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Home » DC » Why The Willard InterContinental Is My Favorite Hotel In Washington, DC
DCIHG

Why The Willard InterContinental Is My Favorite Hotel In Washington, DC

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 23, 2019November 14, 2023 16 Comments

a large room with a round red couch and tables

I’m generally a very loyal Hyatt patron, but there are exceptions. Washington, DC is one such exception. In the District, my favorite hotel is not one of the three Hyatt properties, but the Willard InterContinental.

I first stepped into this hotel in 2005, not as a guest, but as a tourist. I was a Capitol Hill intern and would spend my weekends getting acquainted with America’s capital city. One day, as I was walking around the White House, I decided to check out the hotel because I loved the building’s exterior architecture so much. Little did I know that it would unleash a love affair with this hotel.

The memory of my first visit is so clear to me. The palm trees in the lobby and beautiful ceilings. Ornate furniture. And the ashtrays. Everyone was smoking. As a Californian, where indoor smoking had been banned over a decade earlier, I was amused to see ashtrays littered throughout the lobby. More on that in a moment.

Pictures from my first visit, circa-2005:

a large lobby with columns and chairs

a long hallway with a harp and chandeliers

An Amazing History

While the hotel’s beauty is what first attracted me, what really sent me over the edge was the hotel’s rich history. Although my bachelor’s degree is in political science, I studied enough 19th Century U.S. history to earn a minor. I love studying U.S. history and this hotel has played such a key role in it.

For example:

  • Author Nathaniel Hawthorne stated, “the Willard Hotel more justly could be called the center of Washington than either the Capitol or the White House or the State Department.”
  • A 34-state Peace Congress met at the Willard in 1861 in an effort to avoid civil war.
  • Julie Ward Howe wrote the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic while staying at the Willard in 1861.
  • Due to assassination threats, Abraham Lincoln was “smuggled” into the Willard in February 1861 where he lived, protected by guards, until he moved into the White House on March 4, 1861.
  • The hotel’s Round Robin Bar served as a watering hole for Union leaders during the Civil War.
  • General (and later President) Ulysses S. Grant enjoyed cigars and brandy in the hotel lobby. There, men would come up to him try to sell him on something. Grant detested this, derisively referring to these people as “lobbyists”. Hence, a new word in the American political lexicon.
    • This fact is debated and the term likely originated in the House of Commons in London.
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his I Have A Dream speech from the Willard hotel in 1963, where he stayed before the historic March on Washington.
    • Robert Kennedy ordered FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to tap King’s room, where he was caught having an extramarital affair.
  • Every U.S. President since Franklin Pierce has either stayed at the Willard or held an event here.
    • Donald Trump, however, has his own hotel down the street…

You’ll notice a pair of placards outside the hotel that reads:

a sign on a wall

a plaque with a picture of a woman

My Own History

So a rich history indeed. But let’s return to my own story. When my uncle came to spend a few days with me toward the end of my two-month internship, I wanted to take him to three proper “Washingtonian” eateries for the three nights he was in town. We ate at Old Ebbitt Grill the first night and The Prime Rib on K Street the second night. On the third night, we dined at the Willard Room, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant.

I remember that night so clearly. We enjoyed amazing rack of lamb, but what really stood out to me was the unparalleled service. Our waiter was so good…it simply blew me away. I returned to the Willard Room a year later to have dinner again and guess what? The guy remembered my name. I was simply floored. Another thing I loved about this restaurant was that men had to wear jackets and ties. How cool is that in this casual new millennium?

a restaurant with chandeliers and tables

a dining room with chandeliers and a table
Hotel stock photo

Sadly, the Willard Room closed… the beautiful dining room is now a banquet room. A new restaurant called Cafe Du Parc opened instead. The food is great there, but the ambiance and elegance does not approach the Willard Room.

Just past the lobby is a red-carpeted hallway called Peacock Alley. You might recognize it from the Minority Report movie. There were so many afternoons or evenings I sat there people watching. I remember one evening former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was standing there alone. We had a nice chat. One evening the Iraqi Delegation was in town and the smoke so was thick I just walked out.

a long hallway with chairs and tables

There’s nothing like Christmas in the Willard lobby:

a christmas tree in a room with columns

a decorated room with a christmas tree and lights

a room with a large doorway and chairs

The furniture in the lobby has evolved over the years:

a room with a large column and tables and chairs

a room with a table and chairs

a lobby with columns and tables and chairs

The Souvenir

Now, I never have smoked a single cigarette in my life and don’t plan on ever doing it. But I loved the red standing ashtrays in the Willard lobby (see top picture, from the hotel’s re-opening in 1986). When the District of Columbia banned indoor smoking in 2007, I wrote to the Willard GM and asked him if I could buy one of the standing ashtrays, as a memento of the hotel. Honestly, I was not expecting a reply, but I quickly received one! He told me to stop by and pick one up that very evening. It now stands proudly in my office, a visible reminder of this hotel.

