December 13, 2023
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Here are the ten best pet-friendly hotels in Washington D.C. Be sure to contact our Travel Specialists for the most up-to-date information and specific pet-friendly policies at each hotel.
Finally, we take back everything we said to the contrary about the nation’s capital. Washington, D.C. has plenty of youthful style, if you know where to look — and in the hospitality world, one of the natural places to start is Yours Truly. This is one of the new breed of boutique hotels that aims to create an atmosphere of approachable sociability, rather than luxe elitism, and while its modernist, industrial architecture may recall the first wave of high-design boutique hotels, its interior decoration is warm and eclectic, and feels more collected than consciously designed.
The rooms are stylish, with a touch of mid-century, a hint of art deco, and some warmth added by textures of wood and leather, as well as Oriental-style rugs and conversation-piece furnishings. There’s as much emphasis, if not more, on the shared spaces: Mercy Me is a South American–influenced café, restaurant and bar by the team known for local favorites Timber Pizza and Call Your Mother. And alongside this open-plan space is Uncle Tony’s Donut Shoppe, which is not at all what it sounds like — it’s a record store focusing on new and used vinyl, a first for boutique hotels in D.C., if not the world.
The Eaton Hotel is impervious to that line of criticism — this isn’t just the hippest hotel in Washington, but one of the most impressive new boutique hotels in America, and it’s thanks in large part to the fact that its founder, Katharine Lo, isn’t given to half-measures. She’s the Hong Kong–born, Yale-educated daughter of the chairman of the Langham group, so the basics of high-end hospitality are second nature. What makes the Eaton special is everything else, from its unapologetically bohemian interiors to its even more unapologetically outspoken social-justice ethos — a rarity for D.C., this is a hotel that feels free to wear its politics on its sleeve. While this stance may lose it some business on one side of the aisle, progressive activists — and sympathetic travelers — will feel right at home, as will visiting arts-and-culture types.
Mission aside, it’s simply a first-rate luxury boutique hotel, from the Bluetooth record players and locally sourced minibars in the rooms to the wellness center, which offers yoga and meditation as well as reiki, acupuncture, and practices that verge on the spiritual. Michele's is a French American inspired restaurant by Michelin-starred Chef Matt Baker, while Baker’s Daughter serves third-wave coffee and Ayurvedic beverages. Meanwhile Allegory pours inventive cocktails in an inspired space, and Wild Days is the most unexpected of offerings for a D.C. hotel: a rooftop music venue that hosts both local and national acts.
In a town as traditional as Washington, a little bit of modern design goes a long way. The newly redesigned Dupont Hotel is, in its subtly stylish way, one of the hippest hotels in the nation’s capital. It’s the only hotel on Dupont Circle, in a neighborhood better known for dining, nightlife and entertainment than for monuments or institutions — which, provided you’re not here with your high school history class, is definitely a good thing.
That’s not to say it’s isolated. It’s surrounded by embassies, and it’s a safe bet that quite a few of its guests are international travelers. As such they probably feel more or less at home in the Dupont’s contemporary, urbane interiors. Rooms lack for no comfort, and they’re not just stylish but functional as well, with full-sized work desks and Eames Management chairs. And there’s an ultra-high-end hotel within the hotel: Level Nine is a floor of enormous, lavish suites, served by its own private elevator.
Continuing the project that began with the 2017 Women’s March, the Viceroy hotel group has made a statement with what used to be Washington D.C.’s Donovan — after a large-scale renovation it’s been renamed Hotel Zena, and is now a grand feminist gesture, dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of women at every turn. As gestures go, it’s not a subtle one — a pair of female “Warrior Guardians” adorn the exterior, and an enormous pointillist portrait of the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg dominates one of the walls of the lobby lounge.
