Plenty of DC hotels call themselves green, and far fewer of those have a pool. Every hotel on this list has a pool we confirmed with the hotel or Destination DC, the city's tourism office.
Three of the five also hold a third-party certification: Green Key Global for the Fairmont and the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, and LEED Gold for the Hyatt House at The Wharf. The Four Seasons and the Omni Shoreham have great pools but no certification we could confirm, so we list them separately and say so.
How we selected these hotels
Each hotel on this page has a pool confirmed by the hotel's own site or its Destination DC listing.
Tier 1 hotels hold an independent certification: Green Key Global, which scores a hotel's environmental practices from a self-assessment checked by an audit, or LEED, which the US Green Building Council awards to buildings. Destination DC lists the Fairmont at 5 keys, the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill at 4 keys, and the Hyatt House at The Wharf as LEED Gold.
Tier 2 hotels have a pool but no third-party certification we could confirm. The Four Seasons points to its company-wide Four Seasons for Good program, and we found no property-level certification for the Omni Shoreham. They're here for the pool, and we'd rather tell you that than dress it up.
Eco hotels with pool in Washington DC: at a glance
| Hotel | Stars | Eco tier | Certification or program | Pool type | Nearest Metro | Walk to Metro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown | 4 | Tier 1 | Green Key Global (5 keys) | Indoor lap pool | Foggy Bottom-GWU | 8 min |
| Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill | 4 | Tier 1 | Green Key Global (4 keys) | Indoor | Union Station | 7 min |
| Hyatt House Washington DC/The Wharf | 3 | Tier 1 | LEED Gold | Rooftop (seasonal, heated) | L'Enfant Plaza | 9 min |
| Four Seasons Washington DC | 5 | Tier 2 | None confirmed | Indoor lap pool | Foggy Bottom-GWU | 11 min |
| Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington DC | 4 | Tier 2 | None confirmed | Outdoor (seasonal) | Woodley Park-Zoo | 3 min |
Eco hotels with pools in DC: what to expect by neighborhood
The Fairmont is at 2401 M Street NW in the West End, between Foggy Bottom and Georgetown, an 8-minute walk from Foggy Bottom-GWU. Hotel guests get free use of the Balance Gym inside the building, which has an indoor lap pool, a sauna and a steam room.
The Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, at 400 New Jersey Ave NW, is the pick if your days are on the Hill. Union Station is a 7-minute walk, and its indoor pool works in any season.
The Hyatt House at The Wharf is the summer choice: a seasonal, heated rooftop pool with views of the Potomac, and the restaurants and piers of The Wharf at the door. L'Enfant Plaza, with five Metro lines, is a 9-minute walk.
The Four Seasons Washington DC is at 2800 Pennsylvania Ave NW on the eastern edge of Georgetown, an 11-minute walk from Foggy Bottom-GWU. Georgetown has no Metro stop of its own. The pool is a heated indoor saline lap pool, open all year.
The Omni Shoreham in Woodley Park is the only property here with an outdoor pool at ground level, open from late May through early September. The grounds back onto Rock Creek Park, so it feels quieter than the downtown hotels, and the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Red Line station is a 3-minute walk.
Tips for booking an eco hotel with a pool in Washington DC
- Ask the hotel directly whether the pool is open on your travel dates. Outdoor and rooftop pools in DC close for the colder months, and indoor pools sometimes close for maintenance.
- LEED comes in different ratings: some cover how a building was designed and built, and LEED O+M covers how an existing building is run. Ask which one a hotel holds. A LEED Gold hotel can still use single-use plastics or source non-renewable energy for its pool heating. Ask about operational practices separately.
- Company-wide programs like Four Seasons for Good aren't a certification for one hotel. If you want figures for the hotel you're booking, ask that hotel before you book.
- Destination DC, the city's tourism office, keeps a list of DC hotels with green certifications at washington.org, and it names the level each one holds.
- Choosing a hotel within a 10-minute walk of a Metro station cuts your trip's ground transportation emissions compared to taking a ride-share for every journey.
The hotels
Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown
2401 M Street NW
9.4165 reviews
8 min walk to Foggy Bottom-GWU (Blue/Orange/Silver)Green Key Global 5 keys, the top level. Guests get the in-house Balance Gym, which has an indoor lap pool.
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Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Ave NW
8.11,054 reviews
7 min walk to Union Station (Red)Green Key Global 4 keys, with an indoor pool and a short walk to the Capitol.
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Hyatt House Washington DC/The Wharf
725 Wharf Street SW
8.53,724 reviews
9 min walk to L'Enfant Plaza (Blue/Orange/Silver/Green/Yellow)LEED Gold building at The Wharf, with a seasonal heated rooftop pool looking over the Potomac.
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Four Seasons Washington DC
2800 Pennsylvania Ave Nw
9.1107 reviews
11 min walk to Foggy Bottom-GWU (Blue/Orange/Silver)Georgetown hotel with a heated indoor saline lap pool, open all year. No third-party green certification we could confirm.
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Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington DC
2500 Calvert St Nw
8.62,248 reviews
3 min walk to Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan (Red)The only hotel on this list with an outdoor pool, open late May to early September. No green certification we could confirm.
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All 63 Washington DC hotel guides →
Frequently asked questions
Which eco hotels in Washington DC have a verified indoor pool?＋
The Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown has an indoor lap pool in its Balance Gym, and the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill has an indoor pool. Both hold Green Key Global certification. The Four Seasons Washington DC also has a heated indoor saline lap pool, though we couldn't confirm a green certification for it.
What does Green Key certification mean for a hotel?＋
Green Key Global rates a hotel's environmental practices, such as energy, water and waste. The hotel fills in a self-assessment, an audit checks it, and the score sets a level from 1 to 5 keys. The Fairmont holds 5 keys and the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill holds 4, according to Destination DC.
Why are two Tier 2 hotels on a list of eco hotels?＋
The Four Seasons Washington DC and the Omni Shoreham have two of the best pools in the city, but we couldn't confirm a third-party green certification for either. We kept them and labeled them plainly, so you can choose a certified hotel if that matters most to you.
How can I verify a hotel's sustainability certification before booking?＋
For LEED, search the US Green Building Council's project directory at usgbc.org. Destination DC's sustainable hotels page at washington.org names the Green Key and LEED levels of the DC hotels it lists. For a company-wide program, ask the hotel for figures on that property.
Is the Four Seasons Washington DC pool open year-round?＋
Yes. It's a heated indoor pool, so you can swim in January as easily as in July.
Which hotel on this list is closest to the Metro?＋
The Omni Shoreham Hotel is a 3-minute walk from the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station on the Red Line. Of the certified hotels, the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill is closest, 7 minutes on foot from Union Station.
