281 Unique Hotels in North America

There's a certain magic to staying somewhere without electricity or running water, somewhere a five-minute hike takes you to views of the Colorado River and Lake Powell, and where the night sky is so unmarred by light pollution that the stars seem to multiply the longer you stare at them. …

From the street, El Palacito Secreto looks unassuming, just another modest colonial facade tucked into the historic heart of Merida. You would never guess what awaits inside. But the moment you step through the entrance, the ordinary world dissolves. What emerges is something far more extravagant: a sprawling, meticulously designed …

Many Glacier Hotel sits on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake in Glacier National Park's northeastern corner, a five-story structure with brown wood siding and Swiss chalet flourishes that has been welcoming visitors since 1915. When a forest fire roared down the mountain in 1936, employees fought flaming debris with fire …

In a city where colorful row houses cling to steep hills and the Atlantic crashes against rocky shores, St. John's has found its groove with the JAG Hotel. This isn't your typical boutique property – it's what happens when a music-obsessed hotelier decides to turn his passion into a 169-room …

At the edge of the world, where ancient cedars meet crashing Pacific waves, sits a hotel that makes no apologies for its dramatic setting. The Wickaninnish Inn perches on a rocky headland at Chesterman Beach, five kilometers from the surfing town of Tofino on Vancouver Island's wild west coast. This …

In a region where jungle-chic dominates the landscape, Babel Tulum rises from the streets of Tulum Pueblo like something out of a 1960s Palm Springs fever dream. This blush-pink architectural marvel, completed in 2024, challenges everything you thought you knew about Mexican resort design – and somehow makes it work …

Most hotels promise a good night's sleep and maybe continental breakfast. The Don Q Inn in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, promises you can spend that night in a space capsule, an igloo, or a medieval dungeon. Want to spend the night in a Viking ship? Done. Prefer a prehistoric cave? They've got …

When Barry Sternlicht's 1 Hotels brand finally opened its flagship property on Kauai in early 2023, it marked more than just another luxury resort debut. After decades of family vacations to this stretch of Hawaii's North Shore, the hospitality mogul had transformed what he saw as a property disconnected from …

Some places make you work for them. Kennicott Glacier Lodge is one of those places – eight hours from Anchorage, with the final 60 miles on gravel roads that rental car companies won't let you drive on. But those willing to make the journey find themselves at the center of …

Twenty-five miles outside Fairbanks, where cell service becomes spotty and the only light pollution comes from the occasional passing truck, sits one of Alaska's most unusual accommodations. Borealis Basecamp isn't your typical wilderness lodge - it's a collection of fiberglass igloos and converted shipping containers scattered across a ridgeline, all …

Deep in the Mayan jungle near Solferino, Mexico, there's an accommodation that breaks every rule about hotel architecture. Instead of concrete and steel, you'll find yourself sleeping inside a superadobe dome - a structure built from earth-filled polypropylene bags that looks like something between an ancient temple and a spacecraft …

Sleeping in a treehouse as an adult turns out to be less about nostalgia and more about architectural wonder. At Onera Fredericksburg, this whimsical concept gets a sophisticated makeover, with luxury accommodations that feel more like sculptural art pieces than nostalgic backyard hideouts. The property has recently tripled its collection …

When was the last time you soaked in a copper clawfoot tub while staring at red rock cliffs through floor-to-ceiling windows? Open Sky Zion takes the concept of outdoor hospitality and elevates it to something entirely unexpected - a complete reimagining of what it means to sleep under the stars. …

Hidden behind ivy-covered walls in Austin's Travis Heights neighborhood, Hotel Saint Cecilia feels more like stumbling upon a rock star's private estate than checking into a hotel. This isn't some corporate luxury property - it's a carefully curated sanctuary where turntables come standard and the minibar stocks incense alongside the …

In the tiny wine country town of Los Alamos, population barely 2,000, sits a hotel so wonderfully eccentric it makes the Madonna Inn look restrained. From the outside, the Victorian Mansion looks like any other stately 19th-century home. Step inside, and you'll find yourself tumbling down a rabbit hole of …

In the high Sonoran Desert of Arizona, where saguaro cacti stand like ancient sentinels and the Bradshaw Mountains paint purple shadows across endless sky, there's a place that makes good on the promise of the American West without the usual tourist-trap nonsense. Rancho de los Caballeros, sprawling across 20,000 acres …

Deep in the rugged beauty of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, something magical is happening. Where once there was just mountain wilderness, 16 fairy tale cottages now dot the landscape like something plucked from the pages of a Brothers Grimm collection. This is Charmed Resorts, the brainchild of Tyson and Audy Leavitt, …

Deep in the Canadian Arctic, where Hudson Bay meets the boreal forest, lies a place that feels like stepping into another dimension. Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge isn't your typical wilderness getaway - it's a remote outpost where the boundary between civilization and the wild becomes beautifully, sometimes terrifyingly, thin. Located …

The rooster starts his shift at dawn, which is either charming or infuriating depending on your relationship with early mornings. At Beach Plum Farm, tucked away on 62 acres of West Cape May farmland, this feathered alarm clock is just part of the deal - along with actual pigs in …

In the middle of Utah's red rock country, where the landscape looks like Mars had a particularly good day, sits Ofland Escalante - a place that makes you wonder why anyone ever thought camping had to involve sleeping on the ground and eating beans from a can. This isn't your …