Duluth hotels

As you might have guessed from its name, the Lift Bridge Lodge is the closest hotel to Duluth’s iconic Aerial Lift Bridge. Just steps from Lake Superior, it’s one of the best hotels in Duluth if you’re looking for a reasonably-priced spot near the lake, where you can easily walk to the bars along Lake Avenue.

The hotel has a cool stone entrance that gives it a nice sense of place, as well as a nod to the nature that surrounds the city, and the guestrooms are large and comfortable. Inside, the Lift Bridge Lodge is essentially an elevated Choice Hotel, with sleek modern furnishings.

It’s also got a nice indoor pool – ideal for when the weather is, well, Duluth weather – and the gym is open 24 hours, something I particularly appreciate during winter stays.

If you’re in town with a special someone, this is one of the best hotels in Duluth for couples. I recommend those staying at this romantic boutique property to splurge and go for one of the hot tub suites, where you can warm up after a long walk by the lake.

Every room has a private balcony looking out over Lake Superior, and they’re configured so it feels like it’s just you and whoever you’re with gazing out at the horizon. This is also one of the best hotels in Duluth due to its prime location, right on the edge of Canal Park near the city centre.

While I’m not usually a big breakfast person, I make an exception here. The massive morning spread is included with your stay, and the waffles, sausages, and omelettes are perfect fuel for a long day exploring the Minnesota wilderness.

Just across the Aerial Lift Bridge from Canal Park sits the longest freshwater sandbar in the world, Park Point. This serene spot juts out into Lake Superior, and when it comes to the finest hotel on the sandbar, that award goes to Park Point Marina Inn.

While there aren’t many traditional luxury hotels in Duluth, this one comes closest. Almost every room here has a private balcony, and sitting and watching the cargo ships roll in is a meditative experience. It’s also a great place to get a feel for the city’s shipping-hub vibe.

When the sun is shining, take a jog through Park Point down to the Minnesota Point Lighthouse, the first one built on this part of Lake Superior. It’s only a few blocks from Canal Park, but if the weather’s not playing ball, I’ll take the free shuttle the hotel provides instead.

If you’re looking for a home away from home, Beacon Pointe is one of the best hotels in Duluth. Located a couple of miles from the city centre, it feels more like a small apartment complex than a hotel, due to the fact that many of the rooms are actually larger flats.

That means you’ll have a full kitchen and hot tub if you book a one, two, or three-bedroom flat, and even traditional rooms come with kitchenettes. It’s also a great spot if you’re planning a longer stay or travelling with family, and since driving is usually part of the plan when visiting Duluth, the extra space is well worth the drive into town.

In summer and autumn, I like to walk from the hotel to the city centre, as the stroll gives me a chance to explore parts of the city I wouldn’t see otherwise.

Set right across the Aerial Lift Bridge from the Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center, the South Pier Inn is one of the best hotels in Duluth on the waterfront. The rooms are vast, making a stay here great value, and every room has incredible panoramic views. It’s a truly surreal sensation when I wake up in the morning, look out my window, and see massive freighters passing by on their way to the Great Lakes.

If you’re travelling in a larger group, the two-storey townhouses are a lot of fun, offering that ‘everyone’s-here-in-the-same-place’ vibe that lends itself to late nights in the living room and out on the balcony. It’s also a short stroll across the bridge to Lake Avenue, and I love walking out the front door and deciding whether to take my afternoon run to the Minnesota Point Lighthouse or the Lakewalk.

Of all the best hotels in Duluth, only one has a restaurant right on the water. That’s the Pier B resort, set out on a pier jutting into Lake Superior. The bar here is always among my first stops in Duluth, where you can grab a drink and look out on the water, then indulge in dinner without having to leave the view.

That said, the Pier B is more than its signature Silos restaurants – named after the group of grain silos that sit on property. It’s also the best hotel in Duluth for exploring the city, as you can borrow bikes, paddleboards, and paddleboats onsite. New this year, the hotel has added a cool outdoor sports court, so if the weather is cooperating you can enjoy a game of basketball or pickleball just steps from Superior.

Fitger’s isn’t just a hotel. It’s one of the most iconic buildings in Duluth, whose iconic smokestack and brick facades are as much a part of the city’s lakefront as the lift bridge. Even if I’m not staying here, I like to grab a beer inside then sit out on the courtyard and look down at Lake Superior, especially on sunny afternoons.

The hotel is one part of the massive Fitger’s complex, which includes a shopping centre, fine dining restaurant, and the famous brewery. I love staying here because there’s always something going on, whether it’s stand up comedy in the bar downstairs or events at the brewery. It also makes you feel like you’re staying in a part of the city’s history, more than any of the other best hotels in Duluth.

I particularly like this Hampton Inn because it feels more like a Minnesota hunting lodge than a chain hotel. The reception is a masterpiece of stone and wood, with high ceilings and wood rail balconies. Waking up and walking down to the free breakfast of waffles and bacon adds to the nature-escape fantasy, and sets it apart from any Hampton Inn I’ve been to as one of the best hotels in Duluth.

The location doesn’t hurt either, right on Canal Park and an easy walk to pretty much anything you’d want to do in Duluth city centre. The views are also fantastic, and sometimes I catch myself gazing out the window at the big ships floating on Lake Superior outside while walking through reception.

The waterfront location of this Fairfield Inn is what sets it apart as one of the best hotels in Duluth. (Especially in comparison to the other Fairfield Inn in town, which is located a couple of miles inland.) The hotel looks a little like a postcard of a Nordic fishing village from the outside, with its colourful buildings that sit behind a small marina of boats and tranquil waters.

Inside, it’s one of the nicest Fairfield Inns you’re likely to come across, completely updated with mid-century modern decor, flatscreen TVs, and plenty of wall sockets. If I’m in town to fish or get out on the lake, this is one of my favourite places to stay in Duluth, as most of the charters leave just steps away.

If you’re looking for plenty of space at an affordable price, this Residence Inn is one of the best hotels in Duluth. Because it’s located in the shopping centre area a little outside the city centre, rates can be half what you’d find in the city centre. Plus, this property has a ton of two-and-three-bedroom suites, perfect if you’ve got a group of friends on their way to the Great White North.

Like most of the outer hotels in Duluth, I love this spot for trips where I’m exploring the rest of northern Minnesota. It makes the drive in the morning that much shorter, and the large rooms and suites offer a good amount of space to lay out gear, repack, and do other expedition prep. There’s also a 24-hour fitness centre, if you’ve just got to get a workout in before three straight days of kayaking.