Metro is a cross between a subway and a commuter train. Unless your hotel is in a really bad part of town, you'll be fine. I take my parents on Metro whenever they visit. Rush hour crowds are the biggest problem.

And yes, driving in DC is a nightmare. Just when you think you've got it figured out, they throw a traffic circle or a diagonal street in your way, and the next thing you know you're lost in Virginia. And we won't even talk about the road work they're about to start on Constitution Ave...