I have to second the Candy Cane Inn.
Dh, DSs (1 and 10) and DD (2) and I stayed in a premium room at the Candy Cane Inn last July and had a great stay. Our premium room was plenty big for the 5 of us, two umbrella-like strollers, a port-a-crib, two Queen beds, a table with 2 chairs, an armoire, night tables, toys, and luggage. Plus room to play.
The room was very clean, but it did have a slight musty smell (could be worse in damp weather). The beds were so comfy, and the room itself was nicley furnished. I had no quallms about my kids lying and playing on the floor. A microwave and a small fridge were handy. A coffeemaker (with cookies
) and a hairdryer were there as well.
The CCI is a two story motel (you park outside your door) but it is the nicest motel I have ever stayed in. The grounds are beautiful, every day we saw gardners out, but never once did we hear a blower, they swept and used water to keep it clean.
There is a small pool and whirpool, and a seperate toddler pool. Again, small, but so well cared for and in great shape. Laundry room onsite was well kept and tidy.
Conti breakfast is served poolside in the am, and if you have a Premium Room, you get to fill out a slip of what you'd like, and it will be delivered to your door. Choices of bagel w/cream cheese (by far the best of the bread options), toast, small muffins, small croissants,cereal, fruit, coffee, milk, tea. In all honesty, the breakfast was just okay. Handy to have, but far from notable.
We had wonderful service, and they have a shuttle to DLR that runs every 1/2 hour, and is free and property owned, so after a long day, there are no other stops to make. If you want to walk in to DLR, it took less than 10 minutes, door to security gate. The CCI is adjacent to a DCA parking lot, so it's on the same side of Harbor Blvd as the parks, with a wide, well lit sidewalk.
There are 3 different rooms, the Premium is the largest and the only that will sleep 5. They only have a few of these rooms, so you should book early. The hotel is a "U" shape with these rooms located at the bottom of the "U". The smallest rooms (and least expensive) are at the top of the "U" on either side, and are closest to Harbor Blvd (more noisy). The mid price/size rooms are located in the middle, on either side. I liked ahving a downstairs room as I could just roll the strollers in and I didn't have to worry about the kids running and disturbing someone below us.
We had a AAA rate of $119, not cheap, not pricey, but a solid value for quality, service and location.