12 Best Hotels in Hudson Valley, New York

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A wonderful example of the revitalization of the city, the Roundhouse at Beacon Falls is a boutique hotel and spa housed in an red brick building, adjacent to Beacon Falls. Penthouse suites have private roof decks.

Two 19th-century mansions—one Georgian, the other a stone Gothic Revival that's a National Trust site—dominate this conference-oriented property, once home to tobacco heiress Mary Duke Biddle. The grounds, high above the Hudson River, are loaded with recreational diversions and include massive specimen trees and antique garden statues amid 26 rolling acres. Most of the mansion rooms serve as restaurants and other public meeting places; modern wings provide the bulk of the guest rooms, each with a desk and free Wi-Fi.

Ethereal Hudson River views ennoble this imposing brick-and-granite hotel on the grounds of West Point. (You pass through two security checkpoints on your way to the hotel.) Sleek marble floors, iron chandeliers, and portraits of military leaders bedeck the main lobby; dark, regal furnishings and prints of river scenes adorn guest rooms. Request an odd-numbered room for river vistas or an even-numbered room for views of the academy. The restaurant lures crowds to its Sunday champagne brunch buffet ($34.95 prix fixe). In summer, angle for a table on the outdoor terrace.