This focus is more than a graphic identity; the hotel’s design is by Dawson Design Associates, a female-owned agency, and the artworks don’t just depict women; the artists themselves are women as well. And while it is, in a way, a themed hotel, its spaces stand very much on their own — if you were to arrive with no knowledge of the concept, it’d be the stylishness of the design that hit you first. On top of all this, it’s a very capable business hotel, and it’s got plenty to offer leisure guests as well. Figleaf Bar & Lounge is the heart of the hotel’s social life, serving playfully named cocktails and a light New American menu, while Hedy’s Rooftop is a poolside cocktail lounge with a view of the city.
If there’s one hospitality brand that’s capable of perfectly threading the needle between too-hip boutiques and too-normal business hotels it’s got to be Viceroy. It helps that their aesthetic takes liberal inspiration from mid-century modernism, which is a style anyone can love. And it also helps that they’ve got a keen sense of what comforts are essential, elevating their creations beyond mere eye candy. Viceroy Washington DC makes the most of this bipartisan, across-the-aisle approach — it’s luxe enough to tempt luxury-hotel partisans and stylish enough for the boutique crowd as well.
The rooms and suites are nothing if not attractive, a contemporary revisioning of mid-century style, and they come with only the luxuries that matter: 400-thread Frette linens, 65-inch flatscreens, and high-end bath products. The neighborhood, Logan Circle, is among the capital’s hippest, which suits the Viceroy just fine — its restaurant, café, and wine bar make it a fixture from after-work on into the night, and when the weather permits, the rooftop bar is a popular option.
As the capital city of the United States it’s only natural that Washington D.C. should be home to a fair number of grand, historic luxury hotels. Not all of them are quite as old-world as they seem, though. The Jefferson certainly has all the opulence and historical atmosphere you’d expect from one of the original grand dames, and the fact that it’s mostly the result of a 2009 renovation is neither here nor there.
What’s important is that the Jefferson combines old-world aesthetics with boutique-era services, amenities, and personality. The rooms are classic in design, but modern in function, with iPads in every room and suite and charging stations in the desks. Premier and Deluxe rooms are lavish, and the First Lady and Presidential suites are positively opulent — the latter featuring no fewer than five balconies with extraordinary views of the city and its monuments. To all that is added a restaurant, The Greenhouse, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch under the hotel’s historic skylight, and Quill, an upscale cocktail bar and lounge. It’s a seemingly impossible blend, equal parts historical luxury hotel and contemporary boutique hotel, but The Jefferson carries it off.
For visitors to Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood, high-end accommodations have long been provided by the usual suspects — namely the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton, and a few other reliable luxury brands. For an experience that’s smaller in scale, but similarly high in standards, there’s a newer option: Rosewood Washington D.C., on the banks of the C&O Canal, whose 55 rooms, 12 suites, and six townhouses show the influence of modern boutique-hotel hospitality, adapted for a luxury-hotel clientele.
It’s housed in a relatively understated brick building that barely hints at what’s inside. The lobby and public spaces lean into D.C.’s French inspiration, sourcing parquet flooring from a French chateau and furnishing the rooms in opulent wood paneling and gem tones. Meanwhile the rooms are more restrained, though no less refined, decorated largely in monochrome but with plenty of ornament — right down to the Hermès leather drawer pulls — and the full slate of contemporary high-end comforts.
It goes without saying that the 354-room hotel sits on prime beachfront real estate: the fact that it’s north of SoBe proper, slightly outside of the action, is advantageous, if you’re a grown-up. The Confidante comprises three towers, one of which is a revamped 1940s Art Deco skyscraper. And in a refreshing departure from the design principles behind many of the best hotels in town, the aesthetic isn’t simple beach chic, but rather mid-century with a modern twist. Think colorful patterned rugs and sectional sofas, art deco chandeliers, 1950s-inspired armchairs upholstered with cheerful florals, and vintage bar carts that look straight out of Mad Men. There’s an attention to detail, and a sense of historical whimsy, that will make you think twice about how much you really care for all-white decor, anyway — the suites, in particular, are like mini-museums filled with interesting artwork and unexpected design pieces. In-room amenities include custom-made 400-thread-count Sferra linens, bathrooms with rain showers and bathrobes by Frette, and large flat-screen TVs with complimentary film libraries when you need a break from the sun.
