5203 Best Hotels in USA

Built in 1902 by Buffalo Bill and named for his daughter, this striking downtown property retains both its frontier charm and rough edges, with period furniture and pull-chain commodes in many rooms, a large restaurant open all day, and an elaborate cherrywood bar said to have been a gift from Queen Victoria to Buffalo Bill. For those looking for modern amenities and trappings, this probably isn't it. But if you want true history, and the chance to bump into a ghost or two, choose one of the 15 rooms in the original hotel (named after local legends) rather than in the annex, which has standard contemporary rooms. On summer evenings the Cody Gunslingers Shootout takes place in front of the Irma Hotel.

Inside a 100-year-old former warehouse just south of downtown Milwaukee, the Iron Horse Hotel breathes new life into this historic building with its unique design and welcoming approach. Motorcycle gear-shifts form the lobby chandeliers, and 1920s drafting chairs are lined up at the Branded bar. The hotel's breakfast room, The Library, provides cozy leather sofas, a book collection and long tables with industrial lamps that accompany breakfasts-to-order. Wait staff, although enthusiastic, is still finding its groove. In each loft-style room, Cream City brick walls were preserved and modern amenities, such as murals and tiled walk-in showers with rain showerheads, were added.

Comprising four handsomely restored suites in a former boardinghouse for rail workers and four offbeat vintage caboose all filled with engaging railroad memorabilia, this distinctive inn is especially fun for fans of vintage trains, but the individually decorated accommodations are quite comfy, too. Adjacent Iron Horse Park, which is bisected by a span of the 250-mile Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, is a wonderful spot for hiking.

On the banks of the Fraser River, this condo-style hotel now owned by Winter Park Resort is ski-in ski-out, but it's removed from the resort's base village. Simple wood and stone details fill studios for couples and the one- and two-bedroom apartments for families. Most apartments have full kitchens and balconies with views of a grove of aspen.

Once the home of James Dean (he lived here for two years in the 1950s), the Iroquois is a historic hotel dating from 1899. Today, guests enjoy stately accommodations and bits of decadence, like heated bath floors, Frette robes, and complimentary shoeshine service. It's a pleasant surprise to discover such a friendly, inviting, well-designed property in Midtown at competitive rates. Inside, don't miss Lantern's Keep, the charming cocktail bar that is easily one of Manhattan's best.

On a residential street three blocks from Harvard Square, this four-story gray clapboard guesthouse is a bargain. It has two small porches, hardwood floors, and Oriental carpets, making it homier than a hotel, and there's a real sense of conviviality among guests, mostly Europeans and visiting parents or professors. The inn maintains a giving library, which means you can take home that book you didn't quite finish. The small, superclean rooms are refurbished with bright new paint, flat-screen TVs, and original art. The limited off-street parking is a real coup in car-clogged Cambridge. So is the green and guilt-free solar thermal water-heating system. As a nice added touch, the hotel will mail postcards anywhere free of charge.

Lilacs, pink roses, and beautiful perennial gardens add a floral flourish this 1857 Greek Revival farmhouse located on a quiet residential road near the bay. Innkeepers Mark and Amy Scamman set the scene for a romantic getaway with guest rooms sporting country antiques, beamed ceilings, four-poster beds, and fluffy duvets. In the attached carriage house, some guest rooms have small balconies overlooking a wooded lawn with gardens, grape arbors, and berry bushes.

New owners, who live on-site, are refreshing the look of this circa 1848 Victorian, but it still has that 'olde inn' appeal, with graceful lines, high ceilings, and stained glass. Despite intricate wall coverings and canopy beds, the spacious rooms are uncluttered and welcoming, merging vintage charm and a lighter modern touch. The two suites in the adjacent carriage house, outfitted with king beds, have a simpler, cottage style.

