Glidden House in University Circle

For many, going someplace is more than simply being there. Lots of international travelers to Cleveland are looking for B&Bs (of which we have plenty, click here) and inns. While the hotels located in and around downtown are chains, many have unique designs that makes them have the feel of boutique hotels.   In fact, Cleveland is just the place for travelers wanting to stay someplace that doesn’t feel like a cookie-cutter hotel, but is in close range of major attractions.

The downtown Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites on Euclid Avenue, for instance, offers its expected brand of reliability and affordability but makes its home in the renovated 19th century Guardian Bank Building in Cleveland’s financial district. It boasts nine styles of rooms and easy walking access to the restaurants and entertainment of East Fourth Street like House of Blues and The Corner Alley as well as a prime location along the city’s new HealthLine public transportation route, which makes all the city’s east side attractions just a smooth ride away.

For that bustling, in-the-middle-of-things feel, there’s Marriott’s Renaissance Cleveland, which overlooks the city’s famous Public Square from its anchor spot in Tower City Center, a hub of shopping, transportation and dining. Movies, sporting events and concerts big and small happen daily in the blocks and neighborhoods around the Renaissance, and nearby restaurant menus range from the quick and hearty to the elegant and lauded. With its vaulted ceilings and iconic marble fountain, the 91-year-old Renaissance is a landmark of Cleveland architecture as well as part of its civic lifeblood. Here, visitors can’t help but feel a part of the city themselves.

Top to bottom, turn-of-the-century elegance is the standard at the Hyatt Regency at The Arcade downtown, mixed, as expected, with ultramodern luxury and a location in the heart of Cleveland. While the likes of PlayhouseSquare, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena are all just a short stroll away, simply stepping into the Hyatt’s ornate arcade atrium with its distinctive brass and wood architecture and styling feels like a long walk into a metropolitan past.

And for those seeking unique and independent lodging that’s not out-of-the-way, the Glidden House Hotel, located on the grounds of Case Western Reserve University in noted University Circle, offers visitors a nearly peerless experience. Housed in a mansion built in 1910, the Glidden House includes guest rooms designed to meet the traveling needs of everyone from solo business visitors to families spending their vacations taking in Cleveland Plus. Vintage suites on the upper floor, each different, are packed with even more luxuries and conveniences. –answered by John Booth, freelancer for Positively Cleveland

Editor’s Note: The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland is also attached to Tower City Center in the heart of downtown. The luxury hotel offering one-of-a-kind service recently updated its rooms. The Ritz-Carlton, the Red Maple Inn and Georgian Manor Inn Bed & Breakfast, along with others, receive high praise from AAA.