Best Design Hotels. U.S. properties that boast the most stunning architecture and decor.
- Ace Hotel Portland, OR
Hipsters will find the quirky, irreverent design at this hotel in downtown Portland appealing. Well-priced pads are über-upscale dorm style, with eco-friendly elements and vintage furniture, as well as nature-inspired scenes painted on walls. Some deluxe rooms have turntables to spin old-school vinyl, and a photo booth in the lobby snaps classic black-and-white pictures to add to the fun.
- Delano Hotel Miami Beach, FL
This South Beach hotel attracts the beautiful people, who stay at the famed bungalows, sip pricey cocktails, nibble on sushi, and lounge next to the palm-tree–lined pool with its underwater soundtrack and café table in the shallow end. Midcentury-modern furniture is featured throughout, and massive, sheer-white floor-to-ceiling drapes blow in the lobby’s seaside breeze.
- Fontainebleau Miami Beach, FL
A lobby with a neon-blue–lighted bar, massive floodlit marble columns, opulent chandeliers, and sleek furniture sets the tone for a hotel that speaks to everything glamorous about South Beach and those who stay here. The guest rooms are modern, with light wood, white linens, and bursts of bright color in details such as pillows and throws.
- Gramercy Park Hotel New York, NY
This boutique hotel embraces a spirit of high bohemia mixed with rock-and-roll baroque, a concept created by Ian Schrager and designed by painter and director Julian Schnabel. Dark-red velvet couches and chandeliers grace the lobby, where Picassos hang above fireplaces. Candles set on tables detailed with studs, richly carpeted rooms, and leather high-back chairs create drama that’s not overdone.
- Hix Island House Vieques, Puerto Rico
Architect John Hix created this retreat to seamlessly blend with the surrounding environment. Set on 13 acres of native grassland, the hotel is both luxurious and utilitarian in design. Elements such as Frette linens and Marimekko fabrics, as well as an inviting copper-and-silver anode pool, are juxtaposed with stark concrete walls, unfinished wood furniture, and abundant natural lighting.
- Hotel Murano Tacoma, WA
Aptly named after the famous island home to Venice’s glassmaking industry, this hotel features exhibits of world-famous glass artists. Dark halls with dramatic lighting set a stage for the colorful art to pop, balanced perfectly with streamlined furniture, white marble, and warm wood tables in other common spaces. The comfortable, unstuffy atmosphere is carried over to the guest rooms.
- Maritime Hotel New York, NY
The tall white building with tiny circular windows has become a much-loved Chelsea landmark that manages to make nautical cool, combining at-sea elements with contemporary lines. Deep cobalt blue and stark white linens, teak wood paneling, and Bigelow bath products in the guest rooms, plus beachy outdoor spaces—including a fabulous rooftop bar—create a world away from city shores.
- Mauna Kea Beach Hotel Big Island, HI
The retro open-air lobby recalling late ’60s design, with floating staircases, bursts of orange, and dark wood, is set against the distant but stunning backdrop of one of the most beautiful beaches on the Big Island. Well-chosen details are carried over to guest rooms, which feature chairs with modern Hawaiian prints, L’Occitane bath products, and showers without walls.
- Parker Palm Springs, CA
It’s the hippest hotel in the desert. The design is unmistakably Jonathan Adler, and fans of his whimsical ceramics and rainbow-bright textiles will appreciate immersion in his playful world, where ’70s swagger meets ’40s Hollywood glam. Loungy-low couches around a fire pit and rooms done up with geometric-patterned rugs and high-gloss lacquer tables are all part of the show.
- SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, CA
L.A.’s hotel scene got a lot hipper when the Philippe Starck–designed SLS opened. The lobby decor manages to successfully mix cozy mountain lodge with palatial dining room; dark-wood bookcases with scattered knick-knacks and fireplace logs oppose chandeliers hanging above a room-long white-marble table. See and be seen at the decadent rooftop pool and the ultra-trendy restaurant, the Bazaar.
