16 Best Hotels in Annapolis and Southern Maryland, Maryland

Three 18th-century properties in the historic district—the Governor Calvert House, Robert Johnson House, and Maryland Inn—are grouped as one inn, all offering guest rooms individually decorated with antiques and reproductions. Built in 1727, Calvert House is steps from the capitol. Also on State Circle, Robert Johnson House was built for the Annapolis barber in 1772. At the Maryland Inn, on nearby Church Circle, all rooms date from the Revolutionary era. Registration for all three is at the Governor Calvert House.

An extraordinarily elegant B&B, this circa-1770 house has richly colored rooms decorated in the formal style of the home's original era. The master suite has a sitting room and two fireplaces. Each suite has a king-size bed with luxury linens and a bathroom with hand showers, bidets, and heated towel holders and marble floors. From the third-floor suite's sundeck there's a close-up view of the domes of the Naval Academy Chapel and the state capitol and the harbor. Breakfast is a sumptuous three-course event served in the stately dining room. TVs are placed in the rooms on request.

You can practically fish from your room at the city's only waterfront hotel (now part of Marriott's Autograph Collection), where rooms have either balconies over the water or large windows with views of the harbor or the historic district. The outdoor bar by the harbor's edge, Pusser's Caribbean Grille, is popular in nice weather.

Built for a waterman in 1880, this blue wood-frame house sits in a residential neighborhood on well-tended grounds at the edge of Back Creek. You can lounge on the deck next to a beautiful perennial garden. Four rooms have water views, and one opens onto the garden. Breakfast is served in the dining room. The Lavender Cottage in the rear of the Inn costs a little more and boasts water views and a king-size bed, but it is a favorite for couples. The Back Creek Inn is in a residential neighborhood, but easily within walking distance to town. Kayaking and bikes are nearby for rental.

Set on 30 acres of farmland, this farmhouse provides a trip through time to life on a tobacco plantation in the 19th century. Rooms are decorated with original family furnishings. Relax on one of the big outdoor porches or patios and watch the St. Mary's River running lazily nearby. In the evening there are two candlelit dining rooms—the foyer or the formal parlor. Five miles of hiking trails lead to St. Mary's City, and the inn has bikes for the use of guests. The in-house restaurant specializes in seafood and occasionally serves such exotic items as bison, ostrich, or shark.

Opened in 2004, this luxury hotel and spa is a key part of the revitalization of the town's tourism business. The public spaces pay homage to the beachfront community's history. A mural in the lobby depicts the old roller coaster that once thrilled vacationers, and framed photographs line the corridors, tracing the town's changes from its Victorian heyday to the present. The whitewashed oak furniture and sand-color walls give the rooms an elegant yet beachy style. The resort was built right on the water's edge, and its suites and deluxe rooms have balconies that seem to hang over the Bay. There are also three dining options, a boardwalk, and a fishing charter company at the hotel's full-service marina.

Although this hotel is 5 miles from the historic Annapolis waterfront, there's a free shuttle, and the two-room suites with pullout sofas are perfect for families. A few suites have kitchenettes. A large fireplace, wooden floors, and overstuffed sofas make the lobby an inviting place to linger, and a hot buffet breakfast is served daily. The hotel is within walking distance of Annapolis's largest mall, and the free shuttle also serves the city's business parks.

Just half a block from the water, the three detached houses that form this hotel come from three centuries—the years 1780, 1890, and 1980, to be exact—and all the guest rooms are furnished with pre-1900 antiques. Continental breakfast with a waffle bar is served in the formal dining room of the 17th-century Patterson House.

A two-sided fireplace separates the check-in area from the lobby's bright and airy breakfast space. Just off I–97, this hotel is minutes from historic Annapolis. Guest rooms are traditional, but the spacious apartment-style suites have fully equipped kitchens.

This relatively new inn and convention center has the standard amenities, including a heated indoor pool and a modern fitness center. The business crowd fits right in here, as the hotel's expansive lobby and corporate look signal the expectation of convention and meetings clientele. Large rooms have desks with ergonomically designed chairs and plenty of outlets There are six rooms with Jacuzzis available.

In this four-story waterfront hotel, every guest room has a water view (if you count the swimming pool); rooms look onto the cove, the open creek, or the courtyard. Whirlpools are available in some suites. Designed to accommodate conventions and meetings business, the hotel is often heavily booked, so try to reserve early.

Although its redbrick exterior blends with the city's 1700s architecture, this hotel's interior is airy, spacious, and modern. Guest rooms, decorated in a sailing theme, include coffeemakers and terry robes. A free hotel shuttle bus takes you anywhere you want to go in Annapolis, and a complimentary breakfast is served in the Breeze restaurant for concierge-level guests.

On the two floors above Chick and Ruth's Delly in the heart of the historic district, this family-owned B&B is cozy and characterful. Rooms are papered in pastel colonial prints and furnished with high beds topped with fluffy comforters and lots of pillows. Chandeliers in each room and marble floors in the private bathrooms show how far the place has come since its first days as a boardinghouse with only two bathrooms. Check-in is in the famous deli downstairs.

On the Back Creek side of narrow Solomons Island this three-story, yellow frame house was built in 1906 by the foremost shipbuilder on the Chesapeake Bay. Six rooms look onto Solomons Harbor and two have garden views. All are furnished with period antiques and reproductions, and every room has an ornate armoire. Afternoon refreshments and breakfast are served on an enclosed porch.

Joe and Nancy Dick have run their B&B on Long Neck Creek since the early 1980s—and they've harvested grapes from their 3 acres of vines nearly as long as that. Rooms, which overlook the water, are decorated with antiques and family heirlooms, the beds covered with hand-sewn quilts. There's a working fireplace at each end of the public space in the Federal-style main building. Nancy's eggs Benedict are always popular, and her airy Austrian puff pancakes over fresh apples or peaches are delicious. Upon arrival guests are invited to sample wine from the vineyards.