Whether you need to escape your roommates for a night or want to celebrate something big, taking a staycation is just the antidote you need. Here are eight of our favorite places to take an urban staycation across the country.
Palihotel Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Guests arriving at the check-in desk at the first Palisociety hotel outside of Los Angeles are greeted by a portrait of a raincoat-clad, pipe-smoking sailor—a perfect introduction to the subtly nautical vibe that permeates Seattle’s newest hotel, which opened in November one block from the bustling Pike Place Market. The prime location means the seafood (sweet-and-spicy salmon jerky, littleneck clams, local oysters) at the on-site restaurant, The Hart and the Hunter, is always as fresh and invigorating as the Puget Sound views from the landmark 1895 building’s upper floors.
We love The Hart and the Hunter’s briny Elliott Bay Gibson, which includes oyster-shell-infused gin, Maldon sea salt, bay leaf olive oil, and a pickled onion.
From $175, palisociety.com
Eaton DC
Washington, D.C.
K Street may be synonymous with D.C. lobbyists, but, as of last September, it’s also home to a new hub for budding activists. Katherine Lo—the daughter of the Langham hotel group’s chairman—designed her 209-room Eaton DC to inspire the next RBG or AOC at every turn. Tune in to the house radio station, grab a book from the Radical Library (which features works by Roxane Gay and Langston Hughes), or brainstorm with fellow progressives over turmeric lattes at the Kintsugi café. You can even call down to the front desk for a nightstand copy of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We love Erik Thor Sandberg’s Wonderland-themed lobby mural, Allegory, which replaces Alice with civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, the first black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school.
From $199, eatonworkshop.com
Woodlark
Portland, Oregon
It’s fitting that the latest hip lodging in a town known as the Rose City would be aimed at green thumbs. Opened in December in side-by-side landmark buildings downtown, the 150-room Woodlark is decorated with moody black-and-white botanical photos by Imogen Cunningham, while the conservatory-like foyer teems with a greenhouse’s worth of potted trees. In this pattern-obsessed city—remember the famous PDX airport carpet? —the guest rooms’ custom wallpaper, featuring the sort of native Pacific Northwest flora you’d find in nearby Forest Park, is sure to become iconic.
We love the artfully composed bouquets for sale at the lobby outpost of Colibri, an elegant flower shop co-owned by James Beard Award–winning chef Naomi Pomeroy.
From $125, woodlarkhotel.com
The Ramble Hotel
Denver, Colorado
Most travelers are happy if their hotel has one great bar; at this new 50-room boutique property, there are four, all of them run by the team behind New York’s award-winning cocktail den Death & Co. By night, the grand lobby’s sunny café transforms into a swanky lounge with velvet curtains and spangly chandeliers. Hidden upstairs is Suite 6A, an intimate 21-seat bar. A ballroom/venue /theater, Vauxhall, is aimed directly at the surrounding River North Art District’s culturati. Finally, outside, under the glow of artist Scott Young’s neon Wish You Were Her(e) sign, The Garden serves up patio classics such as Aperol spritzes and mojitos.
We love that the bartenders are so willing to chat about their favorite unsung ingredients, like a French fortified wine called Pineau des Charentes that’s featured in the Black Poodle alongside Irish whiskey, amaro, aloe, and sparkling mineral water.
From $209, theramblehotel.com
The Hoxton, Williamsburg
Brooklyn, New York
The London-based Hoxton chain brought its trademark combination of high design and low rates to the States last fall, with the debut of this 175-room outpost—a perfect spot for freelancers and creative types who aren’t chained to a cubicle (i.e., Brooklynites). You and your laptop will feel at home in your cheerily appointed room, which features a smart wall-mounted desk and a retro Roberts Radio. If you’re more productive surrounded by others, head down to the beehive-busy sunken lobby, which is done up in eclectic, sherbet-hued furniture.
We love procrastinating by perusing the Best of Brooklyn line of locally made products—such as Pintrill pizza slice pins, Brins strawberry vanilla jam, and Sesame Letterpress notecards—for sale in the lobby.
From $159, thehoxton.com
Shinola Hotel
Detroit, Michigan
A lot is riding on the shoulders of Shinola, the Detroit-based watchmaker that has become synonymous with the Rust Belt’s renaissance. In January, the company got into the hotel game with a 129-room space that sprawls across three new buildings and two downtown landmarks—the former Singer Sewing Machine shop and the T.B. Rayl Co. hardware store. Throughout the property, you’ll find products made exclusively for the hotel, such as scented candles with notes of cherry blossom, leather, and smoke, and Shinola-branded cola in the Michigan-centric minibar.
We love the in-room Runwell desk clocks, scaled-up versions of the first watch the company ever produced.
From $255, shinolahotel.com
The Carpenter Hotel
Austin, Texas
You’ll wish you could sign up for a meal plan at this millennially minded hotel, just steps from Zilker Park. Food-world power couple Christina Skogly Knowlton and Andrew Knowlton (the host of Netflix’s The Final Table) are behind the offerings at Hot L Coffee and Carpenters Hall, a restaurant located in, yes, a former union hall. Start with huckleberry butter–topped waffles, snack poolside on the best chocolate chip cookies ever, then sip a pear brandy–based Kind Eyes cocktail before a dinner of big-as-your-head chicken schnitzel. The 93 rooms are just as delectable, with custom-designed striped cotton blankets, blue-and-terracotta-tiled bathrooms, and thoughtful, vintage-inspired over-bed lights.
We love that each room has a terrace, outfitted simply with two folding chairs—the perfect place to sip a surprisingly inexpensive minibar Lone Star at the end of the evening.
From $175, carpenterhotel.com
Perry Lane Hotel
Savannah, Georgia
Few American cities are better preserved than Savannah, with its centuries-old squares and statues and hanging Spanish moss. Last June, the city’s Historic District got a rare new addition, the 167-room Perry Lane Hotel. The Luxury Collection property pays such deep homage to the Hostess City of the South that— aside from a loaner jazz guitar from local luthier Benedetto and an art collection that includes works by 81 artists with ties to the Savannah College of Art and Design—it invented a fictional grande dame named Adelaide Harcourt to help define its aesthetic. (Look for her portrait above the lobby fireplace.)
We love the polka-dotted Gargoyle Artillery statues at the rooftop bar, Peregrin; you’ll keep turning away from the views of the Historic District to consider their Gothic-psychedelic visages.
From $187, perrylanehotel.com
