Maryland’s places to stay are stranger and more varied than the chain-hotel strip along I-95 suggests. There’s a casino resort on a state park lake in the Allegheny foothills, a hotel of nearly 2,000 rooms under a 19-story glass atrium on the Potomac, a colonial-era mansion inn where skipjacks tie up out front, and a 72-room hotel that has been putting up Chesapeake Bay weekenders since 1946. The best Maryland resorts aren’t interchangeable, so this page sorts them by the kind of trip you’re planning: waterfront, mountain, spa, casino or historic, plus cabins, rentals and the odd treehouse.

Short answer: For a Bay-and-spa weekend, look at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge or the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels. For mountains and golf, Rocky Gap Casino Resort near Cumberland or the Lodge at Wisp at Deep Creek Lake; for a big-city resort, Gaylord National or MGM at National Harbor. Budget for county hotel tax (4% to 9.5%) plus 6% sales tax, and check resort and parking fees before you book.

Resort details, fees, taxes and policies here were checked September 23, 2026 against the operators’ and agencies’ own websites.

On this page: Resort types compared · The major resorts · By region · Historic inns and B&Bs · Cabins and rentals · Treehouses and glamping · All-inclusive · Waterfront and spa · Ski resorts · Pet-friendly stays · Resort seasons · Costs, taxes and fees · Couples and groups · Booking checklist · When to book · Where to stay by trip · What to skip · FAQ

At a glance	Details (checked September 2026)
Top waterfront resorts	Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay (Cambridge), Inn at Perry Cabin (St. Michaels), Kent Island Resort, Rod ‘N’ Reel (Chesapeake Beach)
Mountain and golf	Rocky Gap Casino Resort (Flintstone), the Lodge at Wisp (McHenry), Turf Valley (Ellicott City)
Big resort hotels	Gaylord National and MGM National Harbor, just outside Washington
Taxes	6% sales tax plus county hotel tax from 4% (Talbot) to 9.5% (Baltimore City and County)
Fees to expect	Resort fees and parking at the big resorts; Gaylord National charged a $27 resort fee and self-parking from $22 a night, plus tax, in 2026
Peak prices	Summer weekends at the beach and lakes; October in the mountains; event weekends everywhere
Best value	Midweek stays, November to March outside holiday events, and state park cabins

Maryland resorts compared by type

Nightly rates swing with the day, the season and events, so the price bands below are relative: $ is budget, $$$$ is the top of the Maryland market.

Type	Best examples	What you get	Price band	Best season
Waterfront Bay resort	Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Inn at Perry Cabin, Kent Island Resort	Water views, marinas, pools, spas	$$$ to $$$$	May, June, September, October
Casual Bay hotel	Rod ‘N’ Reel, Chesapeake Beach	A Bay beach, marina, restaurants, rooftop pool	$$	June to September
Mountain and ski	The Lodge at Wisp, Rocky Gap Casino Resort	Slopes or a lake, golf, indoor pools	$$ to $$$	June to October; January and February for snow
Casino resort	MGM National Harbor, Rocky Gap	Gaming, shows, spas, restaurants	$$ to $$$$	Year-round
Convention and holiday resort	Gaylord National	A giant atrium, pools, ICE! in winter	$$$	November to January for holiday events
Golf and spa	Turf Valley, Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Rocky Gap	Championship golf and full spas	$$ to $$$	April to October
Historic inn	Historic Inns of Annapolis, Tidewater Inn	18th- and 19th-century buildings in walkable towns	$$ to $$$	Spring and fall
Family water park resort	Great Wolf Lodge, Perryville	An indoor water park with the room	$$ to $$$	Year-round
Cabins and rentals	Deep Creek lake houses, state park cabins, Ocean City condos	Space, kitchens, groups under one roof	$ to $$$$	By destination

For a sense of scale at the top of the summer market, Ocean City’s hotels averaged $294.63 a night in July 2026 and $277.10 in August, according to the resort town’s figures. Midweek and off-season prices everywhere run far lower.

