Hall on Virginia Avenue, more commonly known as HOVA, is a co-ed student residence hall at 2601 Virginia Ave. hosting about 200 graduate students.
HOVA
Location[]
Building and Room Structure[]
HOVA consists of 8 residential floors plus main level lobby, mezzanine, 2 underground parking levels, and rooftop pool level
Amenities and Features[]
- Study lounge
- Rooftop pool
- Laundry facilities per floor
- Kitchen facilities
- Room specific: Rooms have full private bathrooms, mini refrigerators, high-speed Internet access and a telephone line per room, and cable television. HOVA also features two newly constructed common space kitchens for student use.
Breakdown of available room types:
- 100% of students will live in singles
History[]
Earlier in the 20th century, HOVA was Howard Johnson’s hotel located across the street from the Watergate complex. Room 723 was the lookout room for the infamous Watergate break-in, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. In the past, HOVA served as a freshman residence hall; however, the District of Columbia disallowed this plan in 2005 and the university converted HOVA to a graduate student residence hall.
House Staff[]
Security[]
Pros[]
Cons[]
HOVA is generally despised by the graduate student community. Given its history as a luxury hotel, the rooms in HOVA are more like dorm rooms, with a private bathroom, refrigerator, and microwave, than an apartment. Many graduate students believe they should be given more advanced housing accomodations and choose to live off-campus, rather than in GW housing.