Fodor's Expert Review 21C Museum Hotel

Four-foot tall red plastic penguins line the roof of this boutique hotel and modern art museum like friendly sentries. When it opened in 2006, 21C immediately attracted national acclaim for its elegant restoration of a 19th-century building, attention to service, and cutting-edge art collection. Guests mingle with gallery visitors and locals who are dining in the hotel's award-winning restaurant, Proof on Main. All of the designer-decorated rooms are spacious, but the best have private patios overlooking the city, where—on a sunny Kentucky morning—you can enjoy room-service breakfast while wearing a plush hotel bathrobe. At the end of the day, soak in the large bathtub while sipping bourbon from the silver julep cup provided in each room.