The best hotels in Minnesota for every type of traveler

Ribboned by rivers and dotted by more than 10,000 lakes, Minnesota’s top getaways never stray far from storied waters. The Mississippi River winds through both St. Paul and Minneapolis where urban stays highlight art and architecture in a former convent and coax guests to a rooftop sauna and spa pool overlooking the reflective skyline. Follow the Great River Road to the bluffs of southeastern Minnesota, head “Up North” to the heart of Lake Country, or hug Lake Superior’s rugged coast for cozy shoreline escapes.

Alma, Minneapolis 

Best for:  Foodies 

Gourmands should check into this seven-room boutique hotel—created by Alex and Margo Roberts—hungry. Heady aromas coax visitors inside with spiced almonds, lemon ricotta cookies, and sourdough bread from Café Alma; roasted duck and Meyer lemon orzo from its James Beard award-winning Restaurant Alma; and handmade seasonal scents such as clove, bergamot, and cedarwood sweetening guest rooms. Less than 10 minutes away, restaurants Vinai and Diane’s Place elevate the Twin Cities’ Hmong-influenced cuisine while Owamni creatively reimagines Indigenous cuisine using only pre-colonial ingredients.

Good to know: You can buy Margo’s signature apothecary products at the on-site café, or the Alma Provisions store in southwest Minneapolis, along with signature kitchen ingredients and curated goods such as locally made linens and ceramics. 

Hewing Hotel, Minneapolis 

Best for: Sports & music fans

In the heart of Minneapolis’ trendy North Loop District, this 124-room hotel with woodsy décor, open timbers, and yellow brick walls, embraces Minnesota’s Nordic heritage. It features a rooftop sauna, spa pool, and Rooftop Lounge with skyline views. The on-site restaurant, Tullibee, serves Scandinavian and seasonal plates, such as gravlax and rye, rainbow trout, and smoked chicken wild rice soup. Target Field (home baseball field for the Minnesota Twins) and Target Center (home court for the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team) entertain sports fans less than half a mile away from the hotel, while cyclists pedal the Cedar Lake Regional Trail, Mississippi Riverfront, and the city’s 100-plus miles of off-street bikeways. 

(Related: How Minnesota helped me find the magic of winter.)

Good to know: The Rooftop Lounge showcases local musicians for its Sunday Summer Concert Series. Minneapolis bands Soul Asylum, The Suburbs, and The Replacements used the Hewing’s building for rehearsal space in the 1980s and 1990s. Prince fans are only 22 miles from his Paisley Park home and studio.

Celeste of St. Paul Hotel + Bar, St. Paul  

Best for: Cultured city sanctuary

Creating a mood that’s contemplative and creative fits this boutique hotel’s history as Minnesota’s first fine-arts school and home to the Catholic nuns who taught here. Nuns painted Renaissance artworks in Italy for the Grand Hall and hand-painted tiles in the lobby and the bar, and ornate woodwork, arched ceilings and stained glass add to the style of this 1910 Beaux Arts building’s 71 guest rooms, many with Capitol views. 

“The Chapel Suite with its soaring ceiling with a round stained-glass window over the king bed is always a hit,” said Todd Byhre, president of Rebound Hospitality.

Good to know: Grab a Bad Habit cocktail before catching a show at three theaters within two blocks or take a 10-minute stroll to the Ordway Center for Performing Arts or Minnesota Museum of American Art. 

The Hotel Landing, Wayzata

Best for: Lakeside luxury for couples

The elegant veranda on this 92-room hotel catches cool breezes from Lake Minnetonka for a romantic date night in well-to-do Wayzata 15 minutes west of Minneapolis. The Ninetwentyfive restaurant serves Midwestern fare with East Coast influences (think walleye and lobster-and-crab cakes). The hotel also emphasizes pampering with plush robes and linens, 90-minute couples’ packages at Läka Spa, and add-on experiences such as guided fishing trips and winter ice fishing. 

Good to know: The hotel is only 20 minutes to reach the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, orchards and vineyards.

(Related: The essential guide to visiting Minnesota.)

Lora Hotel, Stillwater 

Best for: Small-town romantics  

Rustic original stone walls in this 40-room boutique hotel hint at its origins as the 1868 Joseph Wolf Brewery tucked into a St. Croix River bluff. Woodland folkloric art dots the walls with playful touches such as rabbit-ear coat hooks while Minnesota-made Faribault blankets warm the beds. Balconies overlook Stillwater’s popular Main Street boutiques and eateries. Downstairs at Fella, diners can glimpse historic stone caves and order logger’s breakfast with wild boar sausage and a ricotta doughnut or bison short rib and a signature old fashioned.

