14 Best Luxury and Boutique Hotels in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., is a really perfect city for a weekend getaway. Each block is dense with history, art, and culture, enough to prompt hours-long, head-tipped-up strolls gawking at all of it. Lately, newly (re)developed neighborhoods just like the Navy Yard and the Wharf have emerged; here, cutting-edge restaurants and contemporary hotels have established themselves as local hubs for changemakers. Whether that is your first or fifteenth visit to the nation’s capital, whether you wish timeless elegance or a rush of youthful energy, Afar’s Hotels We Love list of 14 of the most effective properties in Washington, D.C., will serve you well.

Canal House of Georgetown, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

• Neighborhood: Georgetown
• Why we find it irresistible: A soothing neighborhood location that takes you away from the hustle and bustle of downtown
• Loyalty: Marriott Bonvoy
• From $352
• Book now

Set just a few steps from the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Georgetown, this newest member of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio opened in March 2025, and it offers a design-forward but cheaper option than the Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood on the identical block. Public spaces include a library lounge, a personal courtyard, and a bar serving drinks like barrel-aged sangria, while the C+O Lounge restaurant feels deeply rooted within the mid-Atlantic due to a menu that features apple cider waffles, Chesapeake crab cake Benedict, Allegheny venison steak, and pawpaw pudding.

The red-brick facade pays homage to the previous industrial buildings lining the canal, however the 107 guest rooms, including specialty suites and two attached townhouses, are decidedly more urbane. Think long, slinky marble desks, brass accents, globe lights, and playful modern art that honors area icons, resembling Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Conrad Washington D.C.

• Neighborhood: Downtown
• Why we find it irresistible: Its soaring atrium and eco-conscious habits
• Loyalty: Hilton Honors
• From $340
• Book now

The sleek Conrad—certainly one of Afar’s best recent hotels of 2020—is the antithesis of a stuffy old Beltway hotel. Built as a part of the brand new CityCenterDC development, the Conrad was designed by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron. The hotel has 360 serene guest rooms and suites, all with floor-to-ceiling windows, some with views of the Capitol dome. A central atrium fills the lobby with natural light, and art installations encourage guests to stop and reflect.

Sustainability can also be front of mind on the Conrad. It achieved LEED Gold Certification with smart selections like a vegetated rooftop that filters and recycles rainwater, which is then used for the hotel’s cooling towers and air con (a necessary in D.C.’s steamy summers). Meanwhile, the third-floor terraces offer green spaces for hotel guests and restaurant goers to chill out; the kitchens also partner with Builder’s Inc., a food donation center that accepts leftover packaged goods, frozen foods, and ready-to-eat food.

Dupont Circle Hotel

• Neighborhood: Dupont Circle
• Why we find it irresistible: Recently renovated—and thoroughly stylish—public spaces that attract the most effective and brightest
• Loyalty: I Prefer (Preferred Hotels & Resorts)
• From $215
• Book now

Fortunes and friendships change quickly in D.C., however the Dupont Circle Hotel has yet to exit of fashion. Set right on the roundabout itself, the eponymous hotel assumes a spot of pride. Inside, the location’s Martin Brudnizki–designed restaurant, The Pembroke—with its coral velvet banquettes, marble tables, and expansive outdoor terrace—has birthed a scene. Due to its location across the corner from Embassy Row, everyone from tony locals to visiting diplomats gather here to enjoy its mid-Atlantic-inspired menu, while the walnut-and-brass-clad Doyle is a whiskey bar fit for Ireland (home base of the Doyle Collection).

The 327 sleek guest rooms take similar advantage of their surroundings, most with large windows overlooking the circle. Upstairs, Irish designer Clodagh (yes, she’s mononymous) refreshed the penthouse suites, where spaces for relaxing include deep soaking tubs and personal terraces with sun loungers. Clodagh also redesigned the lobby, which has the appear and feel of a high-end apartment, due to details like a comfy fireplace and a look-through bookcase with brass accents. Better of all, though, is the sensation of walking out the front door within the morning and knowing that the capital is at your step.

Eaton D.C.

