Hamilton Hotel’s Huge Overhaul Includes a New Neapolitan Pizza Bar

When Hamilton Hotel’s months-long renovation wraps up next spring, the aging 318-room art deco property will reemerge with a new library-themed bar, modernized lobby, and refreshed restaurant featuring Italian fare.

The Hamilton (1001 14th Street NW), nearing its 100th birthday, was once a D.C. hot spot in the 1940s and host to many inaugural balls. The independent hotel hopes its Rockefeller-inspired makeover will help recapture its reputation as a place to be in D.C.

Atlanta’s designONE studio, also behind the look of some W and Conrad properties across the U.S., will keep the lobby’s beaux-arts style in place while adding in pops of color and velvet, marble, and wood detailing.

Hamilton Hotel/rendering

Hamilton’s new to-be-named lobby bar, open daily for happy hour, pays homage to the hotel’s Prohibition-era architect, Jules-Henrí de Sibour, who was born in France and an early member of Yale’s secretive Skull and Bones Society.

Hamilton Hotel/rendering

Its nearby 14K restaurant and bar will transform into a bright osteria serving Neapolitan pizza. Its redesign will add antique pizza peels and cutting boards, travel photos, and custom art mirrors.

Hamilton Hotel/rendering

Hamilton’s Franklin Square neighborhood, home to Washington Post’s new headquarters, recently got an influx of scene-y dining options with the arrival of hotel Eaton DC (1201 K Street NW) and its new lobby-level cocktail den and rooftop bar.

Some changes at Hamilton will start popping up this fall, like a new Newseum-inspired suite — dubbed “The Newsroom” — as an ode to Alexander Hamilton’s background as creator of the New York Evening Post in 1801. It’ll feature a daily gallery of the front page news from more than 800 international newspapers on iPads. Rotating interiors will also play off of Newseum exhibits, like next spring’s Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement. Other incoming amenities include pricey Peleton bikes in the gym, along with wellness and beauty kits from Jet Set.

More and more existing D.C. hotels are also going under the knife in order to stay relevant. Dupont Circle Hotel is undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation this fall to transform its bar, restaurant, and lobby areas, and across town, the W hotel’s restaurant and sibling whiskey bar are also getting upgraded this year under a $50 million revamp.

• Here Are the Latest Eating and Drinking Options at Eaton DC [EDC]
• Dupont Circle Hotel’s Redoing Its Restaurant and Bar [EDC]
• Aging Mediterranean Restaurant Pinea Is Closing [EDC]