Hotels in Old Town Alexandria, VA: Where to Stay

Where to Stay in Old Town Alexandria

Old Town has around fifteen places to stay inside the historic district itself, with several more just outside it in Carlyle and Old Town North. Among them are a half-dozen big-brand hotels clustered around the Metro, a handful of boutique properties along King Street, one hotel actually on the Potomac, and two small inns that do not always turn up in hotel search filters. They are all close to each other, which makes the choice less about amenities than about which end of King Street you want to walk out onto. Here is where each one sits and who it suits.

Old Town's three lodging zones

Almost every decision here comes down to which stretch of King Street you wake up on. The middle of the corridor holds The Alexandrian at King and Pitt, Hotel Heron in the old George Mason Hotel building at Prince and Washington, and The George of Old Town on the 500 block of Cameron, with Morrison House a block off King on South Alfred Street — this is the zone where you step out the door into shops, restaurants and Market Square. The riverside blocks hold Hotel Indigo on South Union Street; Prince Street Inn sits inland at 605 Prince Street, about five blocks up from the water. The west end, up around the King Street–Old Town Metro station, holds Hilton Alexandria Old Town, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hyatt Centric, Archer Hotel and Hilton Garden Inn — closest to the trains, about a mile from the water. Two more carry Old Town in their names but sit outside that walking core: The Satire on First Street in Old Town North, and Residence Inn on Duke Street south of the historic blocks.

Hotels near the King Street–Old Town Metro

Six properties are within about two blocks of the Metro station, which sits on the Blue and Yellow lines, with Alexandria's Amtrak and VRE station right next door. Hilton Alexandria Old Town is across from the station, Embassy Suites is on Diagonal Road beside it, and Hampton Inn Alexandria-Old Town/King St. Metro and Hyatt Centric are a short walk up King Street. Archer Hotel — the 107-room property that was the Lorien until its 2024 rebrand — sits in the same block, at 1600 King. Hilton Garden Inn is a block over at 1620 Prince Street. This is the cluster to book if you are arriving without a car or spending most of your days in Washington. The trade-off is that it is the end of Old Town farthest from the river, so plan on the free King Street Trolley or a walk of about twenty minutes down King to reach the waterfront.

Boutique and historic hotels

The boutique group is small and each property is genuinely different. Morrison House has 45 rooms in a Federal-style building a block off King, with The Study on the ground floor. Hotel Heron occupies the 1926 George Mason Hotel building and runs KILN, the Francis Hall cocktail bar and the Good Fortune rooftop. Archer Hotel has AKB bar, the HomeGrown daytime eatery and JoyLife Spa at the west end of King. The Alexandrian is the largest of the group at 241 rooms, with King & Rye, a ballroom and a brick courtyard cocktail garden. The Satire — the former Hotel AKA Alexandria — joined Marriott's Autograph Collection in June 2026; its Piero Lissoni interior dates from the building's earlier conversion, and it has The Wise Fool restaurant, the Bad Poets Cafe and a small screening room. Note that it is in Old Town North rather than the historic core.

The only hotel on the waterfront

If being on the Potomac is the point, there is one answer: Hotel Indigo Old Town Alexandria, at 220 South Union Street. It is the only hotel on Old Town's waterfront, and its history is unusually literal — during excavation, crews uncovered the hull of an eighteenth-century ship along with John Carlyle's 1755 public warehouse. The lobby carries an archaeological map of the find, the 1749 shoreline is marked on the property, and Hummingbird Bar & Kitchen sits on the water side. Plenty of other hotels advertise river views or describe themselves as steps from the Potomac, and in a district this compact most of them are a five-to-ten-minute walk away, which is fine. It just is not the same thing, and it is worth knowing which claim you are reading.

