The Best Hotels and B&Bs to Book Near the Oregon Coast Aquarium

This beachfront shingle-clad inn is all about the wide sweep of sand just below, while putting you within 10 minutes’ drive of the aquarium. Watch the surf from the rustic wooden chairs on the sun deck, unless you’re lucky enough to have a private sea-facing balcony. Interior decor bucks the blue-and-white coastal cliché, with dark wood furniture and even retro-tiled gas fireplaces for cooler nights. You’ll get a wonderful home-cooked breakfast each day, and for everything else, Newport’s on your doorstep.

If it’s coastal-themed comfort overlooking Nye Beach you’re after, look no further than this cluster of condos and cute clapboard cottages. Rooms are dressed in traditional maritime style, with seashell-patterned throws, splashes of royal blue paint and nautical objects, with dramatic sea views guaranteed. There’s direct beach access, and a seasonal outdoor pool and hot tub. For a spot of local history, stroll up the coast to the Victorian marital home-turned Burrows House Museum, between the Bayfront and Nye Beach.

Every room at this large modern coastal outpost faces the Pacific Ocean or the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Rooms are decked out in natural shades of browns and greens, but it’s the dramatic views that steal the show. If the surf is rough, swim in the indoor pool or drive the four minutes via the Yaquina Bay Bridge to the Aquarium. Come dinnertime, walk one minute around the corner to try the famous seafood chowder at Mo’s Seaside.

Staying at this small-scale, clapboard motel, barely 650ft (200m) from Nye Beach, means traditional rooms with space where you can spread out, filled with dark wood furniture, rich red carpets and colorful coastal art on the walls. Choose from two- or one-bed versions, useful if you’re taking the kids to the Aquarium across the bay. Kids will love the buffet breakfasts, stacked with sugary pastries, a variety of cereals and plenty of fresh fruit.

High wooden headboards and starchy bedding give the large rooms here a crisp, business-like look. Fitness fans can start the day on a fruit-and-cereal breakfast before hitting the gym and then spending the day sunning on the sandy sweep of Nye Beach, 1.2mi (2km) away. Meanwhile, architecture aficionados will love Newport’s downtown Deco District, packed with galleries, cafes and restaurants in that sublime 1930s style – not forgetting the largest example in the soaring Yaquina Bay Bridge.

Just off the North Coast Highway, a four-minute drive from the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, huge chocolate-brown rooms at this road trip-friendly hotel allow you to unpack and spread out. Work to do? Desks come as standard. Downstairs, there’s a small breakfast room with continental-style treats and a pancake machine, or treat yourself to a bagel with cream cheese and a coffee in one of Newport’s fantastic restaurants close by.

Don’t just stay close to the water, stay on the water with a night or two on this 97ft (30m) paddlewheel boat, docked on Yaquina Bay. Rooms charm with wooden floors, pretty blue and white curtains and fantastic views. Indulgent three-course breakfasts begin with roasted pears with raspberry sauce, moving on to homemade cinnamon rolls before finishing with homemade corned beef hash or ricotta/blueberry waffles. Join the crew and guests on the sundeck for happy hour and complimentary wine, beer and appetizers.

If you like your coastal retreat with a generous helping of comfort, this shingle-clad boutique inn, minutes from Newport, is for you. Eight rooms frame beach views, with exposed wooden beams, smart tartan-upholstered headboards and roomy four-poster beds. Need more privacy? The standalone cottage comes with a river-rock fireplace, attractive wood-lined kitchenette and hot tub. Cozy up by the lounge fireplace with a glass of wine or head out to the wood-burning fire pit perched on a bluff.