The Mandarin Oriental boasts a waterfront locale overlooking the Tidal Basin in the southwest section of Washington, DC. In addition to its 400 luxury guestrooms, the hotel also features a 10,400-sf spa, and over 33,000 sf of meeting space, including a 5,000-sf outdoor event space. The hotel is part of the upscale mixed-use development known as the Portals.

Republic Properties Corp. is behind the development of the Portals, and played a part in the development of the hotel, along with Mandarin Oriental International Ltd., Lano International Inc. and Armada/Hoffler Construction Co. The official owner, as per District property records, is Portals Hotel Site LLC, which lists a Virginia Beach, VA address identical to that of Armada/Hoffler.

The city played a big part in helping to make the hotel a reality; DC issued $46 million in tax increment financing revenue bonds for the project. The TIF bonds yielded net proceeds of approximately $35 million. Mandarin Oriental International Ltd. provided $19 million for the project, and syndicated bank facilities of Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale provided the remaining $85 million in financing.