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Washington · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels near The George Washington University

Gerald Whitfield

Gerald Whitfield The American northeast and Canada

Updated 1 September 2026 · 102 Washington hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Washington, out of the 102 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.7 down to 4.5.

All five are inside 1.0 km of The George Washington University, so you can walk it.

Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC

Highest rated of the five

Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC

★★★★★4.7 from 2,286 reviews

Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.7 from 2,286 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 5 star property, found under poi and around $2241 a night on the dates we checked.

102 hotels in Washington qualified for this list and five made it. Fairmont Washington D.C. Georgetown is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC1

    Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC

    ★★★★★4.7 from 2,286 reviews

    1.0 km from The George Washington University, about a 12 minute walk

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    • Fairmont Washington D.C. Georgetown2

      Fairmont Washington D.C. Georgetown

      ★★★★★4.6 from 2,045 reviews

      700 m from The George Washington University, about a 9 minute walk

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      • The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.3

        The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.

        ★★★★★4.5 from 1,638 reviews

        600 m from The George Washington University, about a 8 minute walk

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        • The River Inn4

          The River Inn

          ★★★★★4.7 from 2,151 reviews

          500 m from The George Washington University, about a 6 minute walk

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          • One Washington Circle DC, Tapestry Collection by Hilton5

            One Washington Circle DC, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

            ★★★★★4.7 from 193 reviews

            400 m from The George Washington University, about a 5 minute walk

            • Pool
            • Gym
            • Restaurant
            • Bar
            • Parking
            • Kitchen

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          How this list was put together

          102 Washington hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to The George Washington University second, then took the top five.

          Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

          The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

          What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

          Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

          Gerald Whitfield

          Gerald Whitfield The American northeast and Canada

          Volunteers three days a week and travels the rest. Maritime museums and working boatyards in 19 countries, mostly by ferry and train, talking to the shipwrights in every one.

          Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.