The Best Places in the United States

Cheesesteaks and pizza from a shop that takes both more seriously than most fine-dining kitchens take their tasting menus. Little Arthur's started as a pop-up and landed in a sunny little beer bar on Seventh Avenue, where the sourcing is meticulous and the portions are generous enough to make the prices feel fair. Mozzarella sticks and loaded fries round out a menu that reads casual but cooks deliberate.

A taqueria in a former hot dog stand, which tracks once you taste the Sonoran dogs still on the menu, now loaded with bacon, green chiles, and roasted chile sauce alongside the braised meats that are the real draw. Chef Amado Lopez, a James Beard Emerging Chef semifinalist, runs a compact, casual spot where the focus shifts between slow-cooked pork and solid vegan options. Order online, eat inside, then cross the street to Bombshell Treat Bar for dessert.

A bright red neon sign marks this Sichuan restaurant tucked into a Tempe strip mall, where turquoise booths and mural-covered walls set the scene for lazy Susans loaded with mapo tofu, braised eggplant, and the Chongqing-style spicy chicken that Phoenix Magazine named one of Arizona's top dishes. The batter is thin and shatters, the peppercorns do their characteristic lip-numbing work, and the portions are large enough to make you reconsider your afternoon plans.

The menu changes every week, which is either liberating or a scheduling problem depending on how you feel about commitment. This 35-seat Noblesville bistro is the project of a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef who makes his own cured meats, cheeses, and desserts and reworks American classics with international ingredients. A James Beard Award semifinalist in 2023, he's built a genuine neighborhood following in a room small enough that the regulars all seem to know each other.

By day, the butcher counter at Curtis Stone's Hollywood steakhouse moves heritage cuts from partner farms; by night, crystal chandeliers and a fireplace turn the same room into an Art Deco dining room with a Michelin star. The wood-fired grill is the organizing principle, and the dry-aged beef arrives with the confidence of a kitchen that was also selecting the animal earlier that afternoon.

A revamped Art Deco skyscraper anchors this 287-room South Beach resort, sitting just north of the SoBe frenzy, which you'll either count as a drawback or the whole point. The aesthetic leans mid-century rather than the usual all-white minimalism, and the suites read more like furnished apartments with a good eye than hotel rooms. Outside, a tropical pool grove does exactly what you'd hope, and a historic bungalow was dismantled and rebuilt on-site as a candlelit garden bar.

The old "Riot Hyatt," where generations of rock bands treated balconies as launching pads for room-service televisions, is now a sleek Andaz property on the Sunset Strip. Those infamous balconies got sealed into floor-to-ceiling windows, which at least improves the view. The hotel fits the Strip as it is now, polished and self-aware, rather than what it was when Mötley Crüe had a tab here.

A speakeasy behind an unmarked door and karaoke at closing time is not what most boutique hotels lead with, but Citizen House isn't leading with most things. Michaelis Boyd fitted out three floors of a downtown tower in electric blues and mismatched patterns, and the sixteen apartment-style rooms feel more like borrowed residences than hotel suites. Corner rooms catch the skyline and the National Memorial through wraparound windows.

Spanish Colonial Revival bones on the outside, near-monastic calm on the inside. This boutique hotel on State Street sits within walking distance of the beach, and its interiors lean hard into warm organic textures and clean lines while the building around them quietly dates itself. Two in-house bars, Dawn and Dusk, handle coffee and oysters respectively, which covers most of the hours you'd actually need covering.

Sitting on the University of Minnesota campus rather than just near it, this boutique hotel leans into a lake-house aesthetic, which feels right for a state with ten thousand of them. The Graduate chain tailors each property to its city, and Minneapolis gets outdoorsy Americana with Gophers maroon woven in. The Beacon downstairs runs a gastropub menu with a quietly English accent, which is its own kind of personality.

The design pays homage to Omaha's Prohibition era, when the saloons went underground and word of mouth was the only Yelp around. Hotel Indigo is a boutique hotel on Dodge Street that gives the heartland a proper stylish stay, with rooms that lean into local history rather than the usual corporate beige. The Michelin Guide has selected it, which feels about right for a place that takes its sense of place this seriously.