The major resorts, one by one

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Cambridge

Maryland’s biggest waterfront resort sits on the Choptank River outside Cambridge on the Eastern Shore: about 400 rooms, the 18-hole River Marsh golf course, a 150-slip marina, the Sago Spa, three pools and water sports, with AAA Four Diamond status. It’s the obvious base for a golf-and-spa weekend, for boaters, and for exploring Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Harriet Tubman sites, which are a short drive south. Check the Hyatt’s own site for current fees and packages. Cambridge is about 1½ to 2 hours from DC or Baltimore over the Bay Bridge.

Inn at Perry Cabin, St. Michaels

The Eastern Shore’s most famous luxury inn is a colonial-era mansion on the Miles River at the edge of St. Michaels, with 78 rooms and suites, a full-service spa, restaurants including Stars, and a dock where classic sailboats and skipjacks tie up. It’s the splurge for anniversaries and proposals, walkable to St. Michaels’ harbor and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Talbot County’s 4% hotel tax is the lowest in the state, which softens the bill slightly. Details are on the inn’s website.

Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor

Nearly 2,000 rooms around a 19-story glass atrium on the Potomac, just across from Alexandria and 20 minutes from downtown Washington. Gaylord is a convention hotel that doubles as a holiday destination: ICE! runs from November 14, 2026, to January 3, 2027, with a “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” theme. Budget carefully: in 2026 the resort fee was $27 a night plus tax (it includes the free Harbor Bus to National Harbor and MGM), self-parking started at $22 and valet at $43, plus tax, and the hotel has been cashless since February 5, 2024. Check-in is 4 p.m. and check-out 11 a.m.

MGM National Harbor

A 23-story, 308-room casino resort that opened in December 2016 on the hill above National Harbor, with a gaming floor (21 and over), a 3,000-seat concert venue, a spa, a conservatory and restaurants. One 2026 change matters: since July 13, 2026, non-members pay $15 to self-park, while members of the free MGM Rewards program still park free. The old NH1 and NH2 Metrobus lines are now the P90 and P94.

Rocky Gap Casino Resort, near Cumberland

A lakeside resort on state park land at Rocky Gap, just off I-68 in the Allegheny foothills: 198 rooms, AAA Four Diamond status, a 24-hour casino with more than 600 slot machines and 15 table games, a full-service spa, an indoor pool, a beach area on Lake Habeeb, a comedy club, and Maryland’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. It’s the best-value full resort in the state, and the park’s trails and lake beaches are right outside; Century Casinos runs it. Allegany County’s hotel tax is 8%. Rocky Gap is about 2¼ to 2½ hours from DC or Baltimore and 2¼ from Pittsburgh.

The Lodge at Wisp, Deep Creek Lake

The slopeside hotel at the base of Wisp Resort in McHenry has 169 rooms, ski-in and ski-out access in winter, a fitness center and a heated indoor pool and hot tub. Wisp itself has 33 runs and 11 lifts from a 3,115-foot summit, with online lift tickets from $90.50 in 2026. It is owned by Pacific Group Resorts, not Vail, and is not on the Epic Pass; it joined the Indy Pass for 2025-26. In summer, Wisp runs zip lines, mountain biking and lake rentals, and Deep Creek Lake’s rental houses are the other way to stay; see our Deep Creek Lake MD guide for the lake. Details on the Lodge are on Wisp’s site.

Turf Valley Resort, Ellicott City

A golf resort on about 1,000 acres in Howard County, between Baltimore and Washington, with two championship courses, a spa and 172 rooms. It’s a practical base for golf, weddings and conferences, and for Ellicott City’s historic Main Street a few minutes away. Howard County’s hotel tax is 7%.

Kent Island Resort, Stevensville

A renovated historic resort on Kent Island, just over the Bay Bridge, built around a manor house more than two centuries old, with a seasonal outdoor pool, waterfront grounds and the 18TWENTY restaurant and bar. It’s the quickest Eastern Shore getaway from Annapolis, DC or Baltimore, about 45 minutes to an hour from either city without traffic.

