The Best Hotels in Washington, D.C.

Might as well start at the top. Luxury barely does justice to the elegance of the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. The only downside to this hotel is that it is located in an area of town where you would do well not to find yourself after the sun goes down. Of course, there is very little reason to leave the confines. Yes, those decorations are replicas of things you saw when you toured the Smithsonian. The rooms are huge and the service is like having your own personal 24-hour concierge. The fitness center is located next to the pool. If you prefer to do your bending in stretching in private, that can be arranged. Just five minutes away during light traffic is the East Potomac Golf Course. Just call up the concierge and five minutes later you should have a tee time scheduled.

Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C.
1330 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024
(202) 554-8588

The resonance of former Secretary of State John Hay and the prestigious Adams family permeates another hotel in Washington, D.C. that politely screams old world elegance. This hotel was constructed on the site where John Hay and Henry Adams both had homes and is actually said to be haunted by the suicidal wife of Adams. Ghosts alone are not what draw visitors back to this Italian-style hotel that features such vital amenities as same day drying cleaning service, complimentary vehicle service in the morning, and a Bose CD system in every room. The hotel received national attention as the site where the Obama family briefly stayed during the transition period before moving into the White House.

Hay-Adams Hotel
16th and H Streets NW
One Lafayette Square
Washington DC, DC 20006
(202) 638-6600

An artsy hotel that could almost qualify the hotel as an art genre. For the person hoping to get in some golf while in the nation's capital, nothing in the city could possibly be better than this hotel's so-called Motion Rooms. Book ahead to place yourself in one only eight rooms at the Palomar that qualify for this distinction that includes personal fitness waiting for you inside the room. If that is not enough, the Palomar also has yoga classes and spinning bikes. If you can't get a Motion Room, "settle" for a Spa King room that sprawls across 500 square feet and has a marble bathroom highlight by a Fuji soaking tub for you and your significant other. The rooms feature a mini-bar and 37-inch flat screen. You can even leave laptop computers up to 17 inches behind with good conscience in the special laptop safes inside the rooms. The hotel welcomes pets as long as they are well behaved.

Hotel Palomar
2121 P Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
(877) 866-3070