I’ve only stayed at this hotel a few times over the years, but it always remains my hotel of choice. The only time I stay at Hyatts, like for the last presidential inauguration, is when the Willard is sold out or too expensive to justify. When I took my wife to DC, I was much more keen to take her to the Willard than to monuments or museums.

CONCLUSION

So that’s my Willard story. Next week I’ll publish a review of an amazing suite upgrade I received at the hotel when I was an IHG Royal Ambassador. But now you have some context on why I like this hotel so much.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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16 Comments

  1. Bill n Dc Reply
    February 23, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    I share your love of the Willard! While in town on business in the early ‘90s I stayed at the JW Marriott across the street and set a goal of spending a night at the Willard.

    So moved to DC & working at USEPA, I arranged a block of rooms for a meeting at the Govt rate and paid for one for myself. On my Birthday!

    Two years ago we had a staycation using the Ambassador weekend certificate. Initially we were upgraded to the John Adams suite which is very fancy but on the back side of the hotel with no view. Apparently they sold the JA suite and we were downgraded to what we called the John Quincy Adams Suite – one bedroom very nice but on the corner looking st the Washington Monument and White House. . Very cool. BTW we ate one night at the Old Ebbit Grill. Also ate at my fav Central by Michael Richard.

    Last summer we did a staycation at the new Intercontinental at the Wharf. Very different since new, but so nice!

  2. Shannon Reply
    February 23, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    I agree with you. I stayed there before and it’s a beautiful hotel. I just had a standard size room, and it was spacious.

  3. Tom Reply
    February 23, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    While I understand fascination with the tremendous history of the Willard, the hotel is past its prime. The rooms are in desperate need of renovation and the service is mediocre at best. The hotel is not remotely close to being one of the best in DC. I would recommend taking a walk though the lobby, maybe have a drink at the bar and soak in the history. Don’t stay there, it’s a disappointment and not worth the money.

  4. DCJoe Reply
    February 23, 2019 at 2:55 pm

    Lived here for 15 years and never been inside. Thanks for the history.

    And as a DC resident, thank you for using the proper name, District of Columbia, or DC or District. Washington is a postal name and not the actual name of the District or in use much by long term residents. Those ten thousand who come here for national political work live in Washington. The other 690,000 of us live in DC.

  5. Rjb Reply
    February 23, 2019 at 7:55 pm

    Best article you ever write

    • vietri Reply
      April 22, 2023 at 9:04 pm

      I was thinking along similar lines. More new writing like this, please.

  6. Paolo Reply
    February 24, 2019 at 2:36 am

    Calvin Coolidge lived there when he was VP. In fact there is still a suite named after him ( not sure if it’s the one he lived in, probably is). During his residency there was a fire in the hotel. Coolidge decided it was safe to go back up but was challenged by a fireman who asked who he was. “I’m the VP”, so the fireman says ok but has second thoughts , saying “VP of what?”, “The USA”; Fireman: “Come back here, I thought you are VP of the hotel”. Maybe apocryphal.
    One of the committee members listed on the Julia Ward Howe plaque is Margaret Hopkins Worrell , a formidable figure in ultra nationalism in the 30s, 40s, 50s and a close associate of Gerald L.K. Smith and Huey Long. She was president of the Grand Army of the Ladies of the Republic.
    Interesting article, more in the same vein would be most welcome and appreciated.

    • Matthew Reply
      March 3, 2019 at 5:25 pm

      Thanks Paolo!

  7. Mitch Cumstein Reply
    February 24, 2019 at 7:26 am

    Exquisite hotel. The grace, the elegance. Striking.

  8. alanea Reply
    February 24, 2019 at 10:31 am

    Loved this review and the history!

  9. DavidB Reply
    February 24, 2019 at 11:01 am

    Just came across this and fully concur. It’s my regular when visiting your capital and when I was a RA also received an incredible multi-room suite (living room, dining room and huge bedroom sitting area). Even last summer as a regular Ambassador had a junior suite on the top floor. Gift was a charming tin box modelled after the hotel containing cookies. Great history (and museum telling that story) and location.

  10. Arthur Reply
    February 24, 2019 at 9:47 pm

    Totally agree. Also a fan of Off the Record at the Hay Adams and the Tombs in Georgetown, if you want that DC feel.

  11. Santastico Reply
    February 25, 2019 at 3:24 pm

    Location, location, location!!!! That’s also my place to stay in DC.

  12. vietri Reply
    April 22, 2023 at 9:01 pm

    Battle Hymn of the Republic is my favorite

  13. Pingback: The (Exquisitely Abridged) History of Government Relations - Policy Shop
  14. Pingback: The (Exquisitely Abridged) History of Government Relations - Policy Shop

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