Image via Complex Original
Boutique hotels, also known (for our purposes today) as design hotels or lifestyle hotels, offer a way to have unique, design-driven travel. Often luxurious and themed in their own ways, they're typically very intimate and have the ability to host large events and parties, too. Next time you're looking for a hotel that has top-notch amenities with a distinct, bed-and-breakfast feel, be sure to consult our list of The 20 Coolest Boutique Hotels Worldwide.
RELATED: Green Label - The Most Unique Hotels in the United States
Acme Hotel Company
20. Acme Hotel Company
Location: Chicago, IL
Number of Rooms: 130
Design Notes: Take the Ace Hotel format of neat, minimalist design and give it a luxury infusion. That's ACME, one of the newest independent hotels in Chicago and one of the finest places to stay near the city's famed Magnificent Mile. It's budget friendly, without skimping on technology and other amenity, too.
The Iron Horse Hotel
19. Iron Horse Hotel
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Design Notes: Once a warehouse, the Iron Horse Hotel is now regularly celebrated as one of America's best boutique hotels. Artwork by renowned locals Tom Ferderbar, Cindy Lesky, Amber Van Galder, and Charles Dwyer extend the craft theme and connect each and every space to Milwaukee's industrial past. Those into motorcycles will find unmatched amenities, making the Iron Horse the perfect place to stay on a trip to visit the world famous Harley-Davidson.
Topia Inn
18. Topia Inn
Location: North Adams, MA
Number of Rooms: 10
Design Notes: Owners Nana Simopoulos and Caryn Heilman are all about the arts. So, naturally, their small inn in the Berkshires celebrates art and design in thrilling fashion. The hotel is also a celebration of environmentally friendly design, achieving LEED Platinum certification along with high praise from just about every travel magazine in the nation.
Hotel Williamsburg
17. King & Grove Williamsburg
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Number of Rooms: 64
Design Notes: This hotel has a salt water pool! Yes! The rooms are well appointed, aiming to give contemporary space a mid-century flare (note the furnishings). Given that, we award high points for decor. But, in the end, keep thinking "salt water pool" and "Brooklyn." Something about that just seems so damn cool.
Henry Jones Art Hotel
16. Henry Jones Art Hotel
Location: Hobart, Tasmania
Design Notes: Connected to the Tasmanian School of Art, the Henry Jones is Australia's first Art Hotel. Original work by emerging and established Tasmanian artists brings local flare to private and public spaces throughout. Most of the pieces are for sale too, so if your stay ignites a collecting bug you're good to go.
San Michele
15. Villa San Michele
Location: Fiesole, Italy
Design Notes: Few hotels match the Villa San Michele for luxury. Formerly a Franciscan monastery, the building was constructed in the 15th-century and is surrounded by stunning gardens which offer an unbeatable view of Florence. It's hard to argue with critics, many of whom have named the hotel among the most romantic places to stay in the world.
Kennedy School
14. Kennedy School
Location: Portland, OR
Number of Rooms: 57
Design Notes: You've always wanted to run wild in the halls, right? Always wanted to stick it to the teachers, fall asleep in class, and be as bad as you want to be, right? Well, the Kennedy School doesn't have a principle to yell at you, but it is one of the coolest hotels in Portland (a city with a good amount of cool boutique accommodations). The building was opened in 1915 as an elementary school and now hosts the hotel, a restaurant, a movie theater, and a brewery. Class, of a different kind, is in session.
Website
Post Ranch Inn
13. Post Ranch Inn
Location: Big Sur, CA
Number of Rooms: 39 rooms, 2 private houses
Design Notes: Post Ranch Inn is a triumph of organic architecture. The hotel is situated on the dramatic Big Sur coastline in Northern California, and mixes rustic elegance and top flight luxury. Architect Mickey Muenning and interior designer Janet Gay Freed are responsible for the look. Both are Midwesterners reborn in Big Sur and have used the hotel as a sort of love letter to the area.
Maca Kizi
12. Macakizi Hotel
Location: Göltürkbükü, Turkey
Number of Rooms: 54
Design Notes: Each of the Macakizi's 54 rooms and 20 suites feature artwork by the Turkish artist Suat Akdemir. Most look over the Aegean sea too. The whole idea of the hotel is complete relaxation and rejuvenation. And, part of that sell is impeccable design and style.
Hempel
11. The Hempel Hotel
Location: London, UK
Number of Rooms: 35
Design Notes: Created by renowned designer Anouska Hempel, The Hempel is a study in minimalism. Zen gardens match the sleek lines of the rooms, each of which are distinctly individual, with the idea of preparing both an urban and a personal sanctuary for each guest. Few hotels are as consistent with a single idea. Then again, few hotels are created via a singular genius either.
