Among the most architecturally spectacular hotels in Washington — the 1899 Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue, with its 315-foot clock tower (the third-tallest structure in DC and free to visit as a National Park Service site), transformed into the Waldorf Astoria DC after the Trump hotel conversion, with Art Deco interiors, a premier spas in the city, and the best single hotel location relative to both the Mall and Penn Quarter. The 315-foot clock tower is a National Park Service site open to visitors — a unusual amenity for a hotel guest.
Why We Chose It
The Old Post Office Pavilion is one of Washington's most beloved Victorian Romanesque buildings — a 1899 federal office that survived multiple demolition proposals over the century through sheer public affection, becoming a tourist destination in the 1980s and '90s before a hotel conversion. The 315-foot clock tower remains a National Park Service site accessible by free elevator to a public observation deck; the bells of Congress are housed here and rung for national events. The hotel's current incarnation as the Waldorf Astoria DC (following a period as a Trump Hotel) represents the building's highest architectural expression: the Romanesque stone exterior contains renovated rooms with Art Deco interiors, a spa widely considered the finest in Washington, and a restaurant program that matches the grandeur of the building. Pennsylvania Avenue location places the hotel 10 minutes' walk from the White House to the west and the Capitol to the east — the most geographically central position of any luxury hotel in DC.
What Stands Out
- The 1899 Old Post Office Pavilion: a beloved Victorian buildings in Washington, survived a century of demolition threats
- 315-foot clock tower: free NPS public observation deck — the third-tallest structure in DC, bells rung for national events
- Best single hotel location in Washington: 10-minute walk to both the White House and the U.S. Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue
- Finest hotel spa in Washington: the most comprehensive treatment program available in any DC luxury hotel
- Art Deco interiors within Victorian Romanesque stone: the most architecturally layered hotel experience in the capital