Best Hotel Bars and Lounges in D.C.

Some of the most iconic examples of power bars, where inside-the-Beltway decision makers talk shop and rub elbows, are housed in many of this town's historic hotels. So grab a snifter of single malt, and begin your people-watching at these classic D.C. hotel bars.

Quill at The Jefferson is a hidden gem in Downtown with live piano music, an outdoor terrace, and cocktail menus that change monthly. Ask for a basic drink, and the bartenders will add their creative touches to your handcrafted cocktail, all while providing great service. Plus the nibbles of olives and nuts are simply divine.

The Off the Record bar at Downtown's Hay-Adams Hotel advertises itself as the place to be seen and not heard. And while it's just steps from the White House, that couldn't be more true. It's tucked away in the historic hotel's basement, and you really never know who you might run into here.

Although they don't boast the same old-world, dark-wood-and-red-leather charm of the bars at the historic hotels, the Dirty Habit, at the decidedly more modern Hotel Monaco, and P.O.V., on the roof of the W Washington, D.C. (both Downtown), hold their own as stops on the see-and-be-seen hotel bar scene.