Best New Hotels in the U.S.
All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
.jpg)
JAMES BAIGRIEhotel1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
$$ |
Hot List 2018 
Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023Few things are as classically New York as the 1 Hotel's location at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. Aside from the prime real estate, it's a thoughtfully designed, supremely attractive place to call home for as long as you're a guest here. Plus, it has one of the prettiest farm-to-table restaurants in all of Brooklyn: The Osprey. You can feel even better staying here knowing that the hotel is sustainable and eco-friendly, using recycled and repurposed materials for furniture, LED lighting, and a rainwater harvesting system. The rooftop pool has amazing views out over Manhattan and is where you'll want to be on warm days.
- Spencer Lowellhotel
Ace Hotel Chicago
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018The Ace Hotel is a humming, industrial-vibe magnet for Google employees who work across the street, and urban nomads checking in to check out the banging West Loop—and the city's cultural attractions beyond. Lovage, the all-day ground-floor café is a morning stop for brioche bun breakfast sandwiches and Stumptown coffee that morphs into cocktails and burgers by afternoon. That same easy, voracious vibe fits the hotel to a tee. Great art all around, including in a dedicated gallery, and even in the gym. The rooftop bar Little Wild offers skyline views nightly live music.
- Courtesy Greg Ceo Studiohotel
The Adelphi Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2021This elegant redo of a Victorian wedding-cake of a hotel revives Saratoga Springs’ glamorous resort-town past, with balcony suites overlooking Broadway's historic facades, and is just minutes from Thoroughbred racing and Saratoga's famed Performing Arts Center. It’s got three pretty top-notch restaurant options, too, including Morrissey’s, a bar tied to a local racing lore that is always a lively scene.
- Courtesy Anvil Hotelhotel
Anvil Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2021, 2022From the outside, the main building of this Jackson, Wyoming hotel looks slightly ominous. But the lobby, with a roaring cast-iron fireplace, wooden tables and benches for reading or coffee drinking, and a “mercantile” lined with beautiful (and deceptively expensive) sweaters, moccasins, and blankets—feels a bit like a Western movie-set. Half of the rooms, including the excellent restaurant, Glorietta, are located in a second building. Room service isn't available, but hit the aforementioned resto for Asian twists on traditional Italian (think: grilled artichoke with chili salt and aioli, and whole branzino in coconut broth) for a pleasantly surprising, outstanding dinner.
- Photo by Nick Simonitehotel
Austin Motel
$ | Hot List 2018Hip hotelier Liz Lambert redesigned this Austin icon into exactly the kind of stripped down spot all the cool kids love. Rooms have been updated but are original to the hotel (apparently they didn't need closets in the '30s), and the decor is funky and playful: red, tufted-vinyl platforms, custom Voutsa wallpaper in a pattern of lips, old-school push-button phones. On warm days, the massive kidney-shaped pool is filled with guests, almost all with a cocktail or Austin Motel koozie in-hand. Its proximity to bustling South Congress is ideal for some travelers, but know that this is a true motel (not hotel) experience.
- Courtesy The DeBrucehotel
The DeBruce
$$$ | Hot List 2018The newest and most luxurious of the Foster Supply Hospitality properties in the area, a sister to North Branch Inn and Arnold House, The DeBruce is about two hours northwest of NYC, and is the escape-the-city retreat that's big with weekenders and people looking to populate their Instagram. It’s the sort of old-school mountain resort you don’t see much of these days, a place where you can fly fish, or hike on private trails, or sit by the fire slowly draining a bottle of wine, or swim in the pool, or just nap, gloriously.
- Photo by Joe Vaughnhotel
Detroit Foundation Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023This is a rare hotel for Detroit, with an authentic scene and a top restaurant (for the city, period). The former firehouse has preserved a lot of its best elements, like the original, untouched terrazzo floors and wood-paneled walls. Everything from the wallpaper to the furniture is made by local artisans. You'll actually want to hang out in the lobby, and you may be joined by hipsters, boss ladies decamping in for meetings or to use the podcasting studio, or the ultimate boss lady, Martha Stewart, who's checked in before.
