Full of Character: Favorite Hotels in the US
A lavender farm in New Mexico; a grand Vermont estate from a bygone era; all the rustic cabins you need to know about; and a coastal refuge beloved by Henry Miller and Hunter S. Thompson
Hotels in the US are notorious for being overpriced, over-designed, and seriously underwhelming in the character department. But do not fret, it’s not all thread count, fitness centers and turn-down services; you can still find some inspired charmers out there with real honest-to-goodness heart. We couldn’t narrow it to a top 10, so here’s our list of the 15 most characterful hotels in the States. Some new, some old, and some very very old, these extraordinary hotels are champions of historic preservation/restoration; independently owned (and sometimes even still family-run); quirky, unconventionally beautiful; thoughtfully designed; and high on the charm and ineffable, soulful magic that makes a stay worth traveling for.
Note on price: We did try to maintain some kind of value sensibility, considering the widespread, soaring cost of hotels these days (a few places on this list have rooms that fluctuate wildly, and we recommend checking off-season prices for lower fares).
Deetjen’s—Big Sur, CA
A veritable institution of rusticity and no-nonsense vibes. Built in the 1930s as a stopover on the old wagon trail, Deetjen’s primitive, anti-chic way of being has become its superpower. Charmingly simple rooms with wooden walls, threadbare floral bedspreads, mismatched furniture, and a glorious absence of wifi, TVs and technology. Everything you need for max enjoyment is right outside your window: the gobsmacking Big Sur landscape. If the past guest list is any indication—Henry Miller, Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac and Lillian Ross—it’s a place of introspection that quiets the mind and feeds the soul.
Captain Whidbey—Whidbey Island, WA
I wrote about this beloved 100-plus-year-old inn on Whidbey Island a few years ago for Domino, interviewing new owners (two brothers and a friend) about the transformative restoration/design process. Owner-designer Eric Cheong called it “a dialogue with history through time”—which I interpret as a considered devotion to the stories, details and vernacular style of the place. They worked with all walks of island folk to get it right—local artists, designers, craftspeople, poets, oral historians, flower farmers, salt harvesters and weavers—including Hannah Ruth Levy, whose family’s weaving legacy on the island runs back multiple generations. Our favorite quirk: the eccentric library stocked with maritime children’s books—classic sea tales like the Master and Commander series, obscure hippie counterculture stories from the ’70s, and sea survivalist handbooks—from the childhood collection of local captain Rhys Balmer.