• Neighborhood: Downtown
• Why we find it irresistible: A socially conscious spot that connects like-minded travelers
• Loyalty: Sensible by Langham
• From $167
• Book now

Founded by third-generation hotelier Katherine Lo (her family runs the Hong Kong–based Langham luxury hotel group), Eaton D.C. goals to bring together travelers, locals, and members who share a like-minded sensibility—namely, one centered on creativity, awareness, and making change. As with Eaton’s Hong Kong location, the D.C. outpost fosters recent ideas by providing private and communal working spaces, areas designed to encourage connection and conversation, and a daily calendar of programming (Tibetan sound healing, Afrosoul yoga). Eaton Radio, the hotel’s own community radio station, is especially cool, with its underground music and talk shows.

Those checking in amid all this buzz can pick from 4 comfortable room categories, from cabins to suites (all, conveniently, pet friendly). All have a “global nomad” vibe, with colourful textile accents, Himalayan salt lamps, and pillow-top mattresses, together with Grown Alchemist bath products, health-centric mini-bars, Bluetooth speakers, and record players. Once settled in, gather with others at Michele’s by chef Matt Baker, rooftop bar Wild Days, and speakeasy Allegory, which includes a mural by local artist Erik Thor Sandberg depicting the young Ruby Bridges—certainly one of the primary Black children to desegregate a Southern school within the Nineteen Sixties.

Hay-Adams

• Neighborhood: Lafayette Square
• Why we find it irresistible: Classic Old World charm overlooking the White House
• Loyalty: Leaders Club (Leading Hotels of the World)
• From $399
• Book now

Not everyone gets to live across the road from the White House. Before the present Italian Renaissance–style hotel was constructed in 1927, the prime real estate where the Hay-Adams sits was occupied by the homes of two now-lesser-known American politicians: John Hay (personal secretary to Abraham Lincoln, ambassador to the UK, and Secretary of State under each William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt) and Henry Adams (Harvard professor and great-grandson of John Adams). Their houses were hubs of D.C. culture for a long time on the turn of the twentieth century, and so, when the Hay-Adams opened, it was only logical that the hotel would proceed that tradition.

Everyone from Amelia Earhart to the Obamas has stayed in its handsome old-world rooms: amongst them, 124 guest rooms and 21 suites overlooking historic Lafayette Square and the White House beyond. The hotel is thought for its discreet and comprehensive, no-questions-asked service. And don’t miss a drink at Off the Record, a basement cocktail bar with a group of political cartoons and caricatures from legendary artists like Matt Wuerker, Kevin Kallaugher, and Ann Telnaes.

The Jefferson, DC

• Neighborhood: Downtown
• Why we find it irresistible: An old-world vibe with modern touches and a beautiful lobby skylight
• From $490
• Book now

The Jefferson, DC began life as a Beaux-Arts apartment block within the Nineteen Twenties and was transformed into the icon it’s today after a 2009 overhaul. Despite its unassuming, if stately, exterior—which blends in with the opposite residential buildings along sixteenth Street—the interiors are decidedly more majestic. Architects uncovered a lobby skylight, which had been hidden since World War II, that now crowns the hotel restaurant. The Greenhouse, because it’s appropriately called, serves Virginia oysters with strawberry Prosecco mignonette, 24-hour-braised short ribs, and truffled French onion soup under a puff-pastry dome.

The 99 rooms are polished without feeling stuffy. But squint on the crown molding, gold-framed artworks, and durable furnishings, and you’ll be able to almost persuade yourself you’re inside a guest bedroom on the White House. Adding to that feeling is the hotel’s small collection of framed documents signed by the third president himself.

Pendry Washington D.C.

• Neighborhood: The Wharf
• Why we find it irresistible: Family-friendly hotel with a major location on the Potomac River
• From $335
• Book now

Those traveling with kids in D.C. should make the Wharf—and inside it, the Pendry—their base. As certainly one of the town’s newest lifestyle-focused neighborhoods, the Wharf is a walkable stretch of waterfront with marina access and quite a lot of restaurants, bars, and activities to pick from. Want s’mores kits from an on-site Airstream? An arcade and an Irish pub? Falafel and oysters and Cuban coffee and thin-crust pizza? Perhaps not suddenly, but yes! Find them here.

Bringing an additional dose of luxury to the event was the Pendry, which opened in 2022 as the life-style brand’s seventh property. With 93 guest rooms and 38 suites—and an outside (heated) pool, a rare amenity in D.C.—the Pendry appears like a refuge from the day’s sightseeing. The design is sophisticated minimalism, with picture windows in lots of rooms offering views out over the Potomac. Enjoy a salt-scrub-and-hot-stone massage on the Spa Pendry, followed by a cocktail on the moody Bar Pendry or a Japanese whiskey and snacks (nigiri, yaki puffs) on the rooftop Moonraker.

