It was constructed by Washington banker Leo M. Bernstein, one of the pioneers in redeveloping the Georgetown neighborhood as a posh residential district.

[3] Omni sold the hotel soon after to Bethesda-based Nordheimer Brothers Co., but continued to manage the property.

In December 1988, Perpetual Savings Bank, which already held a $10 million second mortgage on the hotel, bought the $20 million first mortgage from Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co.[4] Perpetual foreclosed on the hotel in 1991 and became the owner, but Perpetual failed soon after and went into receivership, causing the hotel to become the property of the U.S. government-owned Resolution Trust Corporation in January 1992.

Kimpton Hotels bought the property in November 2004 for $40 million, and temporarily renamed it the Dupont Circle Hotel in July 2005,[6] while it underwent a $32 million renovation that added 34 guest rooms, bringing the total to 335.

[8] The hotel was sold to the Massachusetts-based Service Properties Trust in 2019 for $141.5 million.