 As Henry Cabot Lodge recalls in
his preface to The Education of Henry Adams, the author of that classic
American autobiography was fond of telling friends that, in writing it, he
sought to complete St. Augustine’s Confessions, "but that St. Augustine,
like a great artist, had worked from multiplicity to unity, while he, like a
small one, had to reverse the method and work back from unity to multiplicity."
When in 1927 businessman Harry Wardman acquired Adams’ Romanesque townhouse on
Lafayette Square, opposite the White House, along with the neighboring home of
Adams’ closest friend, John Hay, he followed the former artistic methodology
rather than the latter, converting the two dwellings into an Italian Renaissance
masterpiece of exquisite form and detail.
 Despite its 145 guest rooms, the Hay-Adams hotel has retained
the insouciant elegance of a residence: Its jewel-box lobby, paneled in English
oak, is intimately proportioned, the carved Georgian armchairs arranged for
conversation rather than decoration. Off the lobby, the sculpted Lafayette Room,
with its classical wedding-cake-white paneling and park views, is a favorite for
Washington power breakfasts and lunches—the perfect place to linger over
pan-seared crab cakes and watch an unending parade of political Who’s Whos turn
the wheels of government. (For those in need of anonymity, the Lafayette’s
Private Dining Room accommodates 24 guests.) True insiders, however, prefer a
nightcap or late-evening snack in the appropriately dark, leather-upholstered
Off the Record, the hotel’s legendary subterranean bar, where more deals are cut
than on the House floor. And for a private bash, no venue can compare with the
spectacular Rooftop Terrace, where, as the hotel’s motto states, "nothing is
overlooked but the White House."
Social and intellectual intercourse formed the core of the
lifelong friendship between Adams and Hay, both of whom were famous hosts: Mark
Twain, Edith Wharton, Henry James, and numerous other artistic, literary, and
political figures of the time were regulars at their gatherings. While one might
consider it an act of desecration to raze the homes of two of the 19th century’s
most prominent figures—Adams, a descendant of two presidents and one of the
age’s most original thinkers; Hay, former private secretary to Abraham Lincoln
and secretary of state under both William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt—one
has the sense that the two friends would themselves have preferred Wardman’s
plan to enshrinement, if for no other reason than that it has kept Washington
society circulating on the corner of 16th and H streets.
 LOCATION
On the corner of 16th and H streets, directly across Lafayette
Square from the White House. ACCOMMODATIONS
The 125 guest rooms and 20 suites include the Federal Suite
and presidential suite, which offer unobstructed views across the treetops to
the White House and, beyond it, the Washington Monument. Each of the rooms is
distinctively furnished, with residential interiors by designer
Thomas
Pheasant. FACILITIES
The hotel’s four elaborately appointed meeting rooms can host
groups of as many as 225 guests. The John Hay Room features Gothic paneling from
Hay’s original residence. DINING
The Lafayette Room is one of the premier dining spots in D.C.,
offering creative American cuisine for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday
brunch. Try the roasted Chilean sea bass with saffron and fennel, or the blue
cheese–glazed sirloin steak. Off the Record, the downstairs bar, offers light
fare and a superb wine list. CONCIERGE RECOMMENDS
Visitors should not miss a look at the city from the hotel’s Rooftop Terrace, which offers a panorama consisting of the Capitol
building, the national monuments, and a Secret Service agent’s view of the White
House. In fact, the terrace is so close to the Executive Mansion that the
concierge must get clearance from the Secret Service before taking anyone up to
it. RATES
Rooms from $395 to $950; the Federal Suite is $6,000.
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