9 Best Hotels in Providence, Rhode Island

The Jewelry District is Providence's hottest neighborhood, and in the heart of the action is the new Aloft hotel, with rooms that have a colorful pop-art design that nods to its proximity to the Rhode Island School of Design and both a trendy lobby cocktail bar, WXYZ, and a popular rooftop nightclub, Blu Violet. The hotel is full of youthful energy even when unwinding in the outdoor, guests-only Backyard. Home to new parks, residences, and restaurants. the neighborhood is within easy walking distance to the East Side via the Providence Pedestrian Bridge. 

Located a short walk from the Rhode Island Convention Center and Waterplace Park, and not far from Providence Place Mall and the State House, this is one of New England's larger links in the Courtyard by Marriott chain. Odd-number rooms overlook WaterFire and the State House, while even numbers have views of Downtown.

The city's beloved landmark since 1922, the former Providence Biltmore revels in nostalgia for its flapper heyday, but it has refreshed appeal for tourists thanks to a chic and studious makeover, with welcome additions like new restaurants and a spa. Designed by New York City architects Warren and Wetmore (of Grand Central Terminal fame) and still sporting its magnificent original chandeliers, its rooftop neon BILTMORE sign, added in 1979, remains a tribute to the hotel's storied past.

The only hotel on Providence's East Side is uniquely situated at India Point, across the street from the waterfront park of the same name and with the entrance ramp for the East Bay Bike Path right out the back. The recent opening of Narragansett Brewery's tasting room next door adds some much-needed drinking, dining, and nightlife options, and the hotel is within walking distance to the landing for the seasonal Providence-Newport Ferry and (via a footbridge) the shops and restaurants of Wickenden Street and the Fox Point neighborhood. Rooms are about what you'd expect at a mid-level chain hotel, but some do have nice views of the park and Narragansett Bay.

In the heart of the city's Arts and Entertainment District, this intimate boutique hotel sets the standard for elegant decor and attentive service. Rooms and suites are in a pair of restored 19th-century buildings—the lobby and second floor were once a department store—and have such perks as marble bathrooms, luxury bedding, and coffeemakers.

Towering over Downtown, the Omni is steps from restaurants, the Rhode Island Convention Center, the Amica Mutual Pavilion (formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center), and Waterplace Park, home of WaterFire. The hotel hosts many conference guests and has a business-traveler vibe—and it's a wedding venue—but it's also child- and pet-friendly. The Providence Place Mall is accessible via a skybridge, so you never need to step outside to get your shop on.

This luxury hotel occupies one of Providence's most mysterious addresses, a stately nine-story Neoclassical Revival building constructed as a Masonic temple between 1926 and 1928 but unoccupied for an inconceivable 79 years. Developers restoring the building in the early 2000s incorporated the original architectural features, but the decor has a distinctly contemporary-retro edge.

The historic four-story Exchange Bank Building is the perfect location for one of Providence's newest luxury boutique hotels, which has a cozy charm paired with stylish rooms and views of downtown streets. A prominent Providence landmark when it was built in the 1840s, the building is dwarfed by downtown's skyscrapers but retains the Queen Anne style dating from an 1887 renovation. Named for the developer's mother, the Beatrice features Ignazio Cipriani's first Bellini restaurant in New England, which occupies an elegant ground floor space, as well as a private rooftop club, with views of central Kennedy Plaza.

A building that once housed a strip club is now a trendy boutique hotel with minimalist, masculine decor and a studious vibe. Guest rooms, which range from rooms with twin bunkbeds to a suite with a king-size bed and seating for six, are compact but well designed, feature handcrafted furnishings and eclectic artworks, and have writing desks and signature black bathrooms with rain showerheads.