Discover the Best Resorts in the Northeastern United States

This year, many of our readers’ favorite properties in the northeastern United States come with a storied pedigree. The Chanler at Cliff Walk, for example, occupies a classic Newport mansion built in 1873. With only 20 rooms, it conveys the intimacy of a Gilded Age residence. The staff is helpful and outgoing, and its main restaurant, the Spiced Pear, features a special chef’s table where diners can watch the team prepare dishes such as lobster tortellini with fennel and orange. “We were treated like royalty,” praised one reader. Another added: “The food, natural scenery, and architectural surroundings inspired the mind.”

Annual Awards and Reader Feedback

Every year for the World’s Best Awards survey, readers provide feedback on travel experiences around the globe, sharing their opinions on top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels are rated on facilities, location, service, food, and overall value, classified as city or resort based on their locations and amenities.

Featured Resorts

The Nantucket Hotel & Resort

The Nantucket Hotel & Resort has a façade that dates back to 1891. However, the hotel, which opened in 2012, boasts fresh and bright rooms. The family-friendly vibe extends to childcare, allowing grown-ups to enjoy date night at one of Nantucket’s stellar restaurants.

Lake Placid Lodge

Lake Placid Lodge offers a luxurious retreat where one can go kayaking, hiking, and skiing in New York’s Adirondack Mountains — an area popular since the early 1900s when the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts vacationed at their “Great Camps.” First opened in 1946, the lodge has been newly renovated while retaining its charm with four-poster beds, fireplaces, and deep soaking tubs. “It takes you back in time,” said one reader.

Rabbit Hill Inn

Some traditions endure, and one is the popularity of resort hotels in Vermont. Rabbit Hill Inn is set in a picture-perfect village; the tradition of hospitality dates back to 1795, when a tavern was built on the site. The cozy public spaces evoke nostalgia (a number of readers commented on the extensive collection of Stave puzzles), and the dining room reflects the wayside inns of an earlier century. Many readers praised innkeepers Brian and Leslie Mulcahy, who “strive to create a destination where you feel that you are the center of a loving hearth,” a sentiment echoed by one voter.