The Wharf · Washington, DC$$$
InterContinental Washington D.C. – The Wharf
✦ Sky & Swim Pick
The pool
- Rooftop WAVES pool
- Potomac waterfront + skyline
- Heated
- Guest-only
Why it's on the list
Washington has almost no true rooftop hotel pools; the WAVES deck here is the exception, looking over the Potomac waterfront and the DC skyline. Heated, guest-only, and an actual swim — not a bar with a puddle.
The stay
The InterContinental is the polished, waterfront choice — a full-service luxury hotel on The Wharf, DC's redeveloped Potomac-side strip of restaurants, bars, and the Anthem music hall, with one of the only real rooftop pools in the city up top. You're on the water and walkable to the Wharf's dining and the Tidal Basin, though it's a Metro ride or a long walk from the Mall's museums. At $$$ it's fair for waterfront luxury in a city where a swimmable rooftop barely exists — the pick if the Wharf scene and the pool are the point.
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