2013 Best Beach Hotels in the U.S. and Hawaii: Affordable & Luxury Beach Hotels All Make the Grade According Traveler Reviews

Florida and the East Coast are the preferred destinations for U.S. mainland beach goers, while luxury properties across the islands dominate the Hawaiian beach hotels lists

Even if you’re not a self-described beach person, you might want to start daydreaming about a winter beach vacation anyway. According to a TrustYou review of the Best Beach Hotels of 2013, a stay at the beach may offer some of the best all-around hotel experiences in the country. The top 20 Best Beach Hotels in the U.S. all rate as “excellent” according to online hotel reviews, aggregated from across review sites.* Florida takes top honors, as home to 12 of the 20 best beach hotels on the U.S. mainland.

Top 20 Best Beach Hotels 2013, U.S. Mainland (2013)

1). Elizabeth Point Lodge (Amelia Island, FL) – 97

2). Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Beach (FL) – 97

3). Cloister at Sea Island (Sea Island, GA) – 96

4). Tun Tu’ Tun Lodge (Gold Beach, OR) – 96

5). Ponte Vedra Inn (FL) – 95

6). Stephanie Inn (Cannon Beach, OR) – 95

7). Little Palm Island Resort & Spa (Little Torch Key, FL) – 94

8). The Sanctuary Hotel (Kiawah Island, SC) – 94

9). Castle Hill Inn (Newport, RI) – 93

10). Lodge & Club (Ponte Vedra, FL) – 93

11). The Lodge at Torrey Pines (La Jolla, CA) – 93

12). The Breakers (Palm Beach, FL) – 92

13). Montage Laguna Beach (CA) – 92

14). Ritz Carlton Naples (FL) – 91

15). Sandpearl Resort (Clearwater, FL) – 91

16). Watercolor Inn & Resort (Santa Rosa, FL) – 91

17). Atlantic Hotel (Ft Lauderdale, FL) – 90

18). Ritz Carlton Amelia Island (FL) – 89

19). The Setai (Miami, FL) – 89

20). Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel (Dana Point, CA) – 88

The 2013 Top Beach Hotels on the U.S. mainland include smaller boutique properties, affordable beach hotels, and luxury properties across the East Coast—from Florida all the way to Newport, Rhode Island. Just five of the Top 20 beach hotels are located on the West Coast. The Elizabeth Point Lodge, a small upscale property, and the Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Beach tied for top beach hotel on the mainland with exceptional TrustScores of 97. The Best Hawaiian Beach Hotels, researched separately due to distance and traveler expectations, is made up almost entirely of luxury properties along with two full-service condominium accommodations.

“The U.S. beach hotel experience is about so many things: having the ideal location, meeting service expectations (friendliness seems to come up a lot), creating ambiance, serving exceptional food, and so on. Beach hotels are obviously working very hard and reviewing well. It shows in reviews when guests leave feeling relaxed, rested, and happy,” says Alan Young, TrustYou’s Senior Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships.

2013 Best Beach Hotels, Hawaii

1). Four Seasons Hualalai (Hawaii Island) – 96

2). Four Seasons Maui at Wailea – 95

3). Kaanapali Alii Resort (Maui) – 94

4). Napili Surf Beach Resort (Maui) – 93

5). Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay – 92

6). Mauna Lani Hotel & Bungalows (Hawaii Island) – 92

7). Trump International Hotel Waikiki (Oahu) – 92

8). Halekulani (Oahu) – 91

9). Fairmont Orchid (Hawaii Island) – 89

10). Kahala Hotel & Resort (Oahu) – 88

The 2013 Best Beach Hotels in Hawaii list features significantly more luxury hotel brands; however, the overall range of TrustScores is lower than that of the U.S. mainland. “Guests may have higher expectations of the Hawaiian market due to rates, distance from the mainland, and the price to get to the destination. That said, the overall scores are still excellent,” notes Young.

The 2013 Best Beach Hotels list was compiled by reviewing the TrustScores of over 50 beach hotels from recent popularity lists, including Travel & Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Budget Travel, and more. The TrustScores used to build the lists are based on overall guest satisfaction over the past two years of online hotel review scores across all review sites, as well as a proprietary sentiment algorithm that considers positive and negative mentions. More recent reviews are given more weight than older reviews.

* TrustScores are based on a scale of 1-100, with anything 87 or above qualifying as “Excellent” performance.