Barack Obama checks into Washington hotel

Although they will not take up residence in the White House until January 20, Barack Obama (pictured) and his family are to move to Washington this weekend. The President-elect has been impelled to leave Chicago early because his two children, Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, are set to begin their first day at the their new school on Monday. Both are attending the Sidwell Friends School - alma mater of Chelsea Clinton and Al Gore Jr - where annual fees are $29,000.

The Obamas had hoped to stay at Blair House, the residence used by the White House for visiting dignitaries, however this is booked until January 15. While pressure on hotel rooms in Washington is immense, the family have managed to get a suite at the Hay-Adams Hotel on Lafayette Square, just across from his new home.

However, Obama will not be in Washington for all of January. He will leave the city again later in the month so that he can make an official entrance with more pageantry. He intends to travel back to Washington by train from Philadelphia with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, tracing part of the route to the capital taken by Abraham Lincoln.

The choice of the Hay-Adams is expensive – the biggest suites are between $5,000 and $6,000 a night - but apt. The hotel, which was built in 1928, was named after John Hay, who was a private assistant to President Lincoln.