In a city that is literally defined by its grandiose sweep of fin de siècle political architecture, it’s a little ironic that one of Washington D.C.’s most high-profile piles is the Watergate hotel. Built in 1961 by the Italian architect Luigi Moretti, the building achieved its enduring fame over a decade later, not for any highly parsed expression of democracy and liberty, but for the astonishing imbroglio that toppled Richard Nixon’s presidency.
For a while, the hotel traded happily on its association with America’s greatest political scandal, but by the time it closed in 2007, few would have bet against its eventual demolition.
New York real estate developers Rakel and Jacques Cohen, however, saw potential. And indeed, it was hard not to. For starters, Moretti had designed the building with almost no continuous straight lines – a sleight of hand that invests its silhouette with an unusually fluid motion and dramatic quality that is entirely in keeping with its location on the edge of the Potomac River. The Cohens snapped up the property for $45m in 2010 and over the next five years, sunk in another $125m for the renovations by Wallpaper* favourite, Ron Arad.
The London-based designer’s mood board for the lobby and public spaces – sculptural metal work, a 46-foot long brass reception desk, black granite, enormous chandeliers, polished stainless steel tubed installations – taps straight into the Watergate’s storied architectural and political legacy. ‘We have tried to enhance Moretti’s original curves,’ Arad says. ‘You can’t ignore the context, but at the same time, you don’t want to mimic it.’
Meanwhile, almost every one of the 337 rooms – furnished by the hotel’s in-house team in Zebrano marble, black granite, and silver-grey carpet – looks over the Potomac, though the poll position is taken by the rooftop lounge from which unfolds a 360-degree panorama of Washington D.C., and the slender spire of the Washington Monument.
And in an inspired move, Janie Bryant, the celebrated costume designer for the ‘Mad Men’ TV series was tapped to kit out the staff in black topcoat and pants with gold camel piping for the doormen, A-line dresses for the front desk and concierge, and four-button windowpane patterned suits for the whisky bartenders.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
2600 Virginia Avenue NW
-
David Kohn’s first book, ‘Stages’, is unpredictable, experimental and informativeThe first book on David Kohn Architects focuses on the work of the award-winning London-based practice; ‘Stages’ is an innovative monograph in 12 parts
-
Jaguar spotlights five emerging artists in its inaugural Arts AwardsThe new Jaguar Arts Awards in partnership with London’s Royal College of Art embody a shared drive to nurture new talent; meet the 2025 winners
-
‘Locally anchored and globally conversant’: Salone del Mobile debuts in Saudi ArabiaSalone del Mobile lands in Riyadh (26-28 November 2025), bringing its creative and manufacturing know-how to one of the world’s fastest-growing markets and setting the stage for Italo-Saudi design relations
-
Dior’s new Beverly Hills dining salon raises the bar for couture cuisineFrom Peter Marino’s onyx bar and faceted mirrored walls to Nicole Wittenberg’s vast, immersive botanical canvas, Dior’s first restaurant outside Paris is here
-
This new Los Angeles restaurant is a mischievous blend of dive bar and 'psychedelic honky tonk'At Marvito, small-batch tequila and a classic rock soundtrack create a delightfully nostalgic night out
-
Fantasy – and incredible seafood – await at Carbone Riviera, now open at the Bellagio in Las VegasInterior design powerhouse Martin Brudnizki drew on the Côte d'Azur and Picasso’s ceramics for Major Food Group’s latest Sin City outpost
-
Welcome to Polymath Park, where you can spend the night in a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieceA pair of determined Wright devotees have turned four endangered modernist houses into an overnight design retreat
-
Faena New York just landed in the Big Apple – and it's an excuse for a good timeArgentine hotelier Alan Faena’s first New York address serves up high-octane hospitality with a dash of leopard print
-
These vintage American motels will have you longing for the open road‘Vintage Motels’ documents how the humble roadside stopover has evolved into a design-led destination for a new generation of travellers
-
At Duryea’s Sunset Cottages in The Hamptons, it’s all about stillness and open horizonsA beloved Hampton restaurant becomes a tucked-away retreat set on a windswept bluff above Fort Pond Bay in Montauk
-
The return of Genghis Cohen: LA’s cult Chinese diner lives onThe 1980s Chinese-American landmark returns with red booths, neon nostalgia, and a fresh dose of Hollywood eccentricity
