2 Best Hotels in Littleton, The White Mountains

Casual elegance and stunning views of the White Mountains define this stately yellow wedding cake of a hotel that dates to 1865 and sprawls over 1,700 acres that include a working farm and a well-maintained golf course. The period-furnished rooms have tall windows to take advantage of those impressive Presidential Range vistas, and the activity offerings—geared both to kids and adults—are extensive, including a movie theater, indoor pool, campfires with s'mores, mountain biking, hiking, dogsledding, ice-skating, and cross-country skiing. The restaurant and bar serve three meals daily.

This former grande dame with a distinguished roster of past guests—including Ulysses S. Grant, Henry Ford, and PT Barnum—offers quirky and fun budget accommodations and a great location in one of the liveliest little downtowns in the White Mountains. In the lobby and lining the hall are photos and memorabilia from movie star Bette Davis's huge birthday bash and artifacts of other illustrious guests. Two rooms are open to the public as exhibits: one set up as a guest room from the 1840s, and the other a scene from Pollyanna, written by Littleton native Eleanor Hodgman Porter (born 1868).