Best Hotels with Rooftop Bars & Pools in Washington DC (2026)

The most quietly excellent luxury hotel in the American capital, where Thomas Jefferson's influence permeates every detail — from original documents in the reading room to Quill restaurant's colonial-inspired tasting menus. The 99 rooms are among DC's largest and most elegantly furnished, with an attentiveness that White House neighbors would expect.

• Downtown
• Luxury
• Historic

★ 9.5 Hotelier's Choice score, 40+ criteria · Many rooms include free cancellation

The closest hotel to the White House with an unobstructed North Lawn view from the Off the Record bar — Washington's most storied political watering hole. Open since 1928 in a Florentine Renaissance building where Henry Adams once hosted the city's intellectual elite, the Hay-Adams remains DC's most atmospheric power address.

• Lafayette Square
• Luxury
• Views

★ 9.3 Hotelier's Choice score, 40+ criteria · Many rooms include free cancellation

A refined, low-key luxury property in the West End that serves the Georgetown and Embassy Row clientele with exceptional spa facilities, a Blue Duck Tavern restaurant consistently ranked among DC's best, and suites that feel like a private ambassador's residence. Far from the tourist scrum but 20 minutes by foot to Georgetown's towpaths.

• Georgetown
• Luxury
• Spa

★ 9.2 Hotelier's Choice score, 40+ criteria · Many rooms include free cancellation

A stunning adaptive reuse of the 1891 Riggs National Bank building — a Washington institution that handled the payroll for the Civil War — with the original banking hall now housing Silver Lyan, a spectacular cocktail bar with a cerulean mosaic ceiling. The 181 rooms combine the grandeur of the gilded banking era with contemporary Italian design.

• Penn Quarter
• Boutique
• Historic

★ 9.1 Hotelier's Choice score, 40+ criteria · Many rooms include free cancellation

Georgetown's premier boutique hotel occupies a handsome Federal building steps from Wisconsin Avenue, with 57 rooms that balance historic character with upscale comfort, and a rooftop lounge with views over Georgetown's slate rooftops to the Washington Monument. The intimate scale makes it feel like a private club rather than a hotel.

• Georgetown
• Boutique
• Couples

★ 9.0 Hotelier's Choice score, 40+ criteria · Many rooms include free cancellation

DC's most politically engaged hotel — a progressive boutique property on K Street with a radio studio, cinema, co-working space, and a wellness floor with reflexology rooms and a spa. The Michelin-recognized Wing restaurant and a commitment to social justice causes make it a home base for activists, journalists, and creatives.

• Downtown
• Boutique
• Solo

★ 8.9 Hotelier's Choice score, 40+ criteria · Many rooms include free cancellation