Best Raleigh Hotels

When VIPs—rock stars, CEOs, European royalty—visit the Triangle, they're whisked directly to the upscale suburb of Cary, home to the Umstead Hotel and Spa. The pet project of Ann Goodnight, wife of billionaire software executive Jim Goodnight, the 150-room Umstead is a no-expenses-spared kind of place. The lobby has a luxe East-meets-West vibe, all granite and glass and bamboo. Outside, a lakeside bar is kept toasty by a massive stone fireplace. Rooms have 42-inch plasma TVs, iPod docks and bathtubs big enough to swim in. You know, the basic necessities. Guests and non-guests alike can take advantage of the pricy spa and restaurant. If you do decide to splurge, I recommend the afternoon tea, a decadent spread of scones and Devonshire cream, deviled quail eggs and house-smoked salmon. Be aware that staying at the Umstead means sacrificing location for luxury—Cary is about 20 minutes from downtown Raleigh.

Old Italia reigns at this longtime Chapel Hill establishment, one of the Triangle's best-value non-chain hotels. The lobby has an upscale Tuscan ambiance, with arched entranceways, marble floors and lots of wrought iron. The hotel's Il Palio Ristorante, named after Siena's famous Il Palio horse race, has long been considered one of the region's top fine-dining destinations—it's pricey, but the three-course dinner special is a steal. The cozy six-seat bar is a lovely place to nurse a glass of vino and chat with the bartender. Unfortunately, the 79 guest rooms don't live up to the lobby's grandeur. They're spacious and clean, but they lose style points due to old-fashioned wall-to-wall carpet and cheesy Raphael prints. But you're not here to hang out in your room, are you? Not with downtown Chapel Hill just up the road, and Raleigh a half-hour's drive away.

Just two blocks from NC State, the Holiday Inn Brownstone Downtown is a favorite with the fall football tailgate crowd. Rooms are pleasant, if generic, and the on-site pizzeria and outdoor pool are good for families. Other amenities include free WiFi and a small fitness center. Hillsborough Street, once a shabby stretch of college-friendly record shops and dive bars, has recently undergone a major renovation and now sports a spiffy, more upscale look. Downtown is a few minutes drive away; you can walk it if you're ambitious.

A few steps from the University of North Carolina campus, the antebellum-style Carolina Inn is a Chapel Hill institution. The hotel's gracious, light-flooded lobby is always buzzing with visitors—well-heeled UNC alums, bridesmaids, ladies who lunch. The 184 rooms are spacious and sweetly old-fashioned, with four-poster beds and lots of floral prints. Prices go through the roof around UNC graduation weekend, usually in early May, and during the fall football season. On Fridays in spring and summer, guests and townies alike sip champagne and listen to live bluegrass on the front lawn. The hotel's restaurant, Carolina Crossroads, is the site of many a Junior League luncheon.

For easy access to the entire Triangle area, this sleek, modern hotel is a solid bet. Directly off I-40 next to Durham's massive Streets at Southpoint Mall, Four Points is a 10-minute drive to RDU Airport, a 25-minute drive to downtown Raleigh, and a 20-minute drive to downtown Durham and Chapel Hill. The hotel has 98 comfy-but-bland guestrooms in shades of cream and khaki, an indoor pool, and a free shuttle to the mall. Sure, there are more exciting places to stay in the Triangle, but Four Point's overall convenience is hard to top.