Dupont Circle

The interior is gorgeous—an Art-Deco masterpiece. Aside from the aesthetics, and reasonable prices, the premium Tempur-Pedic mattresses are another good reason to stay here. All rooms have new gourmet coffee machines and full service kitchens, 37 inch HD flat screen TVs, free WiFi, and daily passes to the nearby Washington Sports Club.

Originally opened as a luxury apartment building in 1906, this hotel is nice, upscale, and unique, without being either trendy or swanky. It's a simple, lovely place just far north enough of the Circle to qualify as being in a quieter neighborhood. Beds get high marks for comfort, while WiFi costs $10/day, and the rooms are a little small.

A small, old, charming inn located on a quiet tree-lined street just five blocks from the White House. 40 sleeping rooms, each unique in character and design, aiming to preserve the turn-of-the-century atmosphere, while keeping decor eclectic. In keeping with the historic bent of this hotel believed to be the oldest continually operating hotel in the city, there are no TVs. You do get free gym passes to the local YMCA and WiFi, though. Even if you are not staying at the hotel, the Tabard is a great place for a relaxed evening cocktail hour, and some terrific live jazz on Sunday nights. The small hotel restaurant is as attractive as it is highly acclaimed, serving delicious New American cuisine. Some of the cheaper rooms have shared baths, which you can request upon reservation.

An old fashioned, and slightly worn, hotel in a quiet, beautiful spot on Kalorama, several blocks north of the commercial areas. Simple, Queen Anne-style rooms, free WiFi.

Contemporary design, cosmopolitan style hotel with upscale suites. New York-inspired studio suites and upscale turret suites also available. Ask for a room on the upper floors. Views of the White House and the Mall from the rooftop bar are spectacular.

One of the several hip Kimpton Boutiques in Dupont, this one has fairly large rooms, soothing but funky decor with a vague oriental theme, and no gym. The upscale bar, Topaz Bar, is a great, relatively quiet place for drinks, with similarly funky decor.

If you want to stay on Embassy Row, this B&B is the place to do it. The building, surrounded by embassies, is itself a former embassy, housed in a historically restored mansion. The rooms are lovely, the hosts are veteran charmers with an affinity for Persian rugs, and overall this place gets more consistently favorable reviews than pretty much anywhere else in the city. If you like the artwork, nearly all of it is original work by guests!

Housed in a gorgeous 1923 Beaux-Arts building is this small, ultra-luxury hotel, where rooms come with butlers, and a focus on historical charm coexists with flatscreen tvs embedded in the bathroom mirrors and microchips alerting room service when your plates need to be cleared. Much of the decor is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, representing his life and his interests. The on-site spa, reading room, piano bar and its cocktails Su-M 11:30AM-midnight, Tu-Sa 11:30AM-1AM, and two restaurants are as beautiful as they are excellent.

With the exception of the lobby's Marylin Monroe skirt-in-the-wind statue, there isn't a whole lot that's distinctive about the St Gregory, but it lives up to the name of a luxury hotel, in terms of excellent service and extra thoughtful details. Its clientèle certainly has been distinguished, having played host to big shots in the worlds of art, entertainment, politics—in no small part due to the fact that this is a great location for an extended-stay suites hotel. But it's a luxury hotel, c'mon now, it shouldn't be charging $11/day for WiFi.

Hiltons are always fairly upscale and nice in the same way, so you should know what to expect of this large hotel before arriving. One standout feature aside from the great location is the rooftop pool, open Memorial Day–Labor Day, which offers non-guests day passes, usually for $10.