9 Washington Hotels Close Enough to Walk the Mall Twice

The National Mall is two miles long. On a map it looks like a park you could stroll across; in practice, walking from the Capitol at one end to the Lincoln Memorial at the other is about forty minutes without stopping, in the open, with no shade. In July, at 35 degrees and Washington's humidity, that walk defeats people.

The Mall is also where almost everything is. Nineteen Smithsonian museums, most of them free, plus the monuments, the memorials and the government buildings, all arranged along or immediately beside those two miles.

Why proximity is worth paying for here

Because the way to do Washington is in short bursts. Two hours in a museum, back to the hotel, out again at five when the light is good and the memorials are lit. That works if you are ten minutes away. It does not work if you are across the river in Arlington or out past Dupont.

The hotels that make it work sit in a band north of the Mall: around the White House, along Pennsylvania Avenue, and in Penn Quarter. From there the Mall is a five to fifteen-minute walk, and so are the restaurants, which the Mall itself does not have.

Georgetown, west along the river, is the other option: the most attractive neighbourhood in the city, cobbled and Federal-era, with the shops and the towpath. It is also twenty-five minutes from the Mall and has no Metro station, which is a genuine inconvenience.

The ten below are grouped accordingly.

Around the White House and Lafayette Square

The closest hotels to both the Mall and the restaurants.

The Hay - Adams sits directly across Lafayette Square from the White House, in a 1928 Italian Renaissance building, with the most famous political bar in America in the basement. The White House-facing rooms are the ones to book.

The Jefferson, Washington, DC occupies a Beaux-Arts building two blocks from the White House with a marble-floored atrium, a very good restaurant and the most discreet service in the city.

The St. Regis Washington, D.C. sits opposite the White House in a 1926 building with a courtyard, a spa and rooms that are among the largest in Washington.

Waldorf Astoria Washington DC occupies a 1926 property near the Mall with a restrained interior, a spa and the shortest walk to the Washington Monument of this group.

Pennsylvania Avenue and Penn Quarter

Between the White House and the Capitol, with the museums, the theatres and the restaurants.

Willard InterContinental Washington by IHG occupies the 1901 landmark on Pennsylvania Avenue where the lobby gave the word lobbyist its currency, two blocks from the Mall and next to the Smithsonian castle end.

Riggs Washington DC sits in the former Riggs Bank building in Penn Quarter with the old vault as a bar and the best design of any hotel in the city.

Conrad Washington DC occupies a contemporary building at CityCenterDC with a full-height atrium, all-suite rooms and the shortest walk to the National Portrait Gallery.

Georgetown and the West End

The river end. Prettier, further, and no Metro.

Four Seasons Washington DC sits on the edge of Georgetown by the C&O canal with a spa, a pool and the best service in Washington. It is a twenty-minute walk along the river to the Lincoln Memorial.

The Watergate Hotel occupies the curved 1960s building beside the Kennedy Center, restored, with a rooftop bar over the Potomac and a name that needs no explanation.

Salamander Washington DC sits in the West End with a large spa, a pool and rooms that are the most comfortable in this part of the city.

What we have left off

The Crystal City and Arlington hotels are excluded. They are across the Potomac in Virginia, they are considerably cheaper, and they are a Metro ride from the Mall, which removes the short-burst rhythm that makes Washington work.

What to do

Go early or late. The memorials are floodlit at night and almost empty after nine, which is the best time to see them. The museums open at ten and are quietest at opening.

The Smithsonian museums are free and there are nineteen of them. Pick three. Air and Space, Natural History and American History are the obvious ones; the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery and the African American History and Culture museum are the better ones, and the last of those requires timed passes.

Book the Capitol and, if you can, the White House and the Washington Monument well in advance; access rules vary and change.

Walk or cycle the Mount Vernon trail along the Potomac, and cross to Arlington cemetery.

Eat in Penn Quarter, Shaw and the 14th Street corridor, which is where the city's food has moved.

Practical notes

Reagan National is 15 minutes from the centre and on the Metro, which makes it the most convenient. Dulles is 45 minutes; BWI is further.

April brings the cherry blossom and enormous crowds. May, September and October are the best months. July and August are hot and humid in a way that surprises visitors. Winter is cold and quiet.

The Metro is clean and easy. Georgetown has no station, which is the single most annoying fact about Washington.

Questions people actually ask

How far apart are the monuments?

Further than the map suggests. The Mall is two miles end to end with no shade.

Is Georgetown a good base?

It is the prettiest neighbourhood and the least convenient. Lovely for a longer stay, awkward for a museum-heavy three days.

Are the Smithsonians really free?

Yes, all of them. Some require timed passes booked in advance.

How many nights?

Four. Three is enough for the monuments and two museums, and the fourth is what stops it feeling like a march.

If you only book one

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