North America · 20 destinations
From Manhattan townhouses to Big Sur cliff-top cabins and Charleston mansions, America's best small hotels are as varied as the country itself.
Ranked
No. 2
Wine region4 hotels
No. 3
Old town & heritage5 hotels
No. 4
Old town & heritage4 hotels
No. 5
Coast & beach4 hotels
No. 6
Old town & heritage4 hotels
No. 7
Desert4 hotels
No. 8
Coast & beach5 hotels
No. 9
Countryside5 hotels
No. 10
Island4 hotels
No. 11
Desert5 hotels
No. 12
Wine region5 hotels
No. 13
City4 hotels
No. 14
Island3 hotels
No. 15
Mountains4 hotels
No. 16
Island4 hotels
No. 17
Mountains5 hotels
No. 18
City4 hotels
No. 19
Desert4 hotels
No. 20
Island4 hotels
Choose your setting
From the blog
Boutique hotels · Cities · Where to stay
Ten small, independent and design-led hotels in New York, from TriBeCa lofts to a Brooklyn factory, with who each suits and what it does better than the rest.
· 5 min read
The United States is too big to see in one trip, and its small hotels are a good way to choose where to start. Converted warehouses in New York, antebellum mansions in Charleston and Savannah, adobe inns in Santa Fe and timber lodges in the Rockies each say something particular about their region, and most are run by independent owners rather than big brands.
New York City leads our ranking, with hotels in TriBeCa, SoHo and the East Village that feel more like private houses than hotels. New Orleans and Charleston have the most atmospheric historic quarters, while Austin and Nashville pair live music with a new generation of design-led hotels. Miami Beach adds Art Deco and the Atlantic.
Napa Valley and Sonoma are the heart of California wine country, with inns among the vineyards and Michelin-starred restaurants nearby. Big Sur's coast road, Palm Springs' mid-century desert and Sedona's red rocks show three very different sides of the West, and Santa Fe has a distinct Pueblo-Spanish character all its own.
Aspen and Jackson Hole are as good in summer as in ski season. On the East Coast, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard are classic New England summer islands, the Hudson Valley is New York's weekend countryside, and Key West sits at the end of the Florida Keys. Kauai, the oldest of the main Hawaiian islands, is the greenest and least developed.
Spring and autumn suit most of the country. New England's islands are at their best from June to September, the desert and Florida from November to April, and the Rockies in both winter and high summer.
Good to know
New York City is our top-ranked boutique hotel destination in United States, followed by Napa Valley and Charleston.
Our 20 destinations in United States are 4 island, 3 city, 3 desert, 3 old town & heritage, 2 coast & beach, 2 mountains, 2 wine region and 1 countryside.