Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Washington, D.C. / The Jefferson
The Jefferson
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States · Independent · Grand Luxury
Jules Henri de Sibour's 1923 Beaux-Arts apartment house on 16th Street NW became a full hotel in 1955 after housing wartime workers. Neil Sheehan and New York Times colleagues used a room here to organize the Pentagon Papers in 1971. A multimillion-dollar renovation that uncovered the original atrium skylight reopened the house in 2009; Michelin Two Keys and round-the-clock butler service followed.
- 99 rooms
- Opened 1955
- Neighborhood: Downtown
- Rooms from 630 sq ft (59 m²)
- Architect: Jules Henri de Sibour
About The Jefferson
- F. H. Smith Corporation began the eight-story, 74-unit apartment building in July 1922; Jules Henri de Sibour designed it in the Beaux-Arts style for about $900,000.
- A 1930 bankruptcy trial revealed the developer's chairman had occupied an entire floor rent-free; several officers received long prison sentences for embezzlement.
- George H. W. Bush chose much of his cabinet while staying here before inauguration; George W. Bush also stayed before his 2001 inauguration.
- The 2007–09 renovation revealed the building's original atrium skylight after decades hidden.
- Entry-level rooms start at 630 sq ft (59 m²).
History
Construction on The Jefferson began in July 1922 and the building was completed in 1923, rising eight stories above 16th Street NW, four blocks north of the White House. The F.H. Smith Corporation — a Washington real estate developer with a portfolio of apartment and office buildings — commissioned architect Jules Henri de Sibour, a French-trained Beaux-Arts practitioner who became one of the defining designers of early twentieth-century Washington. De Sibour brought to the 74-unit luxury apartment building the full vocabulary of the Beaux-Arts tradition: formal symmetry, a restrained limestone and brick façade, ornamental ironwork, and interior public spaces of considerable elegance including a barrel-vaulted dining room that would not be rediscovered until the 2007 renovation. Construction cost $900,000, an enormous sum for Washington real estate at the time.
The building struggled financially almost immediately. By 1930 the original owners had been forced into bankruptcy, and proceedings revealed a scandal: the developer had retained exclusive use of an entire floor — seventeen rooms — entirely rent-free, an arrangement that resulted in prison sentences for several company officials. The building changed hands and purposes; during World War II it housed defense workers, part of the massive wartime expansion of the federal government in the capital. By 1955 the apartments had been formally converted to hotel use, and The Jefferson began its long career as a Washington hotel.
Ownership changes followed over the subsequent decades. In 2005 a New York real estate firm purchased the property; two years later the hotel closed entirely for an ambitious renovation by a collective of architectural and design firms that stripped the building back to its structural bones and reimagined every interior. The renovation, completed in August 2009, uncovered the original barrel-vault ceiling in the dining room and decorated the public and private spaces in a Federalist idiom appropriate to the building's namesake — Thomas Jefferson, whose home Monticello is depicted in the custom toile drapes of the guest rooms. Individual rooms were appointed with four-poster beds, freestanding tubs in hand-cut Italian and Spanish stone and marble, and fireplaces, making each accommodation more the suite of a private residence than a standard hotel room. The MICHELIN Guide recognized The Jefferson with Two Keys in 2025, and twenty-four-hour butler service has been maintained since the 2009 reopening.
The setting
The Jefferson commands 16th and M Streets NW within the Sixteenth Street Historic District — a grand northward axis from the White House, twelve minutes on foot, lined with Beaux-Arts institutions and embassy residences that made it 'the most important street in America' to 19th-century Washingtonians. The 99-room boutique property occupies a 1923 Beaux-Arts building, set between the power corridors of K Street to the south and Dupont Circle's leafy residential squares to the north. Farragut North Metro is nearby, while the National Mall and Smithsonian campus are accessible in under twenty transit minutes. 1 mile from Washington Monument.
Restaurants and bars
- The Greenhouse Restaurant — Restaurant
- Quill bar and lounge — Bar
Experiences
- The Book Room — Working fireplace, cozy lounge and a curated collection of new releases, classic and author-signed books.
- The Private Wine Cellar — Private dining room surrounded by over 1,300 labels of fine vintages, seating 20 guests.
Amenities
- Spa
- Fitness center
- Fine dining
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
- AAA Four Diamond (2025)
- Travel + Leisure World's Best Hotels (2025)
- Virginia's Leading Hotel 2025 (World Travel Awards) (2025)
Open The Jefferson in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
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