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This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.

Following a much-needed $60 million makeover in July 2022, the Park Hyatt Chicago is once again a contender for one of the best hotels in town. Located in the bustling Magnificent Mile neighborhood at 800 N. Michigan Avenue, the storied property has been a landmark destination since it opened in 1980 as the first property to bear the Park designation. The renewed sanctuary now delivers a true sense of place, with a refreshed lobby design that’s more of an urban living room, an updated Library, and a vibrant new art program spotlighting some of Chicago’s most talented creatives. Critically, the hotel’s signature restaurant NoMI (named for the location on North Michigan Avenue) now has three different concepts: NoMI Kitchen, which emphasizes American cuisine with French techniques, NoMI Garden, a terrace space that’s ideal for lunch, and NoMI Lounge, which includes a six-seat sushi bar.

The Park Hyatt Chicago, facing ever stiffer competition from newer luxury hotel entries in the Magnificent Mile orbit, nevertheless remains a great choice for families because of the central location optimizing sightseeing and kid-heaven treats. Budding geologists will love the geodes, minerals, and marine fossils in the lobby alcove. Chefs at the seventh-floor NoMI restaurant, known for fine wines, city views, and standout American contemporary cuisine, take young foodies to the open kitchen’s soft-serve ice cream dispenser. The 7,000 square foot fitness center includes a 25 yard lap pool with skyline views, or borrow a complimentary Jamis commuter bike to ride the scenic Lakefront Trail four blocks east on the beach side of Lake Shore Drive. Guestrooms have notable design flourishes such as padded window seats, Eames chairs, and Mies van der Rohe–designed Brno desks from which to view the city’s famous architecture. Pets are welcome, and the hotel donates 100% of its standard pet fee to one of the city’s largest animal shelters.

Der Ritterhof’s main claim to fame is being the roadside motel in Leavenworth with the gigantic suit of armor standing out front. It’s actually not a bad place to stay, though; amenities include a decent-sized pool and hot tub, BBQ pits, a large lawn to play on, continental breakfast, pet-friendly rooms, and family suites. The rooms are basic but clean, and prices are reasonable. Even if you’re not staying, though, you should at least pull over and gawk at the big suit of armor as you pass — just another one of Leavenworth’s inexplicable mysteries.

Start by seeking out the country’s beer-brewing monks.

This mid-century modern former gas station was intended to be the first thing that people saw as they approached Palm Springs from the highway. Today the building serves as the Palm Springs Visitor Center. It’s worth it to stop by just to admire the architectural details up close, but you can also gather information and tips for your stay at the same time. The friendly staff can tell you about upcoming events, noteworthy restaurants, and shopping areas.

According to legend, Nashville-style hot chicken began in the 1930s when Thornton Prince’s girlfriend dumped cayenne on his fried chicken to get revenge for his cheating ways. But he loved it instead, and eventually opened up a hot chicken shop of his own. The Prince family carries on the tradition today at their simple strip-mall space. Customers place their orders at a kitchen window for varying levels of heat, from mild to extra hot. The spicy paste is applied after the fried chicken comes out of cast-iron skillets, and then the bird is placed on white bread and served with pickles. The addictive combo of tastes has since spawned hot chicken joints and special menu items across Music City and beyond.

The 165-acre Springs Resort & Spa sits 1,000 feet above the Arenal Valley, higher than any other resort in the area and affording each one of its 47 polished-wood guest rooms commanding views of the Arenal Volcano and surrounding countryside. Impressive as those vistas are, the luxury resort’s biggest draw is its 28 mineral thermal pools, which wind through four lush acres. The setting is undeniably romantic—the resort was featured in an episode of The Bachelor—but families are welcome, with activities for kids of all ages. Club Rio, on the resort’s half-mile of river frontage, offers tubing, kayaking, mountain biking, and horseback riding; there’s also a wildlife preserve for rescued native animals, including monkeys, ocelots, jaguarundis, sloths, and a puma. Five restaurants (and five bars) mean there are plenty of options, from casual poolside dining to tasting-menu elegance.

Opened in 2021, the first urban resort from LVMH—the arbiter and exporter of French luxury—feels sumptuous at every turn. A 100-foot pool, the largest of any French hotel, is covered in hand-laid mosaic tiles, while a series of virtual window panels display illustrated scenes of the Seine in perpetual motion as you swim laps. A penthouse apartment has its own 41-foot pool, projection space, and panoramic terrace. Plénitude, the fine-dining restaurant, earned three Michelin stars within months of opening. The hotel was designed by Peter Marino, an American known for his chromatic and sculptural retail spaces in the LVMH universe, including the recently renovated Tiffany’s flagship in New York.

Muntri Mews in Penang is my kind of hotel. Formerly an old mews house, its owners have fitted it out with clean, comfortable rooms that retain the charm of their days as stables (think romantic mosquito nets and wooden beam architectural details). The hotel is small and the service is personal and friendly. Breakfast on the hotel’s patio in the heart of historic Georgetown is the perfect way to start a day of meandering through the back streets of this historic, character-filled foodie heaven.

