Hay-Adams

The other night was my first time at the Hay-Adams, a really lovely hotel across the street from the White House. It's half named after Henry Adams (who used to live on the site where the hotel now sits)!

The bar downstairs is unfortunately named Off the Record (can you get more DC in all of the bad senses of that term?). Despite the name, it has a lovely (although slightly overwhelmingly red) decor. I stared at the ceiling most of the evening because it's beautiful (and not red).

What was most striking about the place was the remarkable hospitality of the staff. A woman didn't point out where the bar was, she walked me there and opened the door for me. Moreover, when we had to wait a moment for a seat (with someone cutting in front of our group), the hostess made sure that our first round was on the house.

The place was incredibly fancy, although the lobster sliders that we ate were amusing: it looks like a hamburger, but it tastes like lobster! Only in America, people.


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