Riggs Washington DC

• Neighborhood: Penn Quarter
• Why we find it irresistible: History-rich interiors and a pilgrimage-worthy cocktail lounge
• Loyalty: I Prefer (Preferred Hotels & Resorts)
• From $280
• Book now

This transformation of the historic and stately National Bank into the Riggs hotel is almost miraculous. The brand new entity manages to honor the grandeur of the Romanesque Revival constructing without the nippiness factor that would have resulted from all those hard marble surfaces. As a substitute, the landmarked constructing retains some iconic bank fixtures like coffered and barrel-vaulted ceilings and modified teller windows at reception, but leavens all the things with a touch of caprice: An extravagant floral display introduces color, plush seating and theater-worthy curtains add texture, and the full of life sounds of silverware and laughter from the all-day Cafe Riggs break the solemn hush. The bank’s basement vault has been repurposed into a surprising cocktail bar, Silver Lyan, which prides itself on unusual ingredients and thoughtful preparations. (Recent cocktails have included ingredients like “embalmed jackfruit,” “blood foam,” “rust vermouth,” and “pawpaw amazake.”)

Upstairs, guest rooms feature stylishly hued soft furnishings by Voutsa. 4 suites, named for 4 first ladies, are decorated with elements that reflect their interests. As an example, you’ll discover a baby grand piano within the suite named for music lover Louisa Adams, and a plethora of flower-print fabrics within the rooms dedicated to Ida McKinley. The yin/yang play of the Riggs—where soft is juxtaposed with hard, pretty with austere, cool with warm—mirrors a city where impulses often waver between heartfelt public service and chilly ambition.

Rosewood Washington, D.C.

• Neighborhood: Georgetown
• Why we find it irresistible: Stately townhouses in the guts of a university ‘hood
• Loyalty: Rosewood Rewards
• From $700
• Book now

Georgetown is its own world of federal-style architecture and cobblestone streets, where university students huddle over free Wi-Fi in coffee shops. A motorcycle path runs along the C&O Canal, and along that trail sits Rosewood Washington, D.C.—a Nineteen Sixties red-brick office constructing reborn in 2013 as a hotel, with 57 rooms, including 12 suites and eight townhouses, a rooftop pool, and a fitness center. The multi-story, 1,000-square-foot townhouses sleep as much as 4 (with connecting townhouses available) and are available with all the trimmings of home, but way nicer: Bosch washer/dryer, Toto toilet and heated marble floors, and each day housekeeping and turndown service.

Rosewood took over in 2016, bringing its attention to detail—hand-upholstered furniture, silk curtains, eclectic artwork in each room—and a commitment to local experiences. The hotel’s culture calendar includes champagne and caviar dinners at Wolfgang Puck’s Cut restaurant and guided tours through the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Meanwhile, Georgetown University’s important campus is a 10-minute walk away.

Salamander Washington DC

• Neighborhood: Southwest
• Why we find it irresistible: A refreshed design and among the best recent restaurants in the town
• Loyalty: I Prefer (Preferred Hotels & Resorts)
• From $400
• Book now

Virginia-based Salamander Hotels and Resorts is owned by BET cofounder Sheila Johnson, America’s first Black female billionaire, and the corporate expanded into D.C. in 2022 when it took over the previous Mandarin Oriental. A number of blocks south of the National Mall, overlooking the Tidal Basin, the constructing draws on French neoclassical influences, with a rotunda that calls to mind the work of John Russell Pope, the architect behind the nearby Jefferson Memorial.

In early 2025, the Salamander DC accomplished a property-wide renovation that has yielded sophisticated public spaces, including a recent spa, and 373 reimagined guest rooms with a pastel-leaning palette and soft, curvy furnishings. On the front desk, behold the huge bas-relief installation by Art Space NYC that depicts nearby monuments, cherry blossoms, and horses to symbolize the brand new U.S. Park Police Horse Stables, which Johnson helped fund. Essentially the most attention-grabbing space, nevertheless, is undoubtedly Dōgon, a recent Afro-Caribbean restaurant by chef Kwame Onwuachi. The Top Chef favorite draws on his Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Creole background to make dishes resembling Hoe crab, bone marrow with jerk BBQ lamb, and berbere-roasted chicken with jollof rice.

