Designed by the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings, the ten-story, Beaux-Arts hotel is the only commercial building designed by the firm in Washington, D.C. Construction of the Hotel Washington was completed in 1918; following an extensive renovation by Nakheel Properties, owner of the building since 2006, the 317-room W Hotel opened in 2009.

The Hotel Washington was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1995; in addition, the building is a contributing property to the Fifteenth Street Financial Historic District, listed on the NRHP in 2006, and the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, designated a National Historic Site in 1965.