Spending a day at a spa was something that never crossed my mind until I heard about the day spa at the Meritage Resort and Spa just outside Napa, California. I decided to give it a go and emerged a believer. Spa Terra is built in a cave under a vineyard behind the resort. The facilities are new, and everything seems perfectly tailored to make the guest feel comfortable. I loved hopping from the hot tub to the steam room and then back again. After relaxing with a cool glass of cucumber water, it was time for a massage, then a shower, and back into the hot tub, after which came wine-tasting in the adjacent Trinitas tasting room and time doing nothing at the outdoor pool. At the day spa, guests choose what they want to do when. Besides the massage appointment time, there is no schedule. I ended my day with a light meal from the resort’s cafe and an invigorating hike in the vineyards above the spa. As a busy writer, teacher, and mom, I felt like I could forget about my day-to-day concerns and just focus on being there in the moment.

This 101-year-old building in the Financial District spent its first 59 years as the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In 2003, the Hong Kong–based Langham Hospitality Group reopened the landmark building as a well-appointed hotel. The building still has its original brass Federal Reserve seal embedded in the marble floor of the hotel’s Italian restaurant, Grana. In the lobby, the banker’s box drawers line one of the walls, while the custom-designed carpets are inspired by the leaf motif found on dollar bills.

The 312 guest rooms, renovated in 2021, have a modern residential feel, with a blue and tan color scheme meant to evoke the shores of New England. Sprawling marble bathrooms have rain showers, while a wooden armoire hides a well-stocked mini bar. On the first floor of the hotel, visit the Fed, a moodily lit 1920s-style cocktail bar with a vault of rare spirits from around the world.

OK, we didn’t exactly go far for dinner. We were staying in the Ace Hotel, just two doors down, but we were jet-lagged and hungry. We had seen many people hunched over enormous sandwiches through the window of this traditional-style deli at lunchtime, and we were surprised to see they were still open at 7:30pm. So we went in. We liked the simple, homely decor. We liked the smells emanating from the kitchen. We liked the fact that when we decided not to have sodas, the matronly server said, “Nah, you don’t need them honey, I’ll just keep the water coming.” We looked at the menu. We ordered two hot dogs, and a side order of pastrami fries. The waitress looked at our innocent little faces and told us we’d only need a half portion, as a whole portion of pastrami fries was “pretty big.” Our hot dogs arrived. They were delicious, and stacked with homemade relish. Our fries arrived. The “half portion” was so large we laughed out loud, then stuffed ourselves with the delicious cheese-pastrami-potato concoction until we should by rights have passed out. We got the check. It came to $14. We blessed Kenny & Zuke’s, and all who sail in her.

Built in the 1920s by a Croatian businessman, Palacio Astoreca underwent two years of refurbishment and restoration before opening its doors as a boutique hotel in 2012. The work was carried out to a meticulous degree, maintaining the original parquet floors, and adding splashes of color with art deco furniture and modern art, including one piece by Switzerland’s Frédéric Clot. The stucco-and-brick mansion rises up from the streets of Chile’s port city, Valparaíso, like a piece of red-and-white confectionary.

A statement staircase winds up to the 23 rooms, some of which have stand-alone bathtubs. And the basement level is home to a small spa with an open-air, wood-fueled hot tub set alongside a living wall. The reception level and entrance hall open out onto a terrace where lunch, tea, and cocktails are served, allowing guests prime views over the hilly city and Pacific Ocean. There are quiet corners for those seeking a solitary moment, including a library and a piano bar, which comes to life in the evenings with live music.

This boutique hotel doubles as a contemporary art museum. Founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson wanted somewhere to store their growing art collection while helping revitalize downtown Louisville, so they opened a hotel with rotating public exhibitions. Housed in a 19th-century tobacco-and-bourbon warehouse, the hotel provides a unique space for modern installations like a giant gold replica of the Statue of David, which sits out front. If you don’t stay here, at least stop by for the exhibits. You really should book a room, however, as the service is excellent, the rooms beautiful, and the amenities everything you could need.

The debut of Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs sister property is finally here. Conveniently located in Santa Fe, Sunrise Springs offers programs from spa treatments to Eastern and Western practices and Native American teachings, and from nature-based activities to simply decompressing (and unplugging) in a tranquil, serene environment.

Opened as the Grand Hotel Royal in 1896, the luxurious Corinthia Hotel has a long and storied past. It was here that the first film was ever screened in Budapest, and the building weathered fires and war before relaunching in its most recent incarnation in 2004. Travelers who really want to learn about the hotel’s history can take one of two weekly tours with manager Tibor Meskál, who has worked on and off here since 1961. Though the original interiors were demolished long ago, the property nevertheless retains a regal atmosphere. Italian limestone, Spanish marble, and gilded molding lend a sense of grandeur in the Grand Ballroom, a marble lobby is accented with swirling golden filigrees in the flooring, and guest rooms feature warm wood furnishings and creamy palettes. Even the leisure facilities skew toward the opulent: the courtyard-style indoor swimming pool is topped with a stunning stained-glass ceiling.