Hotels

If you have a favorite brand of hotel chain, you're likely to find it represented in Washington, D.C. The Hilton family of Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, and Hilton Garden Inn properties offers good value for both business and leisure guests; the Marriott dynasty of 16 D.C. hotels includes upscale Renaissances, extended-stay Residence Inns, business-traveler mainstay Courtyard by Marriott, and the high-end traveler option, the JW Marriott; and our all-American Hyatt, Sheraton, and Omni brands offer a range, from the luxurious Park Hyatt to the more practical Four Points Sheraton.

International chains, like Ireland's gracious Jurys and France's chic Sofitel, are here. So is Kimpton Group Hotels, the un-chainlike chain, that now counts 10 hotels in the D.C. area and continues to up the ante on chicly whimsical lodging. One of the new brands to debut here in 2008 was the hip Thompson Hotels Collection, in the form of Donovan House, whose description is found in the "Midtown" section of this edition.

Luxury lodging is big business in D.C. The Four Seasons, two Ritz-Carltons, and the Mandarin Oriental vie with each other -- and with three exquisite smaller establishments, the Hay-Adams, the St. Regis, and the Jefferson hotels -- for the patronage of the wealthy. (The Jefferson has been closed for an immense renovation, which precludes its inclusion in this edition; the hotel [www.thejeffersonwashingtondc.com] should be open for business by the time you read this.)

Washington also has quite a number of beloved, homegrown accommodations, from the romantic Swann House in the Dupont Circle neighborhood to the Georgetown Suites, always a remarkable deal given its buzzing locale.

Choosing a Neighborhood

Most of Washington's hotels lie downtown, near Dupont Circle, and in the West End/Foggy Bottom areas, with a handful scattered in Georgetown, on Capitol Hill, and northward on Connecticut Avenue. Each of these communities has its own character.

If proximity to Capitol Hill is important to you, consider the cluster of hotels on the north side of the Hill, close to Union Station and just off North Capitol Street. If you want to be within a short walk of the National Mall, think about staying in either the lah-di-dah Mandarin Oriental or the family-friendly Residence Inn, each just a couple of blocks from the Smithsonian-lined Mall. They are convenient for sightseeing and in the thick of things during the day. Both areas, especially the neighborhood closest to the Mall, can feel isolated at night, when tourist sites and offices close and Hill staff, government office workers, and museumgoers go home. The hotels are not near residential areas, and restaurants and shops are few.

To take the pulse of the city as it goes about its business, stay in a downtown hotel. This is also where you should stay if you want to be able to walk to good restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Divided into two sections here, Penn Quarter (btw. 6th and 15th sts. NW) and Midtown (btw. 15th and 21st sts. NW), Washington's downtown is bustling day and night all week long. Hotels in the downtown segment east of 15th Street are close to theaters and several museums; properties on or near Pennsylvania Avenue, like the Willard or the JW Marriott, are within walking distance of the National Mall and the White House. The Hotel Monaco, between 7th and 8th streets, is just a few blocks north of Pennsylvania Avenue, the Newseum, and the National Gallery. Downtown hotels west of 15th Street are also within a stroll of the White House, as well as some smaller museums, like Decatur House and the Renwick and Corcoran galleries.

If you prefer the feel of a residential neighborhood, look to hotels in Dupont Circle and Woodley Park. For a taste of campus life, you might choose lodging in Foggy Bottom; the accommodations near Pennsylvania Avenue and Washington Circle border George Washington University's widening campus. And if you're a serious shopper, Georgetown should be your top choice, with Dupont Circle as your second pick.

Within each neighborhood heading, I further organize hotels by rate categories, based on their lowest high-season rates for double rooms: Very Expensive (from about $350 and up); Expensive (from about $250); Moderate (from about $175); and Inexpensive (anything under $175). But these categories are intended as a general guideline only -- rates can rise and fall dramatically, depending on how busy the hotel is. In 2008, the rise in D.C. hotel rates also reflected increased energy prices and property values, for which hotels were having to pay substantially higher taxes than in the past; that may still be true. Nevertheless, it's often possible to obtain a special package or a better rate than the first rate quoted, as the next section explains.

All That Jazz

For a pleasurable evening's entertainment, you need look no further than the bar/lounge or in-house restaurant of your own or a nearby hotel. The genre is usually jazz, the performers are top-notch, and the admission is free. So if it's a Sunday night, you might want to plant yourself in the paneled parlor of the Hotel Tabard Inn to listen to bassist Victor Dvoskin play world-class jazz, often accompanied by a guitarist. Weeknights, locals crowd into the Renaissance Mayflower hotel's fabled Town & Country Lounge for happy hour to imbibe bartender Sambonn Lek's legendary cocktails, gobble complimentary hors d'oeuvres, and enjoy the jazz and other standards turned out by the resident pianist. And every single night, starting at 9pm, the Phoenix Park Hotel's Dubliner restaurant is the place to be if you enjoy hoisting a pint to the tune of "Danny Boy" and rowdier Irish ballads, performed live by musicians with such names as "Conor Malone" and "Andy O'Driscoll."

Adams-Morgan

The hotels listed here are situated just north of Dupont Circle, more at the mouth of Adams-Morgan than within its actual boundaries.

Inexpensive

In addition to the Woodley Park Guest House, listed below, you might consider the Woodley Park location of the Kalorama Guest House, at 2700 Cathedral Ave. NW (entrance on 27th St.; tel. 800/974-9101 or 202/328-0860; fax 202/328-8730; www.kaloramaguesthouse.com), which has 18 units, 12 with private bathrooms. Rates are $140 for a double with a shared bathroom, $155 to $185 for a double with private bathroom, and include an expansive breakfast. A communal television and telephone are available in the parlor; individual guest rooms do not provide TV or telephone at this location. Free Wi-Fi access is available in all the rooms of the main house. Very limited parking (only two spots) is available for $15 plus tax, and the Woodley Park-Zoo Metro stop is nearby.