( CNN ) -- The hotel that will be home to President-elect Barack Obama and his family for the next couple of weeks offers one of Washington 's best views of their future home , the White House , and a past linked with political movers and shakers . The Obama family will check into the historic Hay-Adams hotel in Washington this weekend . The Obamas will be moving into the Hay-Adams hotel this weekend , aides say . They 're doing this in part so that the family 's daughters , Sasha and Malia , can begin school when classes reconvene after winter break . They had hoped to move earlier into nearby Blair House , which presidents-elect traditionally occupy five days before moving into the White House . But the Bush administration said the house , which is used as a guest house for visiting dignitaries , already had events scheduled there and guests who could not be displaced . The Obamas will move into Blair House on January 15 . According to its Web site , the Hay-Adams takes its name from past residents of the site -- one of whom had close ties with Obama 's favorite U.S. president , Abraham Lincoln . John Hay , a private assistant to Lincoln and later secretary of state , and Henry Adams , an author and descendent of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams , both lived on the site the hotel now occupies . The two , their wives and geologist Clarence King were a group of friends that dubbed themselves `` The Five of Hearts , '' going so far as to have china and stationary letterhead printed with the nickname . In 1884 , Hay and Adams bought adjoining lots at the corner of 16th and H Streets , and their homes became Washington 's leading salons . Their discussions of politics , literature , science and art attracted the likes of Theodore Roosevelt , Mark Twain and author Henry James . The homes were bought and razed in 1927 , with the Italian Renaissance-style Hay-Adams House erected in their place at a cost of $ 900,000 . It was bought by the Ieu family of Japan in 1989 and was closed from October 2001 to March 2002 , during which time it underwent a $ 20 million renovation . Watch more about the Obamas ' temporary home » . The hotel sits across Lafayette Square from the White House . It has 145 guest units , including 21 suites . Its Web site advertises rooms with unobstructed views of the White House , St. John 's Church and the square . Local legend holds that Henry Adams ' wife , Clover , committed suicide in 1885 and now haunts the hotel . The story goes that she appears most frequently in December on the hotel 's fourth floor . The Hay-Adams ' roof is frequently used by film crews when an aerial view of the White House is needed .
They will stay in Hay - Adams for a couple of weeks until White House is ready . Storied hotel offers fabulous views of their future home , the White House . Hotel built on site of two homes that were part of D.C. 's salon culture in late 1800s . Legend says it 's haunted ; it underwent major renovations several years ago .