A private garden with brick walkways, tropical plants, and a canopy of palms sets this convivial guesthouse apart from the pack. The vintage-1880s property has wraparound verandas, pine floors, and charm to spare. Arch House, a former carriage house, has a dramatic entry that opens into a lush courtyard. Although all suites front busy Eaton Street, only Suites 5 and 6 face it. A reconstructed cigar factory has become the poolside Cigar House, with spacious rooms, porches, decks, and plantation-style teak and wicker furnishings. The private tropical garden wraps around a spacious pool area. Children are welcome—a rarity in Old Town guesthouses.

Geared specifically toward gay men, this hotel features a health club, a video lounge, a café and bar, and rooms in historic digs. Clothing is optional everywhere but in the gym.

Choose from your own cottage on the beach, or take your pick from six different styles of modernized hotel rooms at Sanibel's most established inn—built in 1895 as the home of Will and Harriet Matthews, whose love of entertaining turned this place into the sought-after resort that it is today. Value-enthusiasts will be happy here because there's no resort fee and most everything is included, like tennis, shuffleboard, a heated pool, free Wi-Fi, and beach chairs. If you want to spend some of your hard-earned money for dinner, do try the restaurant, Traditions on the Beach. It's worth it. The Matthews Lodge contains the Gulfview Luxury Suites—another splurge worth considering.

With clean rooms and an inviting, well-kept prime downtown Bar Harbor location, this small family-owned and -operated motel is affordable done right and a convenient base for exploring the Acadia area; each room has outdoor and indoor sitting areas and one free parking space, and there’s complimentary coffee, a water bottle filling station, and a microwave in the lobby.

At this family-friendly beachside resort, activity revolves around a 194,000-gallon pool (allegedly the area's largest) with a spectacular swim-through waterfall and a bar in the Grotto's rock wall. There's even a mermaid named Misty. There are several on-site dining options.

Like the rest of historic Pass-a-Grille, this converted, 1950s-vintage property is totally friendly and totally Old Florida, with one- and two-bedroom cottages that make it great for a family beach vacation. It's within easy walking distance of the beach, and its nicely landscaped grounds feature huge live oaks and sea grapes, teak deck chairs, and a weathered fishing pier. Grills are available if you want to barbecue. Continental breakfast is served only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and there's a four-night minimum stay during holidays.

Here you get to choose between a self-sufficient town home on the bay side or an oceanfront resort with on-site restaurants and oodles of other amenities. Either way, the interiors are bright and casual. The Islander Bayside's two-bedroom town homes have a gourmet kitchens, flat-screen TVs, washer-dryers, and all the comforts of home. A bayfront pool is ideal after a day of fishing, and if your boat is under 24 feet, you can dock it in the marina outside your door. On the ocean side, the villas and the resort rooms feature sophisticated furnishings, plantation shutters, full-size refrigerators, and microwaves.

It's hard to beat the low prices or the spirited and welcoming personality of this funky and truly tiny 1950s motel in North Bend whose five rooms have pop culture themes like "That '70s Room" and the "Star Trek: Enterprise Room." For a small fee, the staff will set up an authentically old-school Atari 2600 or a vintage record player in your room, and they also offer free cruiser bikes to use and can arrange mountain-bike tours and other local activities. 

On a steep hillside and surrounded by trees, this lodgepole-pine B&B is a real retreat. Ninety-five steps lead to a front door tucked away in a cool forest. Decks abound, rooms are full of wood furniture and warm Southwestern colors, and an inviting common area has a two-story old-fashioned adobe fireplace.

William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) cooked his dinner in the hot springs near the site of this spacious log lodge decorated with elk antlers, a stuffed mountain lion, and other critters. Accommodations are in cabins, many with fireplaces, and there's also tent and RV camping. The Olympic-size outdoor pool is filled with artesian hot water that averages 103°F year-round. The dining room specializes in surf and turf.

The spotless pioneer period antiques and the wealth of well-chosen amenities (fireplaces, saunas, whirlpool tubs, double steam showers) at this eight-room 1861-vintage inn—with four additional luxury cottages—evoke the Wild West with an urbane, sophisticated aesthetic. Complimentary full breakfast is served in the elegant restaurant, which also serves lunch and dinner to both guests and nonguests.