- Christian Horan/Four Seasonshotel
Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, Florida
$$$ |
Gold List 2019, 2024 Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023In the quiet residential enclave of Surfside, ensconced between the skin-revealing glitter of Miami Beach proper and the buttoned-up flash of Bal Harbour, the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club is a timeless and all-welcoming, new-fashioned take on old-school glamor. Opened in 2017, the hotel builds upon the illustrious circa 1931 beach club that hosted America’s most distinguished throughout the mid 20th century, including Gary Cooper, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor, for fashion-forward parties, beach soirees, and alcohol-fueled overnights—epic enough to enshrine The Surf Club into Florida cultural history (and merit a standalone Assouline coffee-table book). Today, the beachfront legend continues with the resurrection of The Surf Club to its full Mediterranean Revival architectural glory, now enveloped by a series of three, 12-story modernist glass-framed towers. In 72 of the 77 guest rooms and suites in the new towers, glass balconies give way to soothing interiors by famed Paris-based creator Joseph Dirand, delivering design studies in midcentury modern updated for the present day, underscored by juxtapositions of travertine–finished spaces, clean-lined-yet-curvaceous hybrid furnishings, and tastefully gilded accents. (A similar style prevails in the five lower-level Ocean Bungalows, which occupy architect Russell T. Pancoast’s beach cabanas of yore.) The restored historic building oozes vintage glam from all corners, down to the black marble check-in desk (where a fully stocked complimentary Champagne cart awaits upon arrival) and Lido Restaurant and Champagne Bar, the Club’s former ballroom thoughtfully transformed into a drop-dead gorgeous, local-frequented Italian hotspot. From $1,500. —Paul Rubio
- Adrian Gaut/Courtesy Freehand Los Angeleshotel
Freehand Los Angeles
$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023Every hotel prizes its design, but Freehand's affordable hostel space in collaboration with Roman & Williams takes the category to a new level. Have a drink under soaring ceilings in the 1930s tiled bar as you sit in Craftsman-inspired furniture, or take dinner in the restaurant where mosaics of owls line the floor (the building used to house the Owl Drug Store). And of course, as at other Freehands, there's an outpost of the James Beard Award-nominated Broken Shaker bar. You won't really believe you're in a hostel until you see the bunk-bed rooms—which are better designed and more comfortable than a number of private suites we've stayed in.
- Photo by Gentl & Hyershotel
Holiday House Palm Springs
$$ | Hot List 2018With just 28 rooms, the recently remodeled Holiday House in Palm Springs has all the luxurious amenities of a large hotel, but with an intimate, relaxed atmosphere. Points for its pristine white facade, impressive art collection (including David Hockney and Roy Liechtenstein), and gorgeous pool surrounded by mountains and towering palm trees. This is definitely an Instagram-worthy hotel, if there ever was one.
- Courtesy Hotel Californianhotel
Hotel Californian
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2023Even for just one night, this 121-room Santa Barbara hotel feels like a taste of Europe—or at least a slower pace than Los Angeles, with charming staff, a Moroccan-spa, and an abundance of delicious food both at the hotel and nearby. Head there by car straight up the Pacific Coast Highway or take the snazzy new trains running from Downtown L.A. (the station is less than a block away).
- Photo by Laure Joliethotel
Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022A full-service hotel smack in the center of town, the tallest building (at seven stories) in Palm Springs is also the only hotel in the entire Coachella Valley with a rooftop pool. Thanks to its height, rooftop pool, and plenty of passing foot traffic, The Rowan has more of a real-deal city vibe than most of the resort-feeling properties in town, drawing a crowd that varies in age and demographic, but often skews heavy on business travelers here for onsite meetings and conferences, as well as travelers with pets in tow. It feels modern while still honoring the city’s midcentury roots and desert location, with rooms featuring light-wood floors, hairpin-legged nightstands, leather desk chairs, cool blue accent rugs, framed topographical maps, and the especially novel tiled walls serving as headboards. Bathrooms feel fresh with large, glass-enclosed showers accented by glossy subway tiles. All rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows, and many have balconies—with corner rooms offering wraparound options. Once you step out of the lobby, you’re mere yards from the city’s bustling main drag and within walking distance of most of Palm Springs’ highlights—shopping, dining and live music, hiking, museums, and many new public art installations. Those looking for a more private, off-the-beaten-path location will likely want to head elsewhere.
