The Best Spa Hotels in Washington DC

As well as a top-to-toe feel of serenity throughout its polished rooms and halls, the Mandarin Oriental has a world class spa that taps into holistic Asian healing traditions. You have to book a treatment to access the facilities, but you’ll find a tiled whirlpool, crystal-infused steam room and veiled, scented relaxation lounges – as well as the full-sized lap pool with day beds, available to all guests. Specialities include hot stone massages and essential oils tailored to your needs.

This stylish luxury hideaway has a full-sized lap pool in its basement, with a separate whirlpool to pummel away your city-break stresses. On the mezzanine level you’ll find the Balance Gym’s sparkling metal free weights and top-spec treadmills – be sure to join one of the group workout classes or even hire a personal trainer. The healthy vibes continue into brunch at Juniper restaurant, home to poached eggs, veggie omelettes and a chervil-trimmed avocado toast.

This heritage property, rejuvenated by InterContinental, has a state-of-the-art fitness room with far more than the essentials – try out TRX resistance training, Peloton cardio bikes and high-design Technogym treadmills for a challenge. Elsewhere, this grand old dame has classic style in spades – gilded hallways with heavy woven carpets and marble pillars, plus navy and gold rooms with monogrammed headboards and polished writing desks.

Set in one of Washington’s edgier luxury hotels, the W brand’s signature Bliss Spa has a fun urban pharmacist feel, with no-nonsense natural scents such as a lemon, mint or ginger in place of synthetic fragrances. Frivolous treatments such as the Triple Oxygen facial are designed to revive you after a night (or three) on the tiles – while a bright, mirrored FIT studio has yoga mats and balance balls on hand 24 hours a day.

Set in a quiet spot between charming riverside Georgetown and sights-crammed Downtown, this city’s Ritz-Carlton sits right beside the city’s high-spec Equinox Sports Club – which guests can bag access to for $15 a day. Vast yoga studios, low-lit spin classes and a full-sized basketball gym sit alongside free weights and try-something-new classes (martial arts, freestyle boxing). Back at your hotel, a handful of treatment rooms also offer a face-finessing Elemis menu, and a smaller fitness suite of its very own.

This elegant redbrick townhouse, by a canal in Georgetown, helps guests unwind or get fired up with a high-tech, light-filled gym – including a Peloton bike – and massages available in your room, on request. But the real showstopper is its rooftop pool, where a minimalist infinity pool flows from inside to out, reflecting the sky above, and clearing your mind in a single lap. There’s even poolside bar service, should you fancy a glass of fizz to top off sky-level swim.

Lacquered interiors and comfy corners characterize this Downtown boutique hotel, named for a founding father of the USA – and its Petite Spa continues the theme. With cream-colored, plump-cushioned treatment rooms and treatments using botanicals from founding father Thomas Jefferson’s own gardens, at Monticello in Virginia, no expense is spared. Touchscreen cardio bikes, treadmills and free weights are all raring to go in the mirrored fitness room.

Washington’s Four Seasons is the go-to glam stay for many reasons – its luscious terraces with city-view suites, its Michael Mina steakhouse, Bourbon Steak, and its sociable wine bar, ENO, to name but three. But its full-sized lap pool and spa facilities, including steam rooms and hot tubs, are what keep guests coming back. We like the Rock Creek Forest massage, inspired by the local pines and peaks, which ends with a cup of hot cider.

It’s not hard to keep up your fitness regime at the relaxed, bright and youthful Embassy Row – it’s home to both a kitted-out exercise studio (with free weights, cardio machines and yoga mats) and a ravishing rooftop pool. In the summer months, get to the rooftop early doors to swim laps – before the in-crowd descends to drape themselves on comfy loungers – then sip a fresh juice in the rooftop’s faux-lawn seating area.