The bustling lodge at Jacob Lake Inn is a popular stop for those heading to the North Rim, 45 miles south. This five-acre complex in Kaibab National Forest has basic cabins, motel rooms, and newer hotel rooms that overlook the highways. Avoid the older facilities by asking for one of the new rooms. They aren't as nostalgic and private as the cabins, but a few more dollars gets you a TV and air conditioning.

A veritable textbook of American history is packed into this more than 200-year-old structure, now an elegant inn within walking distance of Antietam National Battlefield. For starters, the home had ties to the Calvert family, Maryland's founders. Later, during the Civil War, a small cannonball, fired during the Battle of Antietam, flew into a wall in the summer kitchen. The house was later used as a field hospital to aid the wounded. Each of the five elegantly appointed rooms pays tribute to an aspect of this home's rich history, and four rooms have private porches that look onto the inn's lush flower gardens. Breakfast includes herbs and produce from the inn's garden, fresh pastries baked on-site, and breads from nearby Mennonite bakeries.

This motel at Ely's main intersection was built near the town's old-time jail; the rooms are assigned cell numbers and there are prison bars around the booths at its fancy steak house. Rooms are basic and clean.

Housed in a newer building but still in the heart of the historic district, this boutique hotel across from Town Park has rooms named for Madison's historic homes and landmarks. Each room contains an original painting of its namesake. Look for luxurious touches like Egyptian cotton linens, oversized rain showers, crackling fireplaces, and furnished balconies. A gourmet continental breakfast is available each morning.

Sleek but comfortable, with a playful design aesthetic, the James is an easy spot to relax into for a few nights. The downstairs lobby is a good spot for relaxing—not too trendy but with comfy seating.

Maine-inspired artwork and fresh flowers add to the simple elegance of this peaceful, Queen Anne–style inn, where guest rooms have colorful floral bedspreads, hooked rugs, and four-poster or other traditional-style beds. One room also has a working fireplace, another has a kitchenette, and some rooms have baths with two-person whirlpool tubs. The Pine Room has a private deck. The full hot breakfast is served in a light-dappled sunroom or on a deck when the weather is nice.

Just off White Sulphur Springs’ Main Street near the center of town, the James Wylie House Bed and Breakfast is an intimate, affordable alternative to staying at the Greenbrier. The house was built in 1819 and has been beautifully restored; the suite even has exposed-wood beams on the ceiling. It also has a small log cabin on-site that dates to 1790 and comes equipped with a full, modern kitchen.

All rooms at this motel overlook Peconic Bay and its sandy beach, and its quiet spot right on the water allows endless opportunities for swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding (fee), and fishing. The family-friendly apartments and suites, furnished in a contemporary style, are especially roomy, and some units have full kitchens. Its location makes it a great base for exploring the North Fork's wineries, farms, shopping, and dining. When booking this property, it's best to call, as prices drop when you book multiple nights.

To some, the Jane, with its appealing public spaces, is impossibly chic; to others, the tiny rooms with single beds and a shared unisex bathroom down the hall are reminiscent of Sing Sing. The historic building housed survivors of the Titanic in 1912, and many feel the standard rooms resemble ships' cabins or railway cars. Captain's Cabins are five times larger, with private baths and Hudson views. 

The largest house in town when it was built in 1845, this three-story brick manse is still plenty impressive, and the property is actually comprised of two buildings, the Main House (closed off-season) and the Jared Coffin House. Antiques-filled parlors are a study in timeless good taste, and the guest rooms, which vary greatly in size and grandeur, are decorated in a low-key, traditional style.

This glorious 1843 Greek revival mansion—yellow with white columns—feels like a private gem; the front desk, parking lot, and other amenities are at the Indigo Inn, across the $20/day self-park lot. The main house has royally large rooms; several, including the Canton Room—which opens to the second-story veranda—have sitting rooms. A third-floor apartment has a fully equipped kitchen and views of the city. The carriage house, or "dependency," which looks out to a courtyard, has four cozy rooms of its own.