Good to know: While you can take Stillwater Riverboat cruises and pedal bikes along the river, the gentle rocking motion of authentic Italian Gondola Romantica rides offers a one-of-a-kind outing on the St. Croix. 

St. James Hotel, Red Wing 

Best for: History lovers   

This four-story 1875 Italianate hotel with 66 rooms named for riverboats offers surprises such as organ pipes in its original lobby, an 1890s piano, and The Port Lounge with its basement speakeasy vibe. A third of the rooms include Mississippi River views or you can watch for bald eagles and barges from the Scarlet Kitchen and Bar and its patio. Take a self-guided walking tour and look for nods to local companies, including Red Wing Pottery, Red Wing Shoes, and Sturdiwheat pancake mix.

“There’s a lot of history in the hallways,” said Sara Hill, director of sales and marketing. “They were built with enough space for women with hoop skirts to pass each other.”

Good to know: Red Wing Shoes owns the hotel, which uses some of its leather in the Scarlet Restaurant and Bar. Don’t miss ogling the size 638-1/2 work boot at the Red Wing Shoe Store and the evolution of footwear in the free museum across the street. 

(Related: 10 not-to-be-missed things to do in Minnesota.)

Grand View Lodge, Nisswa 

Best for: Multigenerational vacationers 

Hosta- and flower-lined pathways have connected Gull Lake and the postcard-perfect Grand View Lodge in the heart of Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes region for more than a century. The lobby’s wood floors creak with history, a fireplace crackles, and guests dine on walleye and wild rice on the patio with the lake glinting through the pines. Guests stay upstairs or can book rooms at the 60-room North Hotel completed in 2019. The lodge—comprised of a hotel, cabins, vacation homes, and cottages—features 329 rooms spread across the 750-acre property.

“It’s so fun to hear stories about people having fond memories of when they would visit here in summers, and now they bring their kids or grandchildren,” said Moe Beyer, corporate director of communications.

Good to know: Summer visitors can play two championship golf courses, and enjoy an outdoor pool and every kind of lake activity, while winter guests can skate on four rinks, snowmobile, cross-country ski, and ice fish. The two-story Glacial Waters Spa and NorthPark Recreation Center provide all-weather indoor activities. 

South Pier Inn, Duluth

Best for: Beachgoers and nauticalophiles 

At the base of Duluth’s iconic Aerial Lift Bridge where Lake Superior “lakers,” “salties,” and cruise ships glide into the world’s most inland harbor, this inn’s balconies and patios boast the most coveted spots for watching the action. Rooms feature generous windows and binoculars, along with airport-grade soundproofing so you don’t hear the bridge while sleeping. Guests join the owners’ walking tour each morning and can quickly access the Park Point beach, which is considered the world’s largest freshwater sandbar at 7 miles long.

Good to know: Ask the inn staff for a wake-up call if you want to see ships gliding by during the night. November and December offer some of the most dramatic ship-watching with sea smoke, storms, and ice. Guests don’t need to leave their warm rooms to watch.

(Related: Paddling Minnesota’s ‘ancient superhighway’.)

Grand Superior Lodge, Two Harbors

Best for: Adventurers

Expansive Lake Superior views make it tempting to stay at Grand Superior Lodge with its classic log construction, but both Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse state parks beckon adventurers with post-card scenery less than 10 miles away. Guests can rent bikes for the Gitchi-Gami State Trail and wind down roasting marshmallows in lakeside fire pits with dark-sky stargazing. The dining menu at the Lodge includes burgers, sandwiches, and ice cream floats at Lake Superior Burger Co. and Swedish meatballs and braised short ribs at Grand Superior Grill. When the weather gets chilly, guests can sauna and swim in the indoor pool.

Good to know: For the ultimate on-the-water views, check out the resort’s vintage stand-alone beach house on the shore.  

Naniboujou Lodge, Grand Marais 

Best for: Unplugged roadtrippers

The colorful spectacle and craftsmanship of this lodge’s dining room murals, along with its remote Lake Superior location 30 miles south of Canada, make Naniboujou feel like a national park lodge getaway. There are no TVs or Wi-Fi and spotty cell service. Plan to downshift and linger at meals beneath Cree-inspired art covering the dome ceiling and walls—something that should be on every traveler’s bucket list when visiting Minnesota. It was built in the 1920s as a private club for the likes of Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey.

Good to know: Across Highway 61 from the resort, Judge C.R. Magney State Park offers a hike to Devil’s Kettle Falls which splits with one channel of water mysteriously disappearing into an ancient pothole. VisitGrand Portage National Monument located about 25 miles north on Highway 61. At Grand Portage State Park, watch Minnesota’s highest waterfall plunge 120 feet along the Pigeon River, which separates the state from Canada. 

(Related: Paddling Minnesota’s ‘ancient superhighway’.)