Record players in every room is a strong opening argument for a hotel on the Sunset Strip, and Hotel Ziggy leans into it from there. Named for Bowie's glam-rock alter ego, this West Hollywood boutique hotel layers classic concert posters and music murals across its rooms without tipping into theme-park territory. The Sixties-inflected interiors feel lived-in rather than costumed, and the address on the Strip does the rest of the storytelling.

The rooftop pool sits above a city that takes its Spanish Colonial architecture very seriously, which is partly why it's funny that this boutique hotel is named for the Canary Islands rather than any particular shade of yellow. It's a genuine escape in a town that, for all its mountains, coastline, and proximity to Central Coast wine country, took a while to get a place like this. The Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

An 11-story glass tower rising out of Downtown Commons, the mixed-use development that's quietly been reimagining Sacramento's city center, the Kimpton Sawyer is the kind of hotel that makes you reconsider your assumptions about the state capital. Expect the warm, slightly irreverent Kimpton touch: rooms that don't feel like an airport Marriott, a pool scene that draws the after-work crowd, and a lobby worth lingering in.

A hotel tucked inside another hotel, which sounds like a Russian nesting doll situation but works. Nobu Hotel Miami Beach occupies its own corner of the Eden Roc Resort, with 200-plus rooms designed by David Rockwell in a beach house meets Japanese aesthetic, a welcome detour from the mid-century modernism everywhere else on Collins Avenue. Three pools, a full Nobu spa, and cabanas complete the picture for guests who already know the restaurant and want the full immersion.

A Hard Rock offshoot that actually leans into the music rather than just hanging a guitar on the wall, this boutique-leaning hotel sits in the Downtown entertainment district, a short walk from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The lobby shifts from café to bar as the day moves, the rooftop lounge handles sunsets, and a dedicated performance space runs live acts several nights a week. CeeLo Green and Big Boi contributed to the city guides, which is a flex most hotels can't pull off.

Extended-stay apartments occupying three floors of a century-old former department store, ROOST brings a boutique-hotel sensibility to a category not exactly known for it. The loft-style rooms are clean-lined and well-considered, which sounds like faint praise but stands out here. It's a good base if you'd rather feel like a temporary Clevelander than a conference attendee.

A private members' club first, hotel second, Soho Beach House Miami sits on Collins Avenue with a pool deck full of people who seem to have nowhere else to be, which is exactly the point. The rooms exist because the members' facilities are too good to leave at the end of the day. It's a Michelin Guide Selected Hotel, and the crowd skews creative-industry in the way that makes South Beach feel almost tolerable in August.

Hyde Park has long been the city's most bookish neighborhood, and the Sophy leans into that without apology. The hotel's decor pulls from the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry, filling rooms with art and curiosities that feel more cabinet of wonders than standard-issue lobby art. Rooms run plush and sunny, and Mesler Chicago downstairs covers the bases with a cocktail bar and an outdoor space they call The Sanctuary.

A boutique hotel in a building that spent its first life as a medicinal bourbon apothecary and later a Derby hat shop, which in Louisville feels less like a gimmick and more like a job requirement. The 51 rooms come with Frette linens and silk robes that nod to Muhammad Ali, while Louisville artists cover the walls. The Wild Swann bar mixes Old Fashioneds with the quiet confidence of a place that has been making them, in one form or another, forever.

The name comes from the wooden forms shoemakers use to shape shoes, which tells you something about this old Garment District building and the people who thought carefully about what to do with it. It's a boutique hotel with an industrial-chic aesthetic, rooms that lean Bauhaus and Art Deco, and a rooftop pool bar that feels like a bigger deal in St. Louis than it would in warmer latitudes, which is probably why everyone ends up there.

The first eight floors of a 1931 Art Deco bank tower, with the original vault doors, painted ceilings, and stone columns still doing their thing across 146 rooms. The National is a hotel where the building is the amenity, no pool or spa needed. The Great Hall bar operates in the former banking hall, which is a very good setting for a cocktail whether or not you're closing a deal.

