Peek Inside the Most Expensive Hotels in America

Even an “inexpensive” hotel room in New York City tends to cost more than similar accommodations elsewhere, but the Mandarin Oriental takes luxury—and the corresponding price—to notable heights. 

Guests can dine in the elegant restaurant, work out in the state-of-the-art fitness center, relax in the five-star spa, and enjoy the hotel's glorious views of Manhattan. Nightly rates range from $995 to $14,000 for the largest suite.

It’s a half-hour drive from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay, where the imposing, castle-like Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay perches atop a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Just an hour's drive from Los Angeles, the Rosewood Miramar Beach opened this year on the site of the Miramar by the Sea Hotel, a high-fashion resort that had closed nearly 20 years ago. The Rosewood is far more upscale, however; it’s the only five-star hotel in Southern California that is situated directly on the beach. 

Guests can enjoy the resort’s private stretch of beach, complete with morning yoga and evening strolls; dine in the hotel’s fine restaurants; book a top-notch spa treatment; swim in the resort's two pools; exercise in the well-equipped fitness center; or make the quick drive to nearby Santa Barbara, nicknamed the “American Riviera.” 

The Mediterranean revival-style hotel, which, thanks to its late-1940s pastel paint job, is known as the "Pink Palace," has long welcomed Hollywood’s elites as well as rock stars, politicians, and foreign dignitaries. The grounds and hotel interiors still reflect the vintage look of Hollywood’s most glamorous era. 

Surrounded by 12 acres of gorgeous gardens loaded with palm trees, bright flowers, and meandering walkways, the resort offers famous restaurants, stylish guest rooms, charming bungalows, a fitness room, and a spa. Hobnobbing with the stars doesn’t come cheap, though: a midsummer overnight stay here costs from $795 for a standard room to $4,000 for the largest suite.

A one-night weekend stay at this Rocky Mountain resort in mid-June starts at $1,295 per room.

For many travelers, just being in the paradise that is the Kohala Coast on the island of Hawaii is enough. For others, paradise needs a dash of luxury. And for those travelers, a stay at the Four Seasons Hualalai should be on the itinerary. 

Overlooking Central Park in New York City, the Ritz-Carlton offers the heights of luxury amidst a contemporary setting with touches of old-school elegance.

Guests can dine on fine cuisine, enjoy afternoon tea, or relax with a pampering spa treatment. It’s just a short walk to Fifth Avenue shopping and restaurants, and Central Park is mere steps away. 

There’s a definite feeling of whimsy here. For starters, there's the bright and funky artwork and furnishings, a golden woolly mammoth skeleton in a glass case, and an in-house cabaret theater where leather-clad aerialists twirl and whirl overhead as you sip your cocktail. 

And then there are the outright luxuries: a private white-sand beach, an ultimate-experience spa, the finest dining, and a staff dedicated to making your stay memorable. Weekend rates during June start at $525 per night—although you’ll pay less per night with a minimum four-night reservation—and go up to an astonishing $50,525 for a five-bedroom suite.

Not surprisingly, none of that luxury comes cheap. Rooms here start at $1,095 for a weekend overnight stay in June and go up to $1,920 for a suite.

The Plaza, yet another iconic New York City landmark, opened in 1907. This elegant, classically styled hotel has played roles in numerous movies and television shows over the decades, including Funny Girl, The Way We Were, Arthur, and Sleepless in Seattle. The list of famous guests includes the Beatles, Truman Capote, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marilyn Monroe, and the capricious (and fictional) Eloise.

It’s not just the mystique of the Plaza that draws the rich and famous to its rooms. The staff here are accustomed to pampering high-maintenance guests and don’t blink an eye at extravagant requests.