The Best Resort Hotels in the Continental U.S. in 2016

By Melanie Lieberman
July 06, 2016
Courtesy of the Lodge at Glendorn/Kindra Clineff
Many of the country’s best resort hotels aren't what most people think of when they hear "resort" — you won’t find bikini-clad women sipping piña coladas at Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana, for example. Still, the properties that were recognized in this year’s World’s Best Awards all have an approach to relaxation that is traditionally and unabashedly American.

Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise lines, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Properties were classified as city or resort based on their locations.

Whether guests bed down in log cabins or shingled cottages or a vintage manse, they're getting thoroughly looked after. 

The top 15 properties ranged from opulent mansions in the American South to ranch-style resorts overlooking the Santa Cruz Mountains. Some showed the country’s wilder side, including Triple Creek Ranch, which T+L reader Richard Gill called “one of the jewels of the American West,” and the No. 1 resort, the 1,500-acre Lodge at Glendorn in Pennsylvania. 

At the Château du Sureau, in Oakhurst, California, visitors are treated to the best of the Old World (afternoon tea, interiors furnished with antiques, and tiles reclaimed from European castles) and the New World. Think hikes through Yosemite, one of the country’s most striking national parks.

And don't forget about classic beach getaways. The Gasparilla Inn is a wonderfully preppy property on Florida's Gulf Coast, where you can golf, play tennis, or lounge on the sand, then don a jacket for dinner. Wequassett Resort and Golf Club offers wholesome, upscale fun on beloved Cape Cod. "The gardens are magical, the rooms, food and beverage outstanding, but the service is nothing short of perfection," one reader raved.  

A high standard of service is something all our winners share, no matter where they are located. And that really makes it a vacation. 
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No. 15: Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa, Rancho Santa Fe, California

Credit: Courtesy of Rancho Valencia

Score: 95.69

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No. 14: Gasparilla Inn & Club, Boca Grande, Florida

Credit: Courtesy of Gasparilla Inn

Score: 95.76

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No. 13: The Lodge & Cottages at Primland, Meadows of Dan, Virginia

Credit: Courtesy of Primland

Score: 95.87

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No. 12: Lodge at Sea Island, Georgia

Credit: Courtesy of the Lodge at Sea Island

Score: 95.90

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No. 11: Rosewood Sand Hill, Menlo Park, California

Credit: Courtesy of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts

Score: 96.00

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No. 10: Weekapaug Inn, Westerly, Rhode Island

Credit: Courtesy of Weekapaug Inn

Score: 96.67

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No. 9: Old Edwards Inn & Spa, Highlands, North Carolina

Credit: Courtesy of Old Edwards Inn and Spa

Score: 96.67

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No. 8: Wequassett Resort & Golf Club, Chatham, Massachusetts

Credit: Courtesy of Wequassett Resort and Golf Club

Score: 96.68

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No. 7: Triple Creek Ranch, Darby, Montana

Credit: Courtesy of Triple Creek Ranch

Score: 96.76

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No. 6: Château du Sureau, Oakhurst, California           

Credit: Courtesy of Château du Sureau

Score: 96.77

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No. 5: Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa, Gateway, Colorado

Credit: Courtesy of Gateway Canyons Resort

Score: 97.00

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No. 4: Farmhouse Inn, Forestville, California

Credit: Courtesy of Farmhouse Inn

Score: 97.07

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No. 3: Twin Farms, Barnard, Vermont      

Credit: Courtesy of Twin Farms

Score: 97.19

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No. 2: The Willcox, Aiken, South Carolina

Credit: Courtesy of the Willcox

Score: 97.25

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No. 1: The Lodge at Glendorn, Bradford, Pennsylvania           

Credit: Courtesy of the Lodge at Glendorn/Kindra Clineff

Score: 97.38

This Relais & Châteaux property sits on 1,500 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania and emphasizes the bucolic pleasures of early America. (One reader called it a “forest paradise.”) Travelers can make s’mores over an open fire, go skeet-shooting or ice-skating, or explore miles of trails. “It’s like going back in time to stay at a family’s private hunting lodge,” said one T+L reader, who especially loved the massive sandstone fireplace in the redwood Big House. Best of all, you can return season after season, for snowmobiling in winter or fishing for trout in spring.

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By Melanie Lieberman