The St. Regis Washington, D.C.

• Neighborhood: Downtown
• Why we find it irresistible: A presidential past and refreshed rooms
• Loyalty: Marriott Bonvoy
• From $405
• Book now

Originally opened because the Carlton Hotel in 1926 (before becoming a St. Regis in 1999), this historic property has been a fixture among the many capital’s political elite for nearly a century—ever since President Calvin Coolidge cut the grand-opening ribbon. Ronald Reagan used to drop by to get his hair cut by the hotel barber, while Robert F. Kennedy called its chocolate parfait his favorite dessert of all time. Befitting all those power brokers, the St. Regis is appropriately grand, from the palatial lobby—with its Florentine gold ceiling and crystal chandeliers—to the fireplace-lit St. Regis Bar.

Despite its historic bona fides, the St. Regis is removed from stuck prior to now. A 2024 refresh has left the 182 rooms and suites feeling airy and modern, due to a soothing palette of blues, grays, and golds and bathrooms with marble vanities. Dedicated butlers for suite guests means you’ll have access to packing and unpacking services, garment pressing, and occasional or tea after morning wake-up call.

Thompson Washington D.C.

• Neighborhood: Navy Yard
• Why we find it irresistible: Those rooftop views and chic industrial vibe
• Loyalty: World of Hyatt
• From $251
• Book now

The Thompson, which opened in early 2020, matches comfortably within the Navy Yard, a colonial-era neighborhood that’s having fun with a renaissance. Set inside home-run distance of Nationals Park baseball stadium, the hotel offers views of each the Anacostia River and the town. Expect a lot of crisp navy-blue details and nautical curves on partitions and furniture (the inside design hints on the neighborhood’s history as a port for shipping and shipbuilding). You’ll also see elements that reflect the realm’s industrial vibe, like lofty ceilings and tall, metal-paned windows in guest rooms and public spaces.

The Rooftop on the Thompson has turn into the hotel’s hallmark. Its floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive outdoor terrace have made it a year-round go-to spot for sundowners overlooking the river. The venue also plays host to events like Breaking Sound, which showcases rising musical stars from around the town.

Waldorf Astoria Washington DC

• Neighborhood: Downtown
• Why we find it irresistible: It’s not a Trump hotel anymore!
• Loyalty: Hilton Honors
• From $771
• Book now

What a turn of tides for the previous Trump hotel: Acquired by a Miami-based investment company for $375 million in 2021, then leased to Hilton, the Old Post Office Constructing is now a Waldorf Astoria. The Eighteen Nineties Richardsonian Romanesque landmark still maintains its imposing clocktower, arches, and turrets, but gone are the omnipresent protestors; of their place are flocks of business travelers lingering over coffee and actual newspapers in Peacock Alley, a gilded grand atrium with tufted banquettes and soothing natural light.

The 263 guest rooms and suites are truly sumptuous, with softly lit chandeliers and ornate frames surrounding sink-in king-size beds. The on-site spa has six treatment rooms, a Himalayan salt therapy room, and a rest area with secluded resting cocoons. Every little thing seems a bit more peaceful around here as of late.

Willard InterContinental Washington D.C.

• Neighborhood: Pershing Park
• Why we find it irresistible: Its 200-year legacy (and afternoon tea)
• Loyalty: IHG One Rewards
• From $307
• Book now

The Willard has quite the history, dating back to before the American Civil War, when it was Willard’s City Hotel and the house of sitting presidents (Franklin Pierce) and later vice presidents (Calvin Coolidge). As legend goes, President Ulysses S. Grant coined the word “lobbyist” here, naming the hustlers who bothered him while he enjoyed a cigar and brandy within the Willard’s lobby. In 1901, the brick constructing was torn down and replaced with the Beaux-Arts–style hotel that stands today, where it stays an icon on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nowadays, the Willard InterContinental is less the backup White House and more kid- and pet-friendly, with classic rooms and suites in navy, ivory, and grey; a French brasserie; and a beautiful afternoon tea. The robust Kids’ Concierge program (ages 11 and under) gives younger guests the possibility to earn “Duck Bucks” to be redeemed at Le Café inside Café du Parc.

Prior reporting by Julia Cosgrove, Christian Mirasol, Ann Shields, Devorah Lev-Tov, and Sandra Ramani.