CITY GUIDES | FLORIDA
The Best Hotels in Jacksonville, From Downtown to the Beaches
Oceanfront resorts, historic stays, and river views across Northeast Florida.
By Eric Barton
Updated Sept. 8, 2026
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Choosing where to stay in Jacksonville begins with deciding which stretch of water you want outside the window. Downtown hotels rise along the St. Johns River, while boutique properties and oceanfront resorts line Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Amelia Island. The best hotels in Jacksonville span all that geography, from a historic beach hotel to a riverfront tower and a Ritz beside the Atlantic.
Casa Marina Hotel
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Casa Marina opened in 1925, when Jacksonville Beach was beginning to style itself as a resort town. A century later, its 23 rooms sit steps from the sand, beneath a rooftop Penthouse Lounge with broad Atlantic views and regular live music. The architecture carries the stay: arched windows, tiled details, and enough Jazz Age drama to justify ordering a second cocktail upstairs. Its strengths are history, character, and a front-row address near the Jacksonville Beach Pier.
Best for: Historic character and rooftop drinks beside the ocean
Dune House Hotel & Spa
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Dune House Hotel & Spa took over the former One Ocean Resort address in 2026, bringing a new look to the oceanfront corner where Atlantic Beach meets Neptune Beach. Refreshed rooms draw on vintage Florida surf culture, while the pool overlooks the sand and Coastal Farmer serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner downstairs. Beaches Town Center begins outside the front door, putting some of the area’s best restaurants and bars within an easy walk. You can park the car and let Atlantic Beach handle the itinerary.
Best for: A full-service beach stay within walking distance of dinner
Hilton Jacksonville at Mayo Clinic
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Opened in 2025, the 252-room Hilton was Jacksonville’s first full-service hotel built in two decades. It sits on the Mayo Clinic campus off Butler Boulevard, with rooms overlooking ponds, trees, and water. Coastal Kitchen fills a 6,000-square-foot space with bar, lounge, and outdoor seating, while the heated zero-entry pool and 24-hour fitness center offer places to reset between appointments. The location also puts Jacksonville Beach five miles east and St. Johns Town Center six miles west, making the hotel useful for Mayo patients, visiting families, and travelers working this side of the city.
Best for: Mayo Clinic visits with full-service comforts
Hotel Palms
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A 1947 motor court three blocks from the Atlantic became Hotel Palms, a small, design-minded property near Beaches Town Center. Its vintage buildings wrap around leafy communal spaces that host live music, markets, parties, and the occasional wedding that suddenly makes your hotel courtyard considerably better dressed. Rooms favor local art, clean lines, and details that feel connected to Atlantic Beach. Cruiser bikes make the short trip to the sand even shorter, assuming you remember how coaster brakes work.
Best for: Boutique design and the social side of Atlantic Beach
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront
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With 951 rooms overlooking the St. Johns River, the Hyatt Regency is Jacksonville’s big downtown hotel in every useful sense. River-view rooms put the Main Street Bridge and Southbank skyline across the glass, while the heated pool occupies the 19th-floor roof. The lobby bar and restaurant covers the gaps between meetings, games, and concerts, and the riverwalk begins beside the property. It is especially practical for conventions and major downtown events, with enough waterfront scenery to improve the view from a conference badge.
Best for: Downtown events, business trips, and St. Johns River views
Margaritaville Beach Hotel Jacksonville Beach
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Margaritaville may arrive with a soundtrack already playing, but its location does much of the talking. The 202-room hotel sits beside the Jacksonville Beach Pier, with the Atlantic directly out front and the restaurants and bars around First Street close at hand. Many rooms have private balconies or patios, while the oceanfront pool and LandShark Bar & Grill keep the atmosphere social throughout the day. This is Jacksonville Beach at its liveliest, flip-flops and frozen drinks included.
Best for: A lively beach weekend near the pier
Marriott Jacksonville Downtown
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Set against the St. Johns River, the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown puts guests across from the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts and beside the newly remade Riverfront Plaza. The 355-room hotel has completed a substantial renovation of its guest rooms and public spaces, giving travelers another full-service option in the center of the city. Book a river-view room for the bridges, passing boats, and skyline lights; the outdoor pool provides another good vantage point when Jacksonville’s weather cooperates.
Best for: Downtown events and St. Johns River views
Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa
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The Omni makes full use of its position between the Atlantic Ocean and Amelia Island’s marshes. All 401 rooms have furnished ocean-view balconies, while the resort grounds encompass 3.5 miles of beach, walking and biking trails, golf courses, tennis and pickleball courts, a spa, and 11 places to eat and drink. Its sprawling pool deck is the largest in Northeast Florida, giving families plenty of territory before anyone even reaches the sand. Plan on staying awhile; the property operates like a destination of its own.
Best for: Families who want a complete beach resort
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
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Just south in Ponte Vedra, this is a hotel that has been welcoming guests since 1928, and its Mediterranean Revival buildings still lend the resort a sense of Old Florida ceremony. The oceanfront property spreads across 300 acres, with two golf courses, 12 Har-Tru tennis courts, an expansive spa, and nearly a dozen restaurants and lounges. Rooms range from historic accommodations near the original inn to beachfront suites with patios facing the Atlantic. It remains one of Northeast Florida’s defining resort experiences.
Best for: Golf, spa days, and traditional resort luxury
Riverdale Inn
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Riverdale Inn occupies a restored Victorian mansion in Riverside, within walking distance of Memorial Park, the Cummer Museum, Five Points, and some of Jacksonville’s best neighborhood restaurants. Its 11 rooms are individually decorated with antiques, patterned wallpaper, and enough architectural detail to remind you that the house dates to 1901. A cooked-to-order breakfast is included, and the self-serve honor bar supplies drinks in the evening. Few Jacksonville hotels feel this connected to the neighborhood around them.
Best for: Historic character and exploring Riverside on foot
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
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The Ritz-Carlton sits north of Jacksonville on a wide stretch of Amelia Island beach, with private balconies angled toward the Atlantic and enough on-site diversions to occupy an entire trip. Guests can move among the spa, clay tennis courts, pickleball, beach service, and an 18-hole golf course before dinner at Michelin-recommended Salt. Service operates with the quiet efficiency expected at this price, and the barrier-island setting supplies the sense of escape. This is the list’s unabashed splurge; lean into it.
Best for: A luxurious Amelia Island escape with golf, spa time, and serious dining
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