- Courtesy Las Alcobas Napa Valleyhotel
Alila Napa Valley
$$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022With Beringer Estate vineyards’ cabernet vines as the backdrop, this hotel made quite the splash as soon as it opened. At the center is a turn-of-the-century Victorian mansion, now called Acacia House, which includes celebrated chef Chris Cosentino’s restaurant, and a romantic porch perfect for aperitivo at sunset.
- Courtesy The LINEhotel
The LINE DC
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2019In Washington, D.C.’s hip Adams Morgan neighborhood, a soaring neoclassical former church turns into a stylish boutique hotel with a hyper-local restaurant, and a design aesthetic that cleverly nods to the building's ecclesiastic past while feeling totally on-point (graphic bright yellow bedspreads, geometric brass light fixtures). In an industry town known more for tradition and history, this hotel is proof that a younger, cooler side of D.C. that we’ve been hearing about for years—but never quite believed—truly exists.
- Courtesy Made Hotelhotel
Made Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2018Walking into MADE in New York City’s increasingly-buzzy NoMad neighborhood is like walking into a modern maker’s carefully curated heaven: walnut wood floors and walls, plants everywhere, handwoven indigo throw blankets and tribal-patterned pillows (we could go on). While it's clear that a ton of consideration went into the design and decor, the overall effect isn’t at all precious, but warm and welcoming. And with a hopping lobby coffee shop, lots of nooks for meeting friends or checking email, and a sceney cocktail bar, you’ll be tempted to hang there all day.
- Photo by Evan G Schneiderhotel
Minam River Lodge
$$ | Hot List 2018Located on 126 acres in Eastern Oregon’s spectacular Eagle Cap Wilderness—about a five-hour drive from the closest major airport in Portland—Minam River Lodge is accessible only by private plane, horseback, or a vigorous 8.5-mile-long hike. The vibe is appropriately rustic (lots of pine and Pendleton) with just the right amount of high-end touches (really nice linens and waterfall showers). The real luxury, however, is that you're totally off-the-grid—no cell phones, no email—and surrounded by spectacular nature with direct access to some of the country's best hiking, fishing, and hunting.
- Courtesy The Pendry San Diegohotel
Pendry San Diego
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023When Montage decided to open a line of trendy, design-centric hotels geared toward the millennial traveler, the company looked to San Diego to be its first outpost. This bright, 12-story hotel opened in early 2017 and brought some much-needed modernity to the Gaslamp Quarter, a downtown neighborhood that veers on the kitschy, touristy side. The rooms feature lots of wood, whites, and metallic gold touches—like a West Elm catalog come to life. But this is as much a dining and nightlife venue as it is a hotel. There's casual fare at Provisional; high-end seafood at Lionfish; a casual beer bar with the best soft pretzel around at Nason's Beer Hall; Vegas-style partying at the subterranean Oxford Social Club
- Gentl and Hyershotel
San Francisco Proper
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023One of the hippest hotels in San Francisco, the Proper is also one of its newest—and it's making a mark quickly. With vibrant designs by Kelly Wearstler, a crazy-popular rooftop bar, and OTT amenities like in-room vitamin boost shots "administered by local VIP doctors" (seriously), this is a trend-setting traveler's idea of what a hotel should be. The location, on the edge of the Tenderloin, is going to be a turn-off for a lot of travelers, but the hotel itself is very swanky; it's also convenient for business travelers who need to run off to meetings in the Mid-Market neighborhood.