Small inns and guesthouses

Two of them are not hotels at all, and neither reliably shows up in hotel search filters. Prince Street Inn is a historic townhouse at 605 Prince Street with nine self-catering suites — full kitchens and private entrances — a few blocks up from the water and an easy walk to the Apothecary Museum. The George of Old Town is a Cameron Street guesthouse in an 1815 townhouse next door to the site of George Washington's Alexandria town house — its kitchen is believed to have been Washington's detached kitchen, built into the later house. It has eight bedrooms and suites across one four-level townhouse, bookable by the room, by the suite, or as the whole building, with a private courtyard and on-site parking. Both are worth knowing about for families, groups travelling together, and anyone who would rather have a kitchen and a front door than a lobby.

Suites, kitchens and longer stays

For stays measured in weeks rather than nights, three properties stand out. Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria on North Saint Asaph Street is all-suite — 247 of them — with a fitness center and a Metro shuttle. Residence Inn by Marriott Alexandria Old Town/Duke Street has full kitchens, though Duke Street puts you south of the historic blocks and a longer walk from King. Hilton Garden Inn Alexandria Old Town/National Harbor, at 1620 Prince Street two blocks from the Metro, is the conventional option in this group — rooms have a mini-fridge and microwave rather than a kitchen. Add Prince Street Inn and The George of Old Town and Old Town has a decent supply of rooms with real kitchens, which matters in a neighborhood where a week of restaurant meals adds up quickly.

Parking, and whether you need the car at all

Most Old Town hotels charge for valet or self-parking, and rates change often enough that it is worth confirming with the property when you book rather than assuming. The George of Old Town lists on-site parking; the Metro-end hotels let you skip the car entirely. The upside of staying inside the district is that you usually park once: the historic core is about a dozen walkable blocks, the free King Street Trolley runs along King between the Metro and Market Square, four blocks short of the water, roughly every fifteen minutes from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and stops shift during the Market Square work, so check DASH for current locations. For public garages, street rules and Sunday parking, see our parking guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Old Town Alexandria hotels are closest to the King Street Metro?

Hilton Alexandria Old Town is across from the station and Embassy Suites by Hilton is on Diagonal Road beside it. Hampton Inn Alexandria-Old Town/King St. Metro and Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria are on upper King Street within a short walk, and Archer Hotel is in the same block, at 1600 King. The same station serves Amtrak and VRE, so it is also the right cluster if you are arriving by train.

Is there a hotel on the Old Town waterfront?

One: Hotel Indigo Old Town Alexandria at 220 South Union Street. Several other hotels are a five-to-ten-minute walk from the Potomac and some rooms have river views, but Hotel Indigo is the only property in Old Town on the water itself. It was built on a site where archaeologists uncovered an eighteenth-century ship's hull, and the lobby documents the find.

Do hotels in Old Town Alexandria have free parking?

Most charge for valet or self-parking. A couple of the smaller properties, including The George of Old Town, list on-site parking. Rates and policies change frequently, so confirm directly with the hotel rather than relying on a listing site. Because the district is compact, many guests park once on arrival and walk for the rest of the stay.

Are hotels with "Old Town" in the name always in the historic district?

Not always. The Satire is on First Street in Old Town North, and Residence Inn is on Duke Street, south of the historic blocks. Both are genuinely close and both are Alexandria, but neither is inside the King Street walking core. If you want to step out the door into the historic streets, check the address rather than the name.

How do I get from a hotel near the Metro down to the waterfront?

The free King Street Trolley runs along King Street between the Metro station and Market Square, then it is a four-block walk to the river. It comes roughly every fifteen minutes, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Walking the same route takes about twenty minutes. Stops are being relocated during the Market Square construction, so check the current map before you rely on a specific corner.

Should I stay in Old Town or in Washington, DC?

Old Town is about a twenty-minute Metro ride from downtown DC on the Blue and Yellow lines and two stops — five minutes or so — from Reagan National, so it works as a base for both. Stay here if you want walkable evenings, the river, and a smaller-scale historic district; stay in DC if nearly all of your days will be on the National Mall.