Rod ‘N’ Reel Resort, Chesapeake Beach

A Calvert County institution since 1946, on the Bay about an hour from Washington: a 72-room hotel on the shoreline, a full-service marina, restaurants, a rooftop pool and gaming machines, with renovations over the last few years. It’s casual rather than luxurious, and the Bay beaches at Chesapeake Beach and neighboring North Beach are the draw.

Great Wolf Lodge Maryland, Perryville

For families, the indoor water park resort at the top of the Bay opened on June 14, 2023, with more than 700 suites, the largest Great Wolf Lodge. It’s about an hour from Baltimore and roughly 1¼ hours from Philadelphia, and the water park is built around overnight stays.

Where to stay, region by region

Baltimore

The Inner Harbor has the biggest cluster of hotels, within walking distance of the National Aquarium, the Science Center and Camden Yards; Fells Point and Harbor East add boutique hotels near the restaurants and bars; and Mount Vernon has smaller hotels in 19th-century buildings near the Walters and the original Washington Monument. Baltimore City and Baltimore County charge the state’s highest hotel tax, 9.5%, and downtown parking is extra almost everywhere, so a hotel near the free Charm City Circulator or Harbor Connector boats saves money if you arrive without a car.

Annapolis

Annapolis is a town of historic inns and B&Bs in the downtown grid, with larger chain hotels out toward the highways. Staying downtown means walking to the Naval Academy, the State House and City Dock, where flood-protection construction runs through 2027. City garages such as Park Place (from $2 the first hour, with a daily maximum) and the free Magenta Shuttle to City Dock make a car manageable. Anne Arundel County’s hotel tax is 8%.

National Harbor and the DC suburbs

National Harbor’s lineup includes Gaylord National, MGM, a Westin, an AC Hotel, a Hyatt Place, a Hampton Inn and Suites, a Residence Inn, a Club Wyndham timeshare resort and, unusually, FLOHOM houseboats docked at the marina. It’s a self-contained resort town 20 minutes from the Mall, with water taxis to Old Town Alexandria from March to December. Prince George’s County’s hotel tax is 7%.

The Eastern Shore

St. Michaels, Easton and Oxford have the Shore’s densest collection of inns, from the Inn at Perry Cabin to small B&Bs, helped by Talbot County’s 4% hotel tax. Cambridge has the Hyatt resort and a few downtown inns; Chestertown has historic inns on the Chester River; Kent Island has the Kent Island Resort and highway hotels at the Narrows; and Salisbury has the most chain hotels on the Lower Shore. Book summer and October weekends early; the Shore has far fewer rooms than its reputation suggests.

Ocean City and Berlin

Ocean City has about 10,000 hotel rooms plus thousands of condos and houses, and about 8 million visitors a year. Oceanfront hotels cost the most, bayside and midtown motels less, and Berlin’s inns and B&Bs, about 20 minutes inland, are the quieter alternative. Worcester County’s hotel tax rose to 6% on January 1, 2026. Parking in town is app-only, and the $4 all-day Beach Bus pass makes leaving the car at the hotel easy.

Western Maryland

Garrett County, home of Deep Creek Lake, draws about 1.4 million visitors a year and has more than 4,000 lodging bedrooms, from lake houses to the Lodge at Wisp. Allegany County has Rocky Gap’s resort and Cumberland’s inns and hotels, handy for the scenic railroad and the Great Allegheny Passage; Frostburg has small hotels for cyclists and university visitors. Both counties charge 8% hotel tax. Hagerstown, in Washington County, has the region’s biggest selection of chain hotels.

Frederick and Central Maryland

Frederick has historic inns and B&Bs downtown and hotels along the interstates, with a relatively low 5% county hotel tax and easy access to Antietam, Monocacy and the Catoctin parks. Frederick County drew 2.1 