Many an important moment in US politics has taken place in the seclusion of a hotel

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Photo courtesy of Waldorf Astoria 

Hotels have seen the coming and goings of travellers for centuries, from the fraught family holiday to the star-studded entourages of celebrities. Some moments matter more than others, and it's the politics that we're interested in. Hong Kong's oldest hotel, The Peninsula, had its own moment in history when the Japanese claimed it as their headquarters and British officials surrendered on the third floor in 1941 - though it's difficult to imagine it being the scene of international conflict rather than the luxurious haven it is today. Attracting celebrity-like media attention, American politics offers even juicier traveller tales of the countries elite and powerful - and if those walls could talk, we'd want to hear the presidential gossip from these five hotel rooms.


Kirkwood House, Washington DC

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Photo courtesy of Wikicommons

On April 15, 1865, Vice-President Andrew Johnson took the presidential oath of office in his room at the Kirkwood House Hotel, following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Kirkwood House was demolished in 1875, and the structure has been razed and rebuilt no less than four times in its 200-year history. Now known as 1111 Pensylvania Avenue, it is currently leased by a law firm.


Waldorf Astoria, New York

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Photo courtesy of Waldorf Astoria

President Franklin D Roosevelt used to arrive via a specially designed, now-defunct, secret train platform under the hotel at 49th Street. The wheelchair-bound president avoided media attention by driving into the underground bunker, and taking a hidden lift directly to the Presidential Suite. The lift was made so large it could fit a car. It's been out of use for half a century, but the Waldorf Astoria is still as luxurious.


Washington Hilton, Washington DC

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Photo courtesy of Washington Hilton

As President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton after delivering a speech in 1981, he was shot by mentally ill would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr - but luckily he survived. Reagan was only 69 days into his presidency, and the first serving president to survive an assassination. 


 Mayflower Hotel, Washington DC

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Photo courtesy of the Mayflower Hotel

The Mayflower Hotel has seen plenty of risqué business done behind closed doors. The famous photo of President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky embracing at a 1996 campaign event was taken here, and one of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s resignation-inducing hook-ups with prostitutes took place in room 871 in 2008.


Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City

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Photo courtesy of Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City

On January 16, 1998, officers from the FBI questioned Monica Lewinsky in room 1012 of the Ritz-Carlton about her alleged affair with President Bill Clinton. They pressed her to wear a wire to record conversations with the president, which Lewinsky refused to do.