The Best Hotels in Nantucket

Two private beaches, one facing Nantucket Bay and one the Atlantic, which means you can always find a quiet side. The Wauwinet is a boutique resort tucked nine miles from Nantucket Town, with 32 rooms and four cottages, no children under twelve, and the kind of hush that feels almost conspiratorial. A Forbes Four Star and a Michelin Key. Guests come to go genuinely quiet, which is rarer than it sounds.

Cottages, harbor-facing rooms, and a couple of downtown lofts make up this waterfront resort sitting right on Nantucket Harbor. The views do most of the talking, but the rooms hold their own with gas fireplaces, private decks, and a small elephant pillow on the bed that is somehow less kitschy than it sounds. Boats, beaches, and the island's shops are all within easy reach, which means you'll spend very little time actually sitting still.

Three shingle-style houses clustered near Brant Point make up this boutique hotel, which belongs to the Salt Hotels group and holds a Michelin Key. The interiors skip the obligatory whaling-captain aesthetic most of the island leans on, going for something quieter and more rural in spirit. It sits close enough to the port and the main drag to be convenient, but far enough away that you won't hear other people's children.

Roman & Williams designed this boutique hotel inside an old sea captain's house in the center of Nantucket, which tells you something about the ambition level. The rooms are full of considered detail that sidesteps the navy-and-rope aesthetic the island tends to default to. The restaurant, Via Mare, runs a Venetian-inspired menu from a chef with a serious New York pedigree.

An old sea captain's house that became an inn in the 1830s, Life House Nantucket has been thoroughly redesigned into a luxury boutique hotel without losing the feeling that its walls have stories. Breakfast is served, as is afternoon tea in the garden, but the real idea is that you use the place as a base and wander out into Nantucket, which is a reasonable ask given the location on Cliff Road.

A Greek Revival sea captain's house in the heart of Nantucket's historic district, a few blocks from the water but mercifully clear of the cobblestone crowds. The Blue Iris is a twelve-room boutique hotel with Mediterranean and Portuguese bones rather than the usual nautical clichés, so the mood leans whitewashed and warm. Rain showers and Le Labo products signal the level of care baked into each room.

A whaling captain's house from the 1800s, Union Street Inn is a 12-room boutique hotel that somehow pulls off French interiors alongside Nantucket maritime without it feeling like a theme park. Frette linens, Tivoli radios, and a breakfast that locals talk about in hushed, reverent tones. Close enough to Main Street and the harbor to be convenient, far enough to stay quiet.