- Photo by Adrian Gauthotel
Public
$$ | Hot List 2018, 2019As the name might imply, the public spaces are a big factor here, and once you walk through the ground-level garden and take the glowing, futuristic elevators up to the lobby, an entire community awaits—one with big white sofas, work spaces, and plenty of locals who come to get some work done in a setting that's a bit more exciting than their neighborhood cafe.
- Courtesy The Rossihotel
Talavera Palm Springs
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2023Walking into feels more like walking into a home than into a hotel—it's intimate, quiet, and wonderfully run. The small lobby has just a laptop and fireplace, and opens onto the incredibly green and lush walled courtyard. The downtown location is walking distance to everything you need.
- Nicole Franzen/The Surfriderhotel
The Surfrider
$$ | Gold List 2020 Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021For a low-key, personal stay in Los Angeles you can do no better. This light-filled, design-forward spot was a motel in the 1950s before a California architect and his Australian wife transformed it. Feel at ease in the cozy library, or chat it up with the staff who are Malibu natives. There’s a proper bar with stools and multiple seating areas commanding amazing beach and sunset views—including comfy linen-covered couches facing a firepit. The roof deck is only open to hotel guests, the ocean is yards away, and Bellino linens on the beds maintain that perfect balance of luxurious and unpretentious. You really do feel like guests in one big family home.
- Courtesy Troutbeckhotel
Troutbeck
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023It's the country retreat you wish your multi-millionaire great aunt invited you to every weekend. This historic inn about two hours north of NYC has been pulling in the literati and politicos for more than two centuries, but it only just expanded and seriously stepped up the vibe. This is still a country inn (tick off the reading nooks: the fireplace, the bar, the library) but one you'll absolutely hate to leave on Sunday night.
- Courtesy Alila Hotels and Resortshotel
Alila Ventana Big Sur
$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023This beloved Big Sur resort dramatically overlooking the Pacific and surrounded by acres of forest received a total reboot last year. And while it may look new—rooms have all been updated with plenty of wood and neutrals, 15 luxe safari-style tents have been added to the roster, and the spa got a relaxation deck that looks out at the ocean—it hasn't lost its laid-back 1970s vibe. It's still, hands down, one of the most magical places to disconnect and get back in touch with nature.
- Courtesy Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hillshotel
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
$$$ | Hot List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023Just one deep breath of the lobby's fresh scent and you're in vacation mode. You can find your place in the Waldorf's lobby among couples in artfully ripped jeans and Common Projects sneakers, hot-shot agents, and meticulously maintained ladies in Chanel, or head to your spacious room (the smallest at the hotel is a whopping 630 square feet). But don't get too comfortable down there—the rooftop pool has one of the best views in L.A., complete with an impressive lunch menu from Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
- Photo by Simon Brownhotel
The Whitby Hotel
$$$ | Gold List 2020 Hot List 2018NYC’s second import by British brand Firmdale Hotels, is designer Kit Kemp at her playful best. She has created a place that's the antithesis of the staid, neutral-heavy luxury options in the area. It's like an English summer garden come to life in hotel form. A welcome addition to Midtown, it’s that rare find that is both family-friendly and sophisticated. A gorgeous hotel two blocks from Central Park with an excellent restaurant and afternoon tea, the Whitby is worth every cent.
- Photo by Matthew Williamshotel
Wm. Mulherin's Sons Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2018If you weren't looking for it, you'd probably wander right past this tiny hotel built above one of Philly's hottest restaurants, which shares the purposefully difficult to remember name Wm. Mulherin's Sons. Suites have live-edge walnut beds, vintage Moroccan rugs, full kitchens, fairy tale–inspired wallpaper by artist Stacey Rozich, and (in a neighborly nod) Philly-roasted La Colombe coffee for the Bonavita drip brewers. It’s a beds-above-the-bar concept that recalls Chicago’s Longman & Eagle and The Orange in London. Consider this place the perfect base for a weekend exploring the Fishtown neighborhood it calls home.