will find remains of a canal built in the late 1700s.

At this suburban Washington hotel, guests can start their days in the hotel's Great American Grill with breakfast buffets, cooked-to-order omelets and egg dishes, followed by soup-and-salad bars for lunches and a la carte dinners. Other perks include indoor splash pool, spa tub (limited schedule), fitness room, 24-hour business center, lounge, 6,000 square feet of meeting facilities, outdoor patio, ballroom, and complimentary shuttles to locations within three miles.

Guestrooms offer complimentary high- speed Internet access, antique reproductions, Impressionist prints, comfy pillow-top mattresses, data ports, 27-inch TVs with premium channels, work desks, refrigerators, microwave ovens, coffeemakers and fancy Neutrogena toiletries.

Northern Virginia's high-tech corridor draws corporate travelers to this five-story hotel during the week, but families and other leisure travelers check in on weekends seeking a base from which to explore Washington and its suburbs.