Washington Reagan National Airport
Lasting Impressions....
Memorable comments left by travellers:
"Many people were sleeping on the heating vents along the window" (Vacation Boy)
"How many times do you need to be welcomed into an airport in an hour and a half?! The announcement telling you to go to the bathroom before you board the plane as you're not allowed to leave your seat 30 minutes after departure was amusing." (Kellie)
FEATURED REVIEWS
by jimsteverson, 11/24/2008
With an early flight the next morning, a friend and I decided to spend the night at Reagan National. It was surprising to see so many sleeping at the airport, and between sleepers and the homeless, finding space was a bit of a challenge. We got to terminal B around 12:30 am and the chapel already had 5-6 sleepers, most appeared to be homeless.
We started off looking for a good spot in the concourse area of terminals B and C but cleaning crews were quite active with riding sweepers and the open environment made it a but noisy. We worked our way down to the already full chapel, and then continued to terminal A, where we bunked for the night.
A is an old terminal and we found a spot along the walkway between B and A where there were a number of plastic rocking chairs by an office area that overlooked the runway. A couple of sleepers were already there but we grabbed two empties and settled in for the night. This open area also had some benches, where at least 4 other sleepers had moved them together for positioning.
Security came through a couple of times but didn't bother anyone for being there. Some workers came through and one quite intentionally sat in the midst of a group of sleepers near us, talking loudly on his cell phone around 3 am. One of our fellow sleepers yelled at him in Spanish, and while I didn't understand what was shared, the point was made and the worker moved along.
Worth noting in this area was the presence of a woman spending the night alone in the airport, who obviously felt comfortable enough to spend the night in terminal A. There was also a bathroom accessible around the corner and the crowd was made up entirely of airport sleepers.
It was reasonably quiet and there were no overnight announcements in this area, but the terminal pops to life around 5:30 am and that marks the end to the night.
If you're spending the night at Reagan, this wasn't a bad spot to find. The absence of PA announcements made it a decent spot, chairs and benches were available, and it felt safe to be sleeping with fellow travelers. Good luck!
by Paul McFarlane
"My wife and I got stuck on the D.C. Metro and ended up missing our plane, thus necessitating our overnight stay in the Washington, D.C. National Airport. It was horrible! Goliath-sized homeless men came in and camped out in various corners under or on top of newspapers, others were washing their hair in the bathroom sinks and notorious, terrorist-like looking individuals circulated around the facility with video cameras like they were taking shots of the best sites to place a bomb--really scary! But possibly even worse was the arctic conditions of the building. Perhaps to discourage the homeless crowd, the air-conditioners were turned on so high that hypothermia was a very real threat, despite it being summertime. One stranded man in shorts had to continuously jog just to keep from freezing. So between the wretched seats, the icy conditions and the nerve-wracking presence of menacing individuals in otherwise isolated and abandoned areas, we were stressed and sleepless all night--an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone (except a Nazi, maybe)."
Airport Guide
Here is some information that we've picked out of from your reviews. Be sure to read the review pages for the most up-to-date experiences:
- 24-hour coffee shop
- seats with armrests
- chapel
- frequent announcements
Travel Sites
- Hostels and Budget Accommodation - I've booked my own accommodation on this site. If you are too old for hostels and too cheap for hotels, like me, you'll find some good properties. They offer dorms, private rooms, B&Bs, Apartments.
