The Hay-Adams
800 16th Street NW
Across from Lafayette Square. The White House is just across the road.
The grand entrance of a historic Washington establishment
In December 2018, a group of women who called themselves the Travel Hags came here for breakfast. One of them, Pat Granados, lived in Washington and recommended this place. When they walked into the lobby, the doorman led them to the restaurant and took their coats and umbrellas. They used one word to describe the entire process: graciously.
In the restaurant, they heard some stories from the servers. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stayed here when they visited Washington. The server said they were wonderful people, polite, considerate, a joy to serve. Morgan Freeman once ordered a small portion of a dish and complained the plate was too small, requesting a larger plate. A few months later he came back and ordered the same dish. The server remembered his preference and proactively asked: Mr. Freeman, are you wanting a larger plate?
The Origins
Before the Hotel
This hotel opened in 1928. But the story of this piece of land goes back to 1884.
John Hay and Henry Adams bought two adjacent plots at the corner of 16th and H Streets. The two men commissioned Henry Hobson Richardson to design two Romanesque residences. Hay had been Lincoln's private secretary and later became Secretary of State. Adams was a Harvard professor, a historian, and a descendant of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The two families, along with geologist Clarence King and two wives, five people in total, called themselves "The Five of Hearts," with this emblem printed on their stationery and china.
Mark Twain visited this corner. Theodore Roosevelt was a frequent guest. Henry James was also among the visitors.
A Century of Transformation
The Transformation
Timeless elegance preserved through decades
Italian Renaissance details throughout
In October 2001, the hotel closed for renovation. The designer was Thomas Pheasant. A Washington native, Architectural Digest called him the "Dean of American Design" in 2005. This renovation cost $20 million and took four and a half months. It reopened in March 2002. The Washington Post said this was the hotel's first major renovation since 1928. (Hard to imagine going over seventy years without major renovation.)
Pheasant's approach was to preserve the 1920s elements. Plaster ceilings, fireplaces, wainscoting. He changed the color scheme, using soft neutral tones and gold. Light fixtures were replaced but crystal decorations were retained. Executive Chef Peter Schaffrath said the new kitchen cost $1.7 million. He called it a chef's dream. Servers got new uniforms, each costing $300.
Off the Record
In the basement. Red walls, red chairs, red menus. The walls are covered with political cartoons.
Hans Bruland is the hotel's Vice President and General Manager. In a 2018 C-SPAN interview, he explained the coaster situation. The bar's coasters feature caricatures of politicians, drawn by Pulitzer Prize winner Matt Wuerker. Bruland said guests trade coasters with each other. Someone might know Biden but not Kamala Harris. Strangers strike up conversations this way.
People sitting at the bar start conversations, and they'll trade coasters. They'll ask each other, 'Who's that?'
In 2016, there were more Republicans on the coasters because there were more primary candidates. Ben Carson's coaster showed him picking olives with surgical forceps. By the 2019 Democratic primary, they were replaced with Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the rest. The hotel has to pay royalties and print thousands, so they only select people who will stay in public memory for several months. Wuerker said it's hard to choose now, "With the rapid turnover in the current administration, it's been tough to pick characters that are going to stick around."
There's a nine-person booth in the bar called the bench. It has portraits of the nine Supreme Court justices hanging above it, with a ceremonial gavel placed in the center of the table. Snacks are free. Olives, salted nuts, pickles. A 2019 Washington Post report said these were the best bar snacks in the city.
A guest from Maui, Hawaii, Steve L, wrote on Tripadvisor: Off The Record, a bar that has seen 26 presidents. He specifically mentioned bartender Victor, generous pours.
In January 2009, the Obama family stayed here for two weeks. Blair House was occupied and hadn't been vacated yet.
A journalist from Philadelphia magazine later visited a similar suite and wrote: No large chandeliers, intricately latticed moldings are painted white rather than splashy gilt, pale green printed fabric used from curtains to bed canopy.
The Rooms
145 Unique Spaces
The hotel has 145 rooms, 21 of which are suites. No two are exactly alike. A characteristic of old buildings. The smallest room is 245 square feet, about 23 square meters. U.S. News' review said the rooms tend to be small; you need to upgrade to see the White House. Rooms on the south side can see the White House and Washington Monument. The Lafayette Park View Suite has 102 square meters, a separate bedroom, two bathrooms, and a dining table seating eight.
Guest Encounters
A Birthday to Remember
A Tripadvisor user wrote about his birthday stay. From check-in, everyone called him by name and wished him happy birthday. His room was upgraded. When he returned from dinner, he found a tray with champagne and birthday cake. He said: The overall service of this hotel is immaculate.
A Different Experience
Another user wasn't so lucky. She walked into the lobby looking for the restroom. Two doormen looked at her as if she didn't belong there. She asked, Could you please guide me to the ladies' room. The doorman said, We don't have one. She rephrased and said restroom. The doorman said, We don't have, then added: We have, but only for guests. The hotel management responded to this review.
The Fourth Floor
The corridors hold memories spanning more than a century
Marian Hooper Adams, everyone called her Clover. Henry Adams's wife. From a wealthy Boston family, surrounded by writers since childhood: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson. She was a photographer herself, with her own darkroom.
On December 6, 1885, she took her own life at the temporary residence on H Street. She used chemicals from developing photographs—potassium cyanide. They were waiting for their new house at the corner of 16th Street to be completed. She was 42 and never moved into that house.
The hotel was built on the land where she never lived.
Whispers of the Past
The staff don't like to bring these things up voluntarily. When the Travel Hags group visited, they asked the front desk. The receptionist said with a slight smile that the chandelier in the lobby sometimes sways on its own. Also, sometimes you can smell almonds.
Potassium cyanide smells like almonds.
Boundary Stones did a feature on this in 2018. They cited many sources, including the biography written by Natalie Dykstra, "Clover Adams: A Gilded and Heartbreaking Life." Supposedly, on the fourth floor, you can sometimes hear a woman crying. A housekeeper said she heard someone ask "What do you want" in an empty room. Some say they were embraced by something invisible. These things happen more often in the first two weeks of December.
The Travel Hags group experienced something in the restaurant. They were looking at the Christmas tree when an ornament suddenly fell off and rolled to the other side of the room. They thought they saw someone knock the ornament off. But when they looked again, no one was there. The manager smiled, picked up the ornament, and put it back on the tree. The word they used was dumbfounded.
That was December.
Where nothing is overlooked but the White House.
Essential Details
Lafayette Restaurant
Views of the White House and Lafayette Square. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sunday brunch available.
Off the Record
Monday to Friday: 4 PM to midnight. Weekends: 2 PM onwards. Manhattan is the most ordered drink.
Getting There
15 minutes from Reagan National Airport. 45 minutes from Dulles Airport. Farragut North metro station: 5-minute walk.
Parking & Transport
Parking: $62 per day. The hotel has bicycles available for borrowing. There's a bike lane right outside.
Recognition
AAA: Four Diamonds. Forbes Travel Guide: Four Stars. Both ratings maintained since 1984.
Pet Policy
Pets welcome. Dogs under 11 kg (24 lbs), reservation required.
Family Stays
Under 17: free without extra bed. Extra bed: $30 per night.
If I win the lottery, I will move into their nicest suite and die a very happy person, living there for the rest of my life.
The hotel management replied. They said they would save that suite for her. Lottery or not.
Though the guest who was refused the restroom probably won't be coming back.