Washington, District of Columbia · Founded 1967 · Building: 1967
A 1967 Luigi Moretti hotel whose Room 214 tied it to the Watergate scandal, then reopened in 2016 after a major renovation.
The Watergate Hotel opened in Washington on March 30, 1967, as part of Luigi Moretti’s curving Watergate complex along the Potomac. It became internationally famous after the June 17, 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee offices in the neighboring Watergate Office Building. Hunt and Liddy used Room 214 in the hotel as a base during that operation, linking the hotel permanently to the scandal.
Italian architect Luigi Moretti develops the curving modernist design for the Watergate complex on the Potomac River.
Source: Hotel Designs, "Legendary Watergate Hotel reopens after $125m overhaul"; The Meeting Magazines, "Legendary Watergate Hotel Reopens Its Doors"
The Watergate Hotel and Watergate Office Building open; the hotel begins accepting guests.
Source: The Watergate Hotel official history; Watergate East historical archive
Five burglars are arrested after breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building. E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy use Room 214 at the hotel as an operational base.
Source: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, "The Watergate Files"; Richard Nixon Presidential Library, "Watergate Explained"; The Watergate Hotel official history
President Richard Nixon resigns amid the Watergate scandal and looming impeachment proceedings.
Source: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, "The Watergate Files"; Nixon resignation letter, National Archives record
The Watergate Hotel closes for renovation.
Source: Hotels Magazine, "Ode to infamous break-in in Watergate Hotel room 214"; Architectural Record, "Watergate Hotel renovation revitalizes DC mainstay"
Euro Capital Properties acquires the closed hotel and begins planning its redevelopment.
Source: Architectural Record, "Watergate Hotel renovation revitalizes DC mainstay"
The Watergate Hotel reopens after a six-year renovation led by Euro Capital Properties, with design work involving Ron Arad and Moroso.
Source: Architectural Record, "Watergate Hotel renovation revitalizes DC mainstay"; Hotel Designs, "Legendary Watergate Hotel reopens after $125m overhaul"
The hotel introduces the Watergate Scandal Room 214, a themed suite referencing the room's role in the 1972 operation.
Source: Hotels Magazine, "Ode to infamous break-in in Watergate Hotel room 214"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building, part of the larger Watergate complex. The hotel was connected because E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy used Room 214 as an operational base.
Hotel history and retrospective reporting identify Room 214 as the base from which E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy coordinated or monitored the burglary team at the neighboring DNC offices. The room’s connection explains why the hotel, though not the burglary site, became inseparable from the scandal.
The records reviewed identify Hunt and Liddy as the hotel-room coordinators and the DNC office building as the burglary site. They do not establish that Nixon was present at the hotel or personally directed the operation from Room 214.
Euro Capital Properties acquired the closed hotel and reopened it on June 14, 2016 after a six-year redevelopment widely reported at approximately $125 million. Renovation reporting identifies Jacques and Rakel Cohena’s company as developer and owner.
The Democratic National Committee office break-in took place inside The Watergate Hotel.
The burglary occurred in the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building. Hunt and Liddy used Room 214 in the hotel as a base during the operation.
Source: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, "The Watergate Files"; Richard Nixon Presidential Library, "Watergate Explained"
The Watergate Hotel opened in 1965.
The broader Watergate complex was developed in phases, but The Watergate Hotel opened to guests on March 30, 1967.
Source: The Watergate Hotel official history; Watergate East historical archive
Room 214 became the hotel’s Scandal Room during the 2016 reopening.
The hotel’s themed Watergate Scandal Room 214 was publicly introduced in 2021.
Source: Hotels Magazine, "Ode to infamous break-in in Watergate Hotel room 214"
The Watergate survived because owners turned a long closure and a difficult political association into a new luxury-hospitality identity. Euro Capital Properties bought the shuttered hotel in 2010, completed a six-year renovation, and reopened it in 2016 with a design that leaned into the original complex’s mid-century modern character. Its historical distinction rests on proximity to the Watergate burglary and Room 214’s role, not on the burglary occurring inside the hotel.
The Watergate Hotel in Washington, District of Columbia, opened on March 30, 1967, as part of Luigi Moretti’s Watergate complex. It became linked to the Watergate scandal after E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy used Room 214 during the June 17, 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee offices in the neighboring Watergate Office Building. The hotel closed in 2007 and reopened after renovation in June 2016.
No. The Watergate Hotel opened in 1967 and is not a claimant to Washington’s oldest-hotel title. Its historical significance comes from its modernist architecture and Room 214’s connection to the 1972 Watergate operation.
No. The June 17, 1972 break-in happened at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building. Hunt and Liddy used Room 214 in The Watergate Hotel as an operational base, which connected the hotel to the scandal.
2650 Virginia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037
(844) 617-1972
Verify current hotel, restaurant, and rooftop-lounge hours directly with the property before planning a non-guest visit.