Despite a pandemic I managed to stay in a few of the best hotels in 2020. Luxuries big and small filled my best hotel visits this year. From televisions found in bathroom mirrors, to a beachside bartender making to-go cocktails, staying at a hotel is always a nice escape from reality.
These hotels aren’t the ultimate best, but they are MY best hotels in a year where staying in a hotel wasn’t an average monthly event for me like it had been in previous years. Here are the best hotels of the year that I had the pleasures of staying in.
Subscribe for more travel adventures.
Bathroom suite at the L’Auberge Hotel in Lake Charles, LA; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
1. L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles – Lake Charles, LA
The L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana was hands-down the best hotel I stayed in all year. I visited Lake Charles on a press trip with my former job as a travel writer/editor in February where I got to experience my first authentic Mardi Gras celebration. Lake Charles offers a more family-friendly Mardi Gras compared to New Orleans but it did not skimp on the fun and excitement in any way.
L’Auberge is an expansive casino resort but filled with family-friendly things to do too. There is a large outdoor pool with a lazy river, a small game room filled with arcade games and tons of restaurants with a variety of food and price point options. While I didn’t get to experience much of L’Auberge during the trip because we were busy outside the resort having Mardi Gras fun, the suite alone that I stayed in was luxury enough for me.
There were televisions in the massive mirrors in the bathroom, there was a gorgeous glass rain shower but the center piece of the extra large bathroom was the beautifully big white tub. I was fooled by where the water flowed into the tub until I looked up. The water for the tub flowed from a rain faucet in the ceiling above the tub. In the bedroom portion of the suite sat a king bed that faced a living room area with a sectional couch and large flat screen TV. But my favorite part of the L’Auberge Resort suite was the remote control. Odd, I realize. But this large, touchscreen remote controlled the TV, the temperature, and the lighting…and there were a ton of lighting options. You could dim and set moods for any of the lights in the different areas of the suite. I never realized how fancy a remote control could be but I had the most fun playing with all the different buttons and features. Having control of all things in the room from the touch of a button puts the L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles at the top of my best hotels in 2020.
Lake Charles was hit hard by the 2020 hurricane season (Hurricane Laura in August and then Hurricane Delta in October). L’Auberge (which has reopened) and the city saw some devastating damage but are rebuilding and reopening and any love you can send their way is always appreciated.
Related: My Best Travel Moments of 2020
Ocean Club Hotel in Cape May, NJ; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
2. Ocean Club Hotel – Cape May, NJ
The Ocean Club Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey was the first hotel I stayed in during a pandemic. It was early summer and after having been locked down for months, laid off from my dream job and in serious need of a change of scenery, I decided on a mini pandemic getaway to Cape May. I wanted a hotel that was taking extra precautions to keep its guests safe and healthy and when I reviewed Ocean Club Hotel’s website I felt they were doing just that. I also wanted to be ever-so-slightly pampered. I wanted to be near the beach and I wanted a bartender to make me a cocktail, even if it was a to-go cocktail.
Watch My Cape May Instagram Highlight
Ocean Club Hotel checked all of these boxes. It is across the street from the sand and Atlantic Ocean. They offer beach service where a delightful employee who I was happy to tip set up a lounge chair and umbrella for me. The bar outside by the pool was serving up to-go drinks and the hotel’s restaurant was offering delicious to-go meals. I enjoyed my time exploring Cape May but enjoyed my time in a beachside resort hotel even more.
Related: Staying In a Hotel During a Pandemic
The Stonewall Resort lobby fireplace in West Virginia; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
3. Stonewall Resort – Roanoke, WV
By the time Thanksgiving rolled again, I was again in need of another solo, mini pandemic getaway. I had decided that I would not be spending the holiday with family but also did not want to sit alone and depressed in my apartment missing turkey and stuffing. So I decided to visit West Virginia, a state I had never been to before and again wanted a nice resort that also stayed within my budget.
The Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, West Virginia was my pandemic Turkey Day answer. The resort was surrounded by several hiking trials. I wanted to get outside into nature but I also wanted it to be convenient. This lakeside resort also features an indoor/outdoor pool, lake activities like kayaking and boating in the warmer month, golf and a spa. There is also a big outdoor fire pit and guests were provided with S’mores makings for Thanksgiving, which was a nice touch. When I first walked into the Stonewall lobby I was greeted with twinkling Christmas decorations that immediately made the resort feel warm and homey. I sat by the large lobby fireplace and read a book after a day outside and relished in the holiday coziness.
Watch My West Virginia Instagram Highlight
