Where to stay
ROOM SERVICE
Washington, DC
Paula Maynard casts her vote on the places to check into in the US capital
Good value
THE NORMANDY HOTEL
Business
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL WASHINGTON, DC
Georgetown; DC’s
Where downtown meets
Groovy
DONOVAN HOUSE
On Thomas Circle
Splurge
THE HAY-ADAMS
Directly across from the White House: head east for the shops on F Street and south for the National Mall A grand home designed by interior designer Thomas Pheasant—it’s classic, elegant and welcoming Coiffed ladies-wholunch; the Obamas have stayed in the Presidential Suite 145 rooms and 21 suites with toile curtains, bed canopies and Edwardian-
Location
In a quiet, leafy enclave surrounded by embassies, close to the designer shopping district of Friendship Heights Wonderfully plush with wood-burning ?res and a library where histories and mysteries can be borrowed
museums and monuments are a 10-minute cab ride away A 1970s red-brick building with plush art deco-in?uenced interiors: black-and-white?oors and walnut-lined lifts Known as the power breakfast place, this is where diplomats come to broker deals 222 rooms, including 58 suites, with polished wood and bathrooms big enough to host a small party
at the edge of the business district
Look
Contemporary with a retro wink: two large,
transparent bubble chairs
hang from the lobby ceiling Smooth-skinned hipsters with leather jackets and Blake Lively hair 193 rooms and 17 suites;
Crowd
European visitors
discussing the exhibits of the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum 75 small but chic rooms with a distinctly French vibe and marble bathrooms There’s no restaurant, just a Continental
Rooms
conch-shaped showers
in frosted Plexiglas add a cutting-edge vibe Feast on sashimi and a Singapore slaw mixed at the table in Zentan restaurant In the summer, the rooftop pool and bar; in winter, the Zentan’s sexy, low-lit bar The moody bar staff
style bathrooms
breakfast
Best thing People-watching at the
Daily Indulgence, the free
cheese-and-wine evenings Some of the corridors are
Swarovski crystals
The entrance to the Royal Suite is inlaid with
Unencumbered views of the White House; brunches in the Top of the Hay Suite Although in-room treatments can be arranged, a hotel of this calibre should have a spa Doubles from US$329 ( 17,850) 800 16th Street, NW (+1 202 638 6600; www.hayadams.com)
Worst thing
scruffy and could do with
Doubles from US$219 ( 11,880)
patching up and repainting
There’s a US$15 ( 810) a day charge to upgrade to a high-speed wi-? connection Doubles from US$545 ( 29,560) 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (+1 202 342 0444; www.fourseasons.com)
Price Contact
Doubles from US$241 ( 13,070) 1155 14th Street, NW (+1 202 737 1200; www. donovanhousehotel.com)
2118 Wyoming Avenue NW (+1 202 483 1350; www. doylecollection.com)
Top tip
Combine your US vacation with a Gulf break this summer by ?ying with Etihad Airways (www.etihadairways. com. Stopover in Abu Dhabi) or Emirates (www.emirates.com. Stopover in Dubai), both of which ?y daily to DC
94 Condé Nast Traveller June-July 2013
PHOTOGRAPHS: SHUTTERSTOCK; STOCKFOOD/DINODIA; KEN CEDENO/CORBIS
Eating & drinking
Brad Pitt and Denzel
Washington are fond of Bourbon Steak, the American steakhouse
Lafayette restaurant is known for its
herb?crusted rack of lamb