Website
Lot 523
10. Lot 523
Location: New Orleans, LA
Number of Rooms: 18
Design Notes: Down in the Big Easy, Lot 523 transforms a former carriage house and dry goods warehouse into a sophisticated modernist oasis. It's a (welcome) brake New Orleans tradition and the loft-style rooms average a comfortable 600 square feet. The texture of the materials employed in the architecture is privileged, making the building itself the ornamental art, which is always cool. If you're headed to Mardi Gras and want a taste of the new New Orleans, Loft 523 is the place to stay.
Pantone Hotel
9. Pantone Hotel
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Design Notes: You could call this the most colorful hotel in the world. Go ahead. Nobody would argue. Even the cocktails are based on the brand's famous numbers — Pink Champagne (PANTONE 12-1107) or Daiquiri Green (12-0435). In addition to checking out the latest Pantone products, you can also book time with a Pantone Color Consultant and give your stay an educational finish
Hotel San Jose
8. Hotel San Jose
Location: Austin, TX
Number of Rooms: 40
Design Notes: No doubt about it, Austin, Texas is hip. Hotel San Jose was originally built in 1939 as an "ultramodern" motor court. It has been reborn as a super cool, ultra contemporary version of the same, "a bungalow hotel with soul," as the owners say. If you get inspired to do some On The Road style writing, the hotel even has vintage typewriters for loan. That, for us, makes Hotel San Jose one of the coolest spots to stay.
21c
7. 21c Museum Hotel Louisville
Location: Louisville, KY
Number of Rooms: 90
Design Notes: 21c is now three hotels large as an idea, but the original in Louisville keeps crown for being the coolest mix of museum and accommodation in the United States. On the ground floor, the space plays host to a fantastic series of rotating exhibitions. Above, each room pays tribute to architect Deborah Berke's brilliant reconfiguration of 19th-century tobacco and Bourbon warehouses. If you have fun in Louisville, book trips to the other locations in Cincinnati, OH and Bentonville, AR too. Your most cultured friends will be forever jealous.
Backstage
6. Backstage
Location: Zermatt, Switzerland
Number of Rooms: 19
Design Notes: Swiss architect Heinz Julen has turned a classic Swiss chalet into an opulent design masterpiece. The rooms are all decked in brushed stainless steel and distressed leather. Tons of cool recycled objects fill the spaces too, including violins and disco balls. Should you get bored in your room, which is unlikely, the complex also has an art gallery and a dinner cinema.
Library Hotel
5. The Library Hotel
Location: New York, NY
Number of Rooms: 60
Design Notes: New York's Library Hotel, located in Midtown, is based on the Dewey Decimal system. Sound boring? Think again. Each of the 10 floors honor one of the Dewey categories and each of the 60 rooms is filled with a distinct set of books within the topic. Stay and you get both an urban and an intellectual adventure.
Hotel Droog
4. Hotel Droog
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Number of Rooms: 1
Design Notes: Dutch design firm Droog specializes in collaborative products, projects, and cool events. So, naturally, when they set sights on a hotel, things get awesome fast. Droog Hotel is newly opened and situated in the heart of Amsterdam. The idea flips the general notion of the hotel, offering first and foremost amenity — shopping and eating — and secondly a place to rest after you've had a considerable amount of fun. You'll be lucky to stay, however, as there is only one bed!
Habita
3. Hotel Habita
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Number of Rooms: 36
Design Notes: Mexico's GRUPOHABITA is responsible for some of the sleekest hotels on earth. Hotel Habita started it all, offering a direct look at Mexico City's vibrant design community and distinct public spaces on each floor. The 12 foot fireplace decorating the 6th Floor Terrace and Bar is a highlight.
Website
Ace
2. Ace
Location: Portland, OR
Number of Rooms: 79
Design Notes: Bohemian. Cool. Unpretentious. The Ace Hotel is many things, most important it is a trailblazing hotel that has pushed us to redefine what we think of boutique hotels. While all the locations (including New York, Palm Springs, and Seattle) are terrific, Portland is where this particular brand of unique hospitality began. All rooms are well appointed—dare we say, well curated—and include nice touches from craft-based providers as well as ethically-friendly companies. The Ace is dog friendly too, which demands high ratings.
Longman & Eagle
1. Longman & Eagle Hotel
Location: Chicago, IL
Number of Rooms: 6
Design Notes: Home to just six rooms and one of America's best restaurants, Longman & Eagle is a contemporary take on the classic inn. Rooms start at $89 and feature original art installations from the likes of Nick Butcher, Nadine Nakanshi, Virgil Wong, and Cody Hudson. Each room is unique, but all share a similar features in form of custom bed and desk systems designed by Robert McAdams and chairs by Jon Martin. Think old meets new, in all the best possible ways.
