Washington Airport
- Dulles International -
Lasting Impressions....
"I didn't get a wink of sleep, but I saved a lot of $$$$." (Paul)
Good times
by hawq
For an international airport, Dulles shuts down surprisingly early. From 10pm, virtually no flights leave but arrivals trickle in through most of the night. All the stores are shut by 10pm too so you should pack dinner or you'd go hungry. The only place open in the lobby was Guava & Java, a coffee/sandwich shop with plush though limited seating and constantly blaring TV. I recommend this if you want to spend the night awake.
There were quite a few people looking to spend the night in the airport (20-30) on the day I was there. The cleaning staff work around you, the security personnel are indifferent to your existence. All this is great news for you, the airport sleeper.
There are quite a few great places to sleep:
1. Baggage area - This has several plush chairs and the later the most evening, the more quiet it becomes. Sleeping here though is a bit of a gamble. If an arriving plane uses the baggage carousel you've chosen then expect loud excited travelers interrupting your sleep.
2. Bank of wheelchairs - The chairs used to move people to and from planes is by far the best sleep area. The seats are plush and no one seemed to mind when I took one. Great sleep.
3. Ticketing area - Most areas to sit are on metal. It helps if you have a blanket, or towel to sit on or your butt numbs out in a few hours.
Not a bad place, but not great either
by nerbit
I too highly recommend finding the chapel. It is on concourse B, where there is also a smoking area and a 24 hours starbucks/convenience store. There is no where really dark, and all the seating areas have TV with sound coming through overhead speakers. While the chapel was bright, you could grab a prayer rug and drape it over you. It was peaceful and you could only just hear the announcements outside. There were around 8 of us in there at one time, and apart from the snorer I got a decent sleep!
Um, you may want to rethink sleeping in this place
by donmaci
Since United Express was too cheap to arrange sufficient hotel space for those of us stranded due to their poor aircraft maintenance my wife and I were stuck on the floor. All the shops close at 10:00 pm, United Express didn't provide a pillor or blanket or anything for that matter. Constant announcements throughout the night were sure to keep you awake. Seating is uncomfortable so the floor was the option.
Airport Guide
Here is some information that we've picked out of from your reviews. Be sure to read the reviews on the next page for the most up-to-date info:
- lightly padded seats with armrests
- frequent announcements during day, quieter at night
- chapel in Terminal B
