Insurgents attacked the Spozhmai Hotel in the Lake Qargha area on Thursday night, taking many hostages.
Kabul's police chief said 15 civilians, including hotel guests, died. All five insurgents were killed.
The Taliban claimed the attack, saying the hotel was used by wealthy Afghans and foreigners for "wild parties".
Lake Qargha is on the outskirts of Kabul and is favoured by residents of the Afghan capital for day trips and family outings.
this was an easy target for the Taliban, in a fairly remote area, with little security.
Foreigners rarely visit the lake, our correspondent says.
In addition to the five militants, those killed included civilians, hotel guards and a police officer.
Dozens of people were taken hostage.
AFP news agency photographer Massoud Hossaini, who went into the hotel after the siege ended, told the BBC: "All the walls have been torn apart with bullets; all the furniture and all the things that were there like carpets are torn and damaged.
"I saw the bodies of some fighters and their bodies were in bits and pieces. There are a lot of bullets casings here, lots of them."
The gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, launched the attack on the hotel late on Thursday, officials say.
Gen John Allen, of the Nato-led International Security and Assistance Force, said the "unspeakably brutal attack" bore the "signature" of the Haqqani group.
"There is no doubt that innocent Afghan civilians were the intended targets," he said in a statement.
Source: BBC News
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