Whether you’re heading west to Yosemite National Park in California or east to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, these five new and renovated hotels will add a touch of elegance to your next road trip. The properties, including a historical ranch in Colorado and a modern hotel in the Ozarks, offer plenty of creature comforts to balance days spent driving and exploring the nation’s wild places.
Tilton, N.H.
On 36 acres in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, this new 114-room-and-suite luxury resort and spa has mountain views and more than 3,000 feet of shoreline. About 90 minutes from Boston, the resort calls to mind the region’s grand old houses. There are fireplaces throughout, including in the library and the bar, and an art collection that includes paintings from Hudson River School artists. The rooms, in shades of pale blue and green, are airy and serene. Most have views of Lake Winnisquam, along with balconies or patios. Eighteen accommodations are suites.
Laze by the water, get centered in the meditation garden and unwind with a massage in the 5,000-square-foot spa that includes a relaxation lounge with views of an apple orchard. There are pickleball courts, a tennis court, a fitness center, trails, an infinity pool, and free kayaks, canoes and paddle boards to explore Lake Winnisquam. At night, catch a movie in the theater, where the popcorn and soft drinks are free.
Chris Viaud, a former “Top Chef” contestant and a James Beard Foundation award nominee and semifinalist, is the property’s director of culinary arts. He oversees its four venues, including the Dining Room, with floor-to-ceiling windows and seasonal plates like New England seafood chowder and duck cassoulet. At the breezy wood-paneled Bar, enjoy a drink and bar dishes like beer-and-cider-braised short ribs. For light fare by the pool, try the Folly Grille. Rates change seasonally, starting from $299 a night, double occupancy.
Groveland, Calif.
This just-opened glamping getaway on 85 acres is about 10 minutes from Yosemite National Park’s Wilderness Center at Big Oak Flat Information Station. Known for its blend of safari-inspired tents and boutique-hotel amenities, Under Canvas has more than a dozen locations; this is the brand’s first in California. It’s also a DarkSky approved property by the nonprofit DarkSky International, which works to protect night skies from light pollution.
Expect campfires and s’mores, lawn games, live acoustic music and stargazing. An “adventure concierge” can help book guided experiences like hiking tours, rafting and fly fishing. A Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System stop across from the camp’s entrance makes it easy to visit the park on your own.
The camp’s central lobby tent has a yoga deck, lounge and dining area where you can order charcuterie, salads, trout and vegan and vegetarian dishes, along with California wines and beers. There are 71 tents, each with king-size beds, bathrooms and decks. Choose from four styles, including “deluxe” tents with heat, showers, sinks and flushing toilets; and “suite” tents that have those features plus a lounge area with a queen-size sofa bed. “El Capitan suite” tents can accommodate up to six people and have a roomy deck and two bathrooms. Rates start at $314 a night for the season, April 16 to Oct. 26.
While many people know Bentonville as the headquarters of Walmart, to cyclists the city is better known as a leafy haven for mountain biking. And this contemporary 142-room-and-suite downtown hotel leans into that, taking its inspiration from the Ozarks and its cycling culture.
A cycling concierge is on hand to provide guidance, including details about free Saturday shuttles that will transport you and your bike to trails. If you’re new to cycling, the hotel offers a free weekly mountain bike beginner ride. (Bike rentals and guided outings are available for a fee.) The hotel also has a complimentary bike valet service that includes storage and post-ride hot or cold towels. Leave your bike outside the lobby door when you’re done for the day and it will be cleaned and returned to you the next morning.
The hotel’s location is convenient to attractions like the OZ Trails Bike Park (scheduled to open in June with more than 20 miles of trails) and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is completing an expansion by the architect Moshe Safdie — two reasons Bentonville was selected as one of The Times’s 52 Places to Go in 2026.
Named for Dr. Neil Compton, a physician who helped preserve Arkansas’ Buffalo National River, the Compton has a library with books about Ozark folklore and regional flora and fauna. The themes of nature and cycling extend to the bright rooms (designed by Brooklyn-based Crème), which have window seats and foam rollers and yoga mats. Some rooms have balconies.
Begin the day with coffee and pastries at the hotel’s Field Notes cafe. In the evening, sip wine or beer on the patio and listen to live music. For heartier fare, fuel up at Sestina, the property’s Tuscan steakhouse. Later, have a cocktail at the Eddy with views of Bentonville Square. When you return to your room you might find an Ozarks-inspired gift, like Arkansas wildflower seeds. Rates from $350 a night.
Grant, Colo.
This ranch, surrounded by the Pike-San Isabel National Forest and the Mount Evans State Wilderness Area, has reopened following a renovation that redesigned the rooms and added a 5,500-square-foot lodge with warm woods, rugs and soaring windows that frame the trees and mountains beyond.
Order a burger or fajitas and watch as your meal is prepared on an open-fire grill in the lodge’s dining room, which offers sweeping views of the peaks.
A little more than an hour from Denver and not far from Guanella Pass, the ranch has activities for just about everyone, including archery, bocce ball, mountain biking and a wellness area on the river with wooden hot tubs and a sauna. A fire pit makes for an inviting place to talk and stargaze.
The ranch has eight guest buildings with accommodations that include king rooms, cabins with one to three bedrooms, and a four-bedroom ranch house. All-inclusive rates include hiking, yoga, archery, square dancing, live music and s’mores kits, as well as three meals, snacks and beverages. To celebrate the ranch’s 80th anniversary, a horseback ride is included with your stay. (Activities like white water rafting, rock climbing and fly-fishing can be arranged for a fee.) All-inclusive rates currently begin at $840 a night for double occupancy; starting June 6, rates are from $1,180 a night, double occupancy.
Austin, Texas
Built in 1886 in lively downtown Austin, the Driskill is nearing the completion of a major renovation of its 189 rooms and suites, common areas and restaurants.
A new cocktail bar and lounge, the Victorian, has already opened and evokes a combination saloon and English pub with live music and bar plates like smoked ham with whipped butter and dill pickles. The guest rooms in the hotel’s tower, which dates to 1929, are already renovated, with handsome wood furniture and earthy tones by Dallas-based Swoon, the Studio. But you’re not likely to stay in as the hotel is on Sixth Street, making it easy to experience the city’s charms.
The second phase of the renovation is underway and includes the lobby, the hotel’s historic rooms, and the Driskill Bar & Grill, which will be run by the British chef April Bloomfield, a James Beard Foundation Award winner known for New York City restaurants like Sailor and the Spotted Pig, a gastro pub that has since closed. The Driskill is open during these final renovations, though they are expected to be completed by the end of May, so you need not wait long if you’d like to see the hotel’s full transformation ahead of its 140th anniversary. Rates start at $319 a night.
