The Hay-Adams
The 1928 Italian Renaissance grand dame on Lafayette Square – the White House across the park, a bar called Off the Record downstairs.
White House, Downtown & West End · Washington, DC
A sense of the place
Why it's in the collection
Because it has faced the White House across Lafayette Square since 1928 – an independent grand dame of four-star standing, with a balcony that looks straight across at the White House.
- 800 16th Street NW on Lafayette Square, facing the White House; opened in 1928 in Italian Renaissance style by architect Mihran Mesrobian for developer Harry Wardman, on the site of the homes of John Hay and Henry Adams.
- 145 rooms including 21 suites; the Federal Suite has a private balcony overlooking the White House, and the Lafayette Park View Suites face the square.
- The Lafayette restaurant, the Off the Record bar – reimagined in red by Thomas Pheasant – and Top of the Hay, the rooftop events space with White House views.
- Independent, restored by Thomas Pheasant in 2001-2002; the Hay-Adams Room is paneled with wood from the original Hay house.
Suites and rates
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Reviews
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The neighborhood
White House, Downtown & West End
Lafayette Square, Pennsylvania Avenue and the West End – three hotels within a walk of the White House, the Smithsonian museums on the Mall and the Kennedy Center.
- Lafayette Square and the White House, across the street.
- St. John's Church, the Church of the Presidents, next door on the square.
- The Renwick Gallery on the corner of the square, and the Mall's museums fifteen minutes beyond.
“The 1928 Italian Renaissance grand dame on Lafayette Square – the White House across the park, a bar called Off the Record downstairs.”
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