From its inception in 1816, Congress Hall has had star power: President Benjamin Harrison made it his summer White House, and John Philip Sousa conducted the Congress Hall March on the lawn. Today the white-colonnade, Tuscan-yellow hotel is all breezy chic -- sky-high ceilings, titan-size Victorian mirrors, glossy black wicker, and potted palms with attitude. Carpets have vibrant stripes, beds are dressed in white linens, and baths are sybaritic -- some with 1920s, big-enough-for-two tubs -- stocked with Aveda soaps and lotions. A C. H.-crest terry-cloth robe awaits so you can open the door and retrieve the New York Times without incident.
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