Watergate Hotel

This hotel with a notorious name is fancy but mostly unremarkable. Bonuses include a gym with a spectacular indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool, great Potomac views and a fine location just downriver from Georgetown.

The main reason to stay here is really so you can swipe an ashtray with the name Watergate on it. The hotel itself didn't play a role in the political scandal - at least none that has been reported - but the complex it's a part of was the site of the third-rate burglary that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. More recently it was the home of Monica Lewinsky. Like memories of the eponymous scandal, the entire place has begun to fade. Still, besides coming here just so you can say you're looking for bugs, the hotel is a natural for a dirty weekend. Be sure to get a room with a river view - and if the weather's up for it, a balcony.