Outside, classic striped cabanas, chaise lounges and palm trees surround swimming pools set within a lush tropical grove. Seagrape is the casual Floridian eatery, while the Backyard serves al fresco fare by the pools and garden, centered on what’s arguably the true highlight of the Confidante. The venue centers around a historic bungalow that used to sit across the street, which was entirely dismantled, including the original limestone fireplace, and transplanted it into the hotel, where it’s found a second life as an incredibly charming indoor-outdoor artisanal cocktail bar set in a candlelit garden.
Who says there’s nothing stylish to be found in staid old D.C.? The Hotel Washington is taking its design insurrection straight to the heart of the city. It would be next door to the White House if not for that pesky Treasury building, and this is a neighborhood that, let’s be frank, needed a bit of after-work life. You’ll find plenty of it here — in fact the trademark funky interiors and youth-culture borrowings may prove to be a bit much for some of Washington’s more traditional hotel guests.
It’s their loss. To be fair, the Hotel Washington pays plenty of homage to the history of what used to be, and its interiors preserve quite a lot of its Beaux-Arts grandeur, underneath a welcome gloss of contemporary color. The rooms, while not overly large, in concession to the inherited floor plan, are more than comfortable enough, and those vivid colors (and those plush beds) go a long way. But it’s in the public spaces that Hotel Washington really struts its stuff. The hotel's rooftop bar provides views that are dramatic enough to worry the Secret Service.
Yotel Washington DC belongs to a new, more style-conscious capital, where the nightlife is on the upswing, the restaurant scene is booming, and the hotels, increasingly, live up to their greater architectural setting. Of course from the outside this isn’t exactly the Capitol, but once you’re through its doors you’re treated to hotel interiors that leave the old drab D.C. in the dust. The bedrooms are simple and modern, stylish but quietly so, understated enough that they’re still palatable for more conservative audiences.
Bolder still are the public spaces, from the lobby bar with its almost Pop Art portraits of world leaders to the rooftop lounge, a warm-weather gem, and Art and Soul, a restaurant where the visual style, however impressive, takes a back seat to the cuisine, an inventive upscale take on traditional soul food. Business travelers, as ever in this town, are certain to be well looked after, but here, so are leisure guests — and nobody minds thoughtful details like the seasonal rooftop pool.
There are no shortage of pet-friendly hotels in Washington D.C. Here is every pet-friendly hotel in Washington D.C. on Tablet:
Hotel Zena, a Viceroy Urban Retreat
The Dupont Circle Hotel
Four Seasons Hotel Washington D.C.
Hotel Washington
The Jefferson
YOTEL Washington DC
Rosewood Washington, D.C.
Viceroy Washington DC
The LINE DC
Eaton DC
Yours Truly DC
If you have any questions about the rules and regulations about bringing your pet to a pet-friendly hotel, you can always contact our Travel Specialists for specific information. Below are a few frequently asked questions.
Usually a pet-friendly policy applies to dogs and cats, but sometimes only one or the other is allowed — and sometimes other types of pets (birds, lizards, unicorns), are allowed as well. Please note that certain hotels may also have a weight restriction for pets.
When we say pet-friendly, we mean a policy that allows pets -- but often there is a nightly or flat fee (sometimes called a "cleaning fee") as part of the policy.
Certain hotels specify that you may not leave your pet unattended. However, some offer daycare or dog-walking services.
Oftentimes, a pet-friendly policy will allow your pet outdoors at the hotel but not in public areas. You can always bring them a doggy bag.
Especially pet-friendly hotels provide pet amenities like food and water bowls, special beds, or treats. Be sure to contact our Travel Specialists for the most up-to-date information and specific pet-friendly policies at each hotel.
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