9 Best Hotels in The Seacoast, New Hampshire

This refined boutique hotel fashioned out of a stunningly restored brick-and-wood 1860s building that originally served as the First Congregational Church of Portsmouth offers posh yet unpretentious rooms with tall windows, local art, custom linens and beds, and premium bath products. The friendly staff can arrange in-room massages, and guests can relax in the warmly decorated parlor and enjoy a meal of sublime Japanese food in Nichinan restaurant. Numerous other dining options as well as shops, museums, and bars are within a short walk.

This gorgeously appointed luxury B&B in the heart of downtown Exeter exudes character and comfort, with individually themed rooms furnished with fine antiques, Oriental rugs, and cushy bedding. Most of the accommodations in this exquisite Federal-style mansion, built in 1809, have gas fireplaces, and the Exeter Suite has its original Colonial kitchen fireplace; the Abenaki Room takes an outdoorsy approach with exposed beams, antlers over the brick fireplace, and a boat-shape bookcase.

This chicly remade mid-century motel, comprising 12 spacious apartment-style suites with kitchens and retro-cool decor, enjoys direct beach access along a mostly undeveloped and gorgeous stretch of Atlantic coastline between Odiorne Point and Wallis Sands Beach. An attractive sundeck and heated pool offers ocean views and is equipped with a grill. Parking is free if you book directly but $29 otherwise.

Nearly demolished in the 1980s, one of coastal New England's most elegant Victorian grand resorts—where the likes of Harry Truman and Gloria Swanson once vacationed—has been meticulously restored and now ranks among the cushiest golf, boating, and spa getaways in New Hampshire. The hotel has spacious rooms, all with ocean or harbor views. Huge sunny suites, which have gas fireplaces, occupy a modern building overlooking the marina. 

Each of the stylish rooms in this urbane inn occupying a converted Victorian redbrick brewery on the historic riverfront has plenty of handy amenities, such as wine glasses with corkscrews and plush robes, and the modern bathrooms have handsome Italian tilework.

The spacious rooms in this contemporary all-suites boutique hotel look either south over the ocean and down along the Hampton Beach shoreline or north over pristine Hampton Salt Marsh Conservation Area, and all have good-size balconies from which to soak up the views. With kitchenettes and large sitting areas, these are a popular choice with families or those planning longer visits.

From downtown Portsmouth, it's a picturesque 2-mile drive or bike ride along the Piscataqua River to this urbane inn set inside an 1820s home that's been given a nautical-chic redesign, all of its six apartment-style studios equipped with well-stocked kitchens, washers and dryers, and light-filled living spaces. Although the inn offers only a self check-in, there is a concierge available to answer questions by text. Some rooms have water views. 

This downtown Victorian mansion built in 1881 by a sea captain is now a 32-room boutique hotel with elegantly updated furnishings, plush bed linens, and such modern conveniences as fast Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs.

Since 1649, this stately yellow house has graced a hill overlooking the Oyster River; it now offers attractive rooms filled with period antiques and reproductions in the main house and a 1795 barn. Canopy or four-poster beds and Oriental rugs, and in some cases fireplaces and Jacuzzi tubs, fill these charming accommodations. There are also multiple dining options, including a shaded outdoor patio and the cozy and historic ffrost Sawyer Tavern.