The Best Hotels to Book in Newport Beach, California, for Every Traveler

Across the road from the shops of Fashion Island, soak up the ocean views from your coastal-inspired room bathed in coastal colors before sharing charcuterie and other small plates in the lobby bar. Fancy a day in? Power away in the hotel’s 24-hour fitness center before checking into the day spa for a steam in the lavender eucalyptus steam room, followed by a snooze in a private cabana.

Tantalizingly close to South Coast Plaza, the posh hotel lobby lined with antiques and a marble fireplace may have you thinking you’re in Europe, especially when Le Chateau Garden Bistro serves French onion soup on a shaded cobblestone courtyard. However, the relaxing earth-toned rooms and suites, which add a furnished patio if you upgrade, are firmly Californian in style. Make sure you take advantage of their complimentary hotel shuttle service to John Wayne Airport. Going green? This hotel offers electric car charging stations.

Inspired by California’s vibrant surf culture, each cozy room here is individually decorated with comfortable pieces such as sink-into armchairs and large-scale artwork by surfer and artist John Severson. This Newport Beach hotel is just a block away from the beach on the sun-kissed Balboa Peninsula, within walking distance of the historic Newport Pier. So grab some comp cookies from the lobby, borrow a boogie board, and off you go to catch some waves.

Why should you stay at Balboa Bay Resort? Some say – and we agree – that the full-service spa and daybeds by the pool, where you can sip a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, offer California-level relaxation bar none. Others claim, quite rightly, that the luxury cream and blue bay-view suites are the bee’s knees. And still others will insist that the best way to spoil yourself at Balboa Bay is to rent an electric Duffy boat mere feet from your suite and explore the waters yourself. So what’ll it be? Check in and try all three.

Get that Cape Cod feeling combined with a California coastal vibe at Lido House. The Topside Roof Deck hosts Newport Beach’s only rooftop bar: the only place you’ll want to be, sipping the hotel’s branded champagne as the sun sets. A trip to the spa should keep things serene after sunrise, with scalp treatments, body scrubs, wraps and massages. Don’t flop forever at the spa, as your beach-house style cottage is waiting for you and your friends to arrive for chatty evening drinks – inside or out.

Renaissance Newport Beach Hotel makes it its mission to stimulate the senses. Tastebuds will receive total titillation over lobster beignets at Current Coastal Cuisine. Your SPF-covered skin will be in seventh heaven as you lounge in the rays that play on the pool or at the beach, a 10-minute drive away. Rooms evoke the ocean with green-blue ombre curtains and rugs plus cheerful prints of seaside scenes, while colorful murals throughout the lobby brighten your morning as you follow your nose to the coffee bar.

No need to put your feet through their paces when you’re staying at the nearest hotel to the beach. The whole experience is as laid-back as a California sunset. Restful rooms favor a stylish blue and white nautical theme with framed prints of sailboats above beds. Book the Sailor Suite for an added kitchen if you like to mix DIY bacon and eggs with the hotel’s sweet pastries and a glass of bubbly. Fancy a drink at any time of the day? The Lobby Wine Bar has liquid relaxation ready to uncork. Feel like exploring the boardwalk or pier? Make sure you take one of their complimentary bicycles for a spin.

Experience a side of Newport Beach few get to see at this rambling 500-acre (200ha) resort, a 10-minute shuttle ride to the sandy beaches. It’s another planet, you’ll agree, as you submit to the full-body, mind and soul treatments at the spa. Prefer something with a little more swing? There are 36 holes of oceanside golf to be played, poolside cabanas to switch off in and a carefully mixed menu of Italian classics and California cuisine to graze your way through. You’ll think you’re in Tuscany every morning when you wake in your Mediterranean-style villa with open beams and patios.

The refined charm of a bed and breakfast, the location of a world-class resort and the creature comforts of home are all part of your stay at Doryman’s Oceanfront Inn. Cozy up in your suite – by the fireplace, if the temperature dips – or in a four-poster canopy bed. Downstairs, 21 Oceanfront Restaurant has colossal tiger prawns and steamed lobster tails waiting for you. Appetite sated, cross the street to the Newport Beach Pier for amazing ocean views from atop the Ferris wheel.

Any golf holiday you fancy will go with a swing at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. Their executive par-3 golf course encourages perfect R&R as you wander over the greens under the California sun. Pencil a tennis match into your itinerary, too, at one of 16 illuminated courts. We would say volleyball and shuffleboard are on the back-nine, but chilling in one of their three sun-bright pools is about all the activity you’ll be interested in after a day or two of Southern Californian-style crab cakes and Chardonnay. Light-filled rooms and suites include upgrades with a pool in your backyard.