A Michelin Selected hotel that keeps Vail Village as its front yard, The Sebastian sits close enough to the lifts that a ski concierge handles the logistics without the stiff formality that tends to creep into the older names on the mountain. The vibe skews younger than its neighbors, which in Vail is a genuine act of rebellion. Après-ski dining and nightlife are a short walk from the door.

Floor-to-ceiling windows face out over Sunset Boulevard from every room in this twelve-story hotel, part of Hilton's Curio Collection. The rooms run large by LA standards, with proper living spaces even in the base category and balconies as you move up. The rooftop pool and its lounge add the sweeping skyline views you'd expect, along with a laidback on-site restaurant. It's a solid perch for anyone who wants the Strip without living in it.

Postwar Hollywood types used to slip away to this adults-only boutique hotel in a quieter pocket of Palm Springs, and the updated version still runs on the same premise: discretion, a certain elegance, and very little fuss. The rooms have been brought up to current luxury-boutique standards without the place losing its original character, and the bar alone gives people a reason to linger longer than they planned.

The house-made tortillas holding together the tacos here tell you what kind of place this is: a casual, all-day Mexican eatery in NoHo where the cooking is straightforward and the room stays bright and airy from morning through dinner. Larger plates are built for sharing, and the churros at the end feel less optional than the menu lets on. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which tracks with the crowd that fills it without making a fuss about it.

The dining room at Stanly Ranch, Bear is where Napa's farm-to-table seriousness meets a chef with a genuine sense of play. The cowboy ribeye arrives with huitlacoche, corn's funky fungal alter ego, which tells you the kitchen isn't just sourcing beautifully but thinking sideways. California produce anchors everything, but the culinary references roam freely. A named Discovery on The 50 list.

Cindy's is a rooftop cocktail bar on top of the Chicago Athletic Association, with a terrace looking over Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. It's a hotel bar, so expect dressed-up visitors, bachelorette sashes, and relatives in town, plus plates meant for three or four people to share. Regional Top 10 for hotel bars at the Spirited Awards, which is one more reason the terrace fills up first.

The freezer martinis section of the menu says a lot about Eastern Standard's priorities. This Fenway cocktail bar has been around forever and carries itself accordingly, all dark wood and low hum, the kind of room that makes a dirty martini feel like the only logical choice. The classics-heavy list also wanders into margarita territory, with a Tajin-dusted mezcal version alongside fruitier options, and the white negroni is never far from someone's hand.

Freshly baked pita lands on the table almost before you've settled in, which is either a warning or a promise at this upmarket Lebanese restaurant in the Flatiron. The name means "tell me" in colloquial Arabic, and the format backs that up: sharing plates built around hot and cold meze, hummus in several moods, baba ghanoush, fattoush, falafel. Mains like seared lamb chops reward anyone who holds back.

Inside Passage will tell you, with some urgency, that it is not a tiki bar. It's a cocktail bar that takes the mid-century beachcomber concept as a starting point rather than a costume, pairing tropical classics like the Jet Pilot and the Saturn with original drinks and alcohol-free options. The immersive decor still commits fully, so the distinction is philosophical, but the cocktail menu makes the argument.

José Andrés brought his Spanish tapas restaurant to the third floor of the Cosmopolitan, and the room has the kind of energy that makes you order more than you planned. The menu leans modern, built around small plates, and the kitchen flies ingredients in from Spain to back up the claim. Jamón Ibérico, gambas al ajillo, croquetas, pan de cristal con tomate: the classics are all here, done without apology.

Hip-hop plays over a 20-seat sushi bar, which sets the tone before the fish even arrives. Shuko is an omakase spot where the team, veterans of Masa, runs two tasting menus: a straight sushi and sashimi course, or a fuller kaiseki route with composed dishes alongside the nigiri. Both come with optional wine and sake pairings. The meal ends with apple pie, a quiet signal that the reverence for Tokyo tradition only goes so far.

No televisions anywhere, which tells you everything about the clientele. Swift is an Irish pub in NoHo named for the author of Gulliver's Travels, and the room looks like it's been quietly absorbing conversation since forever: long winding bar, exposed brick, reclaimed church pews, barstools worn in just right. Creative types fill it looking for somewhere to talk without shouting over a game. Civilised is the word.

The cocktail program here was curated by David Wondrich, which tells you something. This is a whiskey bar on the second floor of the Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery, and it leans into that setting without apology: classic whiskey cocktails, a deep roster of bottles, modern riffs, and a handful of alcohol-free options, all served in custom glassware. The room is warm and unhurried, the kind of place that makes bourbon tourism feel less like homework.

The Vault is a cocktail bar tucked behind a gilded door inside the Bellagio, occupying what used to be the casino's actual cage, which gives the whole room a pleasantly loaded history. A chandelier does most of the atmospheric heavy lifting. The drink list leans into vintage spirits and old recipes, so if you're not sure what you want, describe an era and let them run with it.

Leather, iron, and glass fill the dining room at this upscale Japanese izakaya on Madison Avenue, where the sharing format means robata skewers and pristine sushi on shaved ice arrive at the table more or less continuously. The black cod wrapped in hoba leaf has become a signature across the brand's global outposts. Desserts, meanwhile, have their own Instagram following, which tells you something about the clientele and the lighting.

Nautical decor that stops short of kitsch anchors this seafood restaurant on the Southwest waterfront, where the patio looks straight out over the marina. The menu pulls from Chesapeake waters and a D.C. urban fish farm, so northern puffer fish arrives whole and crispy fried, and a Maryland crab crumpet nods to the place's Scottish sister spot. Save room for the Virginia peanut tiramisu, which sounds like a dare and tastes like a good idea.

A neighborhood pizzeria in Kenmore that turns out both wood-fired Neapolitan and Detroit-style pies, Jay's lands at number 14 on 50 Top Pizza's world list without any apparent interest in making a fuss about it. The Neapolitan crust is airy and light, the Detroit version thick-edged and properly crispy, and the team takes the dough seriously enough that the rest follows. Order online only, no phone calls, which keeps things moving.

Both the bartender and the chef are named Hugo, which tells you something about this cocktail bar and seafood spot in Bishop Arts. The cocktail program gets the same obsessive treatment as the kitchen, where oysters and small plates keep people settled at the bar longer than they planned. Someone here is pureeing salted plantains for a rum cocktail reduction, and that level of commitment runs through all dozen house cocktails.

A bed and breakfast in the middle of San Luis Obispo that doesn't feel like a bed and breakfast, which is a harder trick than it sounds. The 25 rooms spread across three buildings give it the scale of a proper boutique hotel with the quiet of a residential street. The design leans toward the latter too. It holds a Michelin Key, and being central here just means you're steps from a genuinely relaxed small city.

This Art Deco tower has been around forever, its rooftop "PLAZA" sign glowing red over downtown El Paso like it owns the place, which honestly it kind of does. A Michelin-recognized hotel with spacious rooms, marble bathrooms, and sweeping views into two countries. The rooftop bar is the move at sunset, and the lobby restaurant does Juarez-style Mexican that keeps locals coming back.

Laurance Rockefeller built this resort on the village green, and the place has never pretended to be rustic. A thorough renovation has freshened things up without softening the patrician bones: the Woodstock Inn carries a Michelin Key and reads more like a discreet Northeast grande dame than a ski-weekend crash pad. Woodstock, Vermont turns out to have very little in common with that other Woodstock.

A chef's counter built for multicourse tastings anchors the low-lit, warm-toned room, though walk-ins grazing on tapas fill it just as happily. This is a Spanish tapas spot from the chef behind Alma Fonda Fina, and it flies a little under the radar for it, which means a table here is easier to come by. The cocktail list leans saffron-forward, and the wine picks from lesser-known Spanish regions are worth the detour.