Every stay begins in the lobby. That is the professional mantra that has led hotels to spend tens of millions of dollars (and more) on bespoke furniture, extravagant floral arrangements and works of art by Andy Warhol or Keith Haring. The lobby is not just meant to welcome guests, but to induce awe and wonder, the first stage of an adventure in an unfamiliar city. In short, the lobby is a declaration of principles, a preview of what awaits guests at some of the most luxurious hotels in the country. Behold 5 Captivating Hotel Lobbies in the U.S.


Hyatt Regency San Francisco

The John Portman-designed Hyatt Regency San Francisco, with a monumental sculpture of braided aluminum and a curtain of light ropes. Courtesy Wikimedia.

There is no better place to start than at Hyatt Regency San Francisco, home to the world’s largest lobby, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The 17-story atrium functions like a town square, drawing visitors from across the Embarcadero waterfront. All 104 hotel rooms face onto the lobby, which is notable for a sci-fi aesthetic leavened with California cool. (It comes as no surprise that the lobby was the setting for a succession of movies in the 1970s, including The Towering Inferno [1974] and High Anxiety [1977].) The centerpiece of the atrium is Charles Perry’s Eclipse, a monumental sculpture of braided aluminum that balances with the concrete blocks of the John Portman-designed building. Behind that is a curtain of light ropes that accentuates the grandeur of the 42,000-cubic-foot space.


Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park

The lobby of Old Faithful Inn, with a 500-ton stone fireplace and an abundance of rough-hewn timber. Courtesy the hotel.

Moving across the continent, we arrive at Old Faithful Inn, the largest log hotel in the world. The imposing structure, a prime example of the architectural style known as National Park Service Rustic, was built in 1903-1904 with local materials like lodgepole pine and rhyolite stone. Soon thereafter, it welcomed a cavalcade of presidents: Warren Harding in 1923, Calvin Coolidge in 1927, and Franklin Roosevelt in 1937.

The lobby of Old Faithful Inn is anchored by an 85-foot-high, 500-ton stone fireplace with four hearths. Around that are two levels of balconies made of rough-hewn timber. Step outside to witness the pyrotechnics of the Old Faithful geyser, which spews water every 90 minutes.


The Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans

The lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans, with crystal chandeliers, mosaic tile, and potted plants. Courtesy Wikimedia.

The story of the Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans is one of prosperity, devastation and rebirth. Named for Theodore Roosevelt, the hotel was once a hotspot for bayou royalty like Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Jack Benny. (According to city lore, then-Governor Huey P. Long arranged for 80 miles of highway to be built just to make it easier for him to get his favorite drink at the hotel.) Then came Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which ravaged the Louisiana coast and forced the hotel to close its doors. It was not until four years later that it reopened.

The lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans is a block-long Art Deco hall with crystal chandeliers, hand-worked plaster moldings, mosaic tile, and potted plants. At the center is the “Paris Exhibition Clock” (1867), a 10-foot-tall timepiece with a base of solid onyx.


Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade

The iron-and-glass vaulting of the Hyatt Regency Cleveland. Photograph by M.K. Feeney.

Built in 1890, the Arcade is thought to be the country’s first indoor shopping mall. Modeled on the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, the building is a feat of engineering from the twilight of the Victorian era, with iron-and-glass vaulting suspended over a five-story interior space. In 2001, the institution received a $60 million makeover, and Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade is now a magnet for shoppers from across the downtown area.


Gramercy Park Hotel, New York

The lobby of Gramercy Park Hotel, New York, curated by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julian Schnabel. Courtesy Wikimedia.

Gramercy Park Hotel, in Manhattan, is not just a hotel but a repository of fine art, with works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Keith Haring, and Richard Prince. The art on the walls is rotated frequently to ensure that guests never have the same experience twice. In effect, the institution combines the trappings of a grand New York hotel with a taste for Modernism, placing masterpieces of the genre next to bespoke furniture. The hotel was curated by none other than the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julian Schnabel, who endeavored to create a space that was both regal and relaxed.


For more, see:

7 Hotels We Love and the Designers & Architects Behind Them

The Top 10 Art Deco Hotels in America


After A Four-Year Renovation, The Legendary Ritz Paris Reopens