By the 1960s, Washington, D.C.'s West End neighborhood was a decaying area of Victorian townhouses and abandoned light industrial sites.

[4] The atrium was intended to mimic a tropical rain forest, and contained palm trees; a two-story, terraced waterfall; and a lagoon in which both ducks and red koi fish swam.

At night, the atrium was lit by soft glowing paper lanterns in an Asian motif.

[3] The Embassy Suites Washington, D.C. underwent a renovation to its guest rooms and public spaces beginning in November 2012.

[4] In December 1989, Holiday Corp. spun off Embassy Suites and its other hotels as stand-alone Promus Companies.