36 Best Hotels in Hudson Valley, New York

America's oldest operating inn, the Beekman Arms is a welcoming presence in the center of town. Beyond the massive doors are wide-plank floors, beamed ceilings, and a stone hearth. The original 1766 building has smallish though cheery and comfortable colonial-style rooms with modern baths. One block north on U.S. 9 is "the Beek's" sister, the Delamater Inn. The American Gothic masterpiece, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, has a hidden courtyard. The guesthouse behind the inn houses pet-friendly, motel-style rooms.

The rambling Victorian-era hotel—a jumble of towers, chimneys, porches, and turrets—sits at the edge of a mountaintop lake. The resort's 1,200 acres encompass private woodland and elaborate gardens and overflow with options for recreation, including 85 miles of hiking trails. Antiques fill the guest rooms, which are luxurious and spacious. The on-site spa includes an indoor heated pool with mountain views, a solarium with a fireplace, a fitness center, and full-service salon. Choice accommodations in the towers have original Victorian woodwork, wood-burning fireplaces, and balconies. Your room rate includes three meals daily, plus afternoon tea and cookies, and most resort activities. Breakfast and lunch are buffet-style; dinner is a formal affair (men may want to wear jackets). Four self-catering cottages, which sleep four to six people, are also available and include full kitchens.

A ½-mile hike from a small parking lot near a Coast Guard station brings you to this romantic hideout, a restored lighthouse overlooking the Hudson River. Accommodations are simple and rustic—you make up your own bed at night, and the shared bathroom has a composting toilet—but the two bedrooms are bright and have expansive views. Be sure to climb to the lantern house, which looks across the river at the Clermont estate. Outdoor decks make for idyllic picnics; at low tide stairs lead to a beach.

This boutique hotel, steps from Hudson's many galleries, shops, and restaurants, offers posh modern comforts in a restored Art Deco building. There's an impressive display of artistic martini glasses in a cabinet in the lobby.

A convenient setting and inexpensive room rates are the draw at this family-friendly place within Bear Mountain State Park. Constructed in 1915 of native stone and timber found on the site, the Main Inn has 15 rooms, a restaurant, bar, spa, café, and a vast, rustic lobby with a cozy stone fireplace. About a mile away, on the other side of Hessian Lake, are two additional buildings called the Stone Lodges. These have large windows (some with lake views) but get traffic noise from nearby highways. Overlook Lodge, in a quiet wooded area, has 24 spacious, serviceable rooms and a lobby with Hudson River vistas.

The shingle-style inn overlooking Wappingers Creek and its falls, has a rather European feel to it. Rooms are decorated in a contemporary style; some overlook the water. There's a complimentary reception with wine and beer held daily in front of the fireplace.

You can sip your cider from Golden Harvest Farms, located directly across the street, at one of several strategically placed picnic benches scattered on the front lawn. The motel-style accommodations show signs of inspiration—some have handsome black-and-white photographs reminiscent of Ansel Adams. Suites have eat-in kitchens and living rooms with sleeper sofas.

With two impressive towers and a stone exterior, this magnificent mansion, completed in 1910, sits amid 11 hilltop acres overlooking the Hudson River and was modeled after Lismore Castle in County Waterford, Ireland. The main tower is the highest point in Westchester County. Rooms occupy the original house and a stucco wing, where you'll also find the THANN Sanctuary Spa that offers holistic spa treatments. Rooms are elegant, decorated with antiques, silk curtains, and four-poster beds. The food at the Equus restaurant is as refined as the surroundings.

The design and decor of this roadside motel are standard issue: vending machines in one corner, lobby in the other. What makes things interesting are the sights and sounds behind the motel. Each room has a little patio overlooking a nature preserve. Local wildlife—deer, wild turkeys, pheasants—roam right up to your doorstep. Towering cottonwoods frame your view.

After you arrive at this stately Greek Revival mansion and pass through the grand columns of the portico, any hint of formality dissolves as the innkeepers greet you with a plate of fresh-baked cookies. Combining manor-house elegance with bed-and-breakfast-style warmth, this 1820 architectural treasure is surrounded by lawns, gardens, and a patio with sunset views. Many rooms have fireplaces and four-poster beds with sheer panels or crocheted canopies; some also feature cavernous marble bathrooms. Windows provide pastoral vistas without another house in sight—except the 1764 Chimney's Cottage, which contains four of the guest rooms, all filled with period antiques. There's also an adjacent farm with a shop for hot coffee, pickles, pies, and jams.

Close to the center of town, this hotel offers elegant rooms with comfortable beds and heated bathroom floors. The best feature is that all rooms have a private balcony overlooking Esopus Falls. The Tavern serves contemporary American food prepared by a Culinary Institute–trained chef.

Pass through the center of Red Hook and you can't help but notice this stately blue Victorian mansion. The owners are antiques collectors, so the house has the feel of a museum, especially in the common rooms. All but one of the bedrooms are corner rooms.

This fanciful 19th-century home has a broad veranda and tower and is chock-full of period antiques. A crackling fireplace beckons in the first-floor parlor; in warmer seasons you can relax on the porch or in the garden. Bedrooms are decked out in pinks and florals; some beds are draped with swags.

A stunning riverfront setting and a wraparound porch distinguish this simple three-story clapboard inn built in 1832 to house steamboat passengers. Farmhouse antiques and French-country furnishings adorn the rooms. Be sure to request a room with a private terrace looking out onto the Hudson River or quiet Main Street.

Exposed timbers, wide-plank floors, antique trunks, and custom-made cupboards evoke a Shaker spirit at this 1830 dairy farm. On the way up to the Loft Room—which recalls a romantic, shabby-chic beach cottage—you pass a shimmering hallway mural of flower sprigs, silver maples, and a rogue bunny. Ralph Lauren sheets complement the elegantly simple rooms. You could lose hours pondering the Berkshires from the expansive back deck. Guests can get free tickets to Olana and discount tickets to the Ghent Playhouse.

Each room at this B&B, across the road from the entrance to the Vanderbilt Mansion, is tastefully decorated with treasures the owners have collected during their world travels. The Kyoto Room, with light-wood furniture and soft colors, is serene. The English-country suite has rich floral wallpaper, Oriental carpets, and a cozy nook with a daybed. The Roosevelt Room, dressed in subdued country-print fabrics, has two twin beds. The common living room is slightly formal but bright and comfortable.

Adjacent to the park, the LEGOLAND Hotel has 250-themed rooms---Pirate, Kingdom, LEGO Friends, LEGO NINJAGO---that have separate sleeping areas for kids with a bunk bed and entertainment center. The onsite Bricks Family Restaurant is a good option for breakfast and dinner, but reservations are required and there can be a wait. An added bonus for the kids: daily in-room scavenger hunts with LEGO prizes.

The house, built in 1810, was remodeled in 1838 when classical detailing was all the rage (witness the majestic columns in the front hall). If the interior recalls 17th-century Italy, it's because most of the furniture came from the current owner's palazzo near Modena. Elegant marquetry tables grace the parlors and lush silk draperies dress many windows. Extensive gardens surround the house, and a sculpture garden displays works by local artists. If arranged three days in advance, guests can order a three-course dinner prepared by your hosts.

One of the newer additions to Millbrook's pantheon of hotels, the Millbook Inn is a sophisticated country house located a few miles from the center of town. Set in a former boys' school dormitory, the restored rooms are decorated with traditional dark wood furniture and black-and-white photographs. The Anne Room has a four-poster bed and a hot tub. The inn also has a restaurant.

Cathedral ceilings, Arts and Crafts styling, and towering windows with views of white cliffs or deep forests contribute to the delight of this lodge. Works by local artists and photographers add interest. Some guest rooms have balconies.

Linger over breakfast by the pool and hot tub, which face the Shawangunk cliffs, or in the country kitchen. Later you may want to test your badminton game in the garden or shoot some pool in the cozy rec room, which also features a fireplace. Frills and florals adorn furnishings in the guest rooms.

On a quiet tree-lined street 3 mi from Rhinebeck center, this inn has a resident ghost who reportedly appears with some regularity in the Spirited Dove room. Edith Thomas tends to her guests, telling them the fascinating history of this house, built by German settlers. Much of the original detail in this circa-1745 inn has been beautifully preserved. The country decor mixes rustic pieces with some finer furnishings.

Funky artwork fills the guest rooms and public spaces of this inn above a popular eatery. A slightly disheveled East Village flavor prevails here. Simple furnishings reminiscent of the 1970s are a backdrop for the eclectic paintings, multimedia works, and bright murals. Down-home cooking with creative twists keeps the locals coming to the restaurant downstairs.

Symmetrical topiaries flank the steps to this 1785 Georgian manor with leaded-glass windows. A major renovation in 1865 resulted in the Victorian demeanor you see today; amid all the original artwork, period architectural details, and antiques, you could easily mistake your surroundings for a museum. In the dramatic crimson hall, stairs rise to the four guest rooms, all stocked with plush bathrobes, 360-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, boxes of chocolates, bottled water, and fruit baskets.

A 1825 brick inn in the heart of the village is filled with antiques, from Chippendale to chinoiserie. If you fall in love with that four-poster bed or mahogany armoire, you can buy it (price tags hang from nearly every furnishing). Most rooms have a wood-burning stove or a fireplace; two have hot tubs. Breakfasts, served in the light-filled Victorian conservatory or on the garden patio, are ample. Sweet aromas also waft from the kitchen in early afternoon, when the innkeeper often bakes cookies to serve with tea.

The Bardavon Opera House and the train station are within walking distance of this modern downtown hotel. Rooms have either one king or two double beds, two telephones (one in the bathroom), and wireless Internet.

Rooms in this 1840s inn with a wide front porch are spacious and uncluttered; floral fabrics, some vintage, dress a couple of them. Breakfast is served in the restaurant, or on the porch during the warmer months. The main dining rooms have white tablecloths and lace curtains. Local produce is used when available and the eggs come from chickens in the backyard.

Set in a quaint hamlet overlooking the Hudson River just 3 miles from Rhinebeck, the Rhinecliff is a beautifully restored boutique hotel right next to the Amtrak train station. Rooms are airy with antique beams and balconies with spectacular river views.

Seven miles southeast of New Paltz, this all-inclusive dude ranch is loaded with activities for all seasons, including a children's zoo and the Big Splash Waterpark with the 250-foot long Gold Rush Flume Ride. Summer fun includes kayaking, water-skiing, and boat rides, while during the winter you can enjoy skiing, snow-tubing, ice-skating, and horse-drawn sleigh rides. All instruction and equipment is included with your stay. Accommodations include rooms in the main lodge, where the lobby is hung with wagon wheels, and motel-style buildings.

The family-owned motel, painted presidential white, is in the heart of Hyde Park, within walking distance of antiques shops, restaurants, and museums. Rooms have a queen or king bed, one or two doubles, or a pair of twin beds. The smaller rooms have knotty-pine paneling, whereas the others are more contemporary in style.