The Pearl Hotel

Striped umbrellas line a private stretch of Gulf sand outside this boutique hotel, which sits in the heart of Rosemary Beach, a planned community along the Florida Panhandle that went all-in on whitewashed Old World architecture. The town is compact and walkable, the kind of place where golf carts outnumber cars and everyone's linen is freshly pressed. The Pearl is the only hotel in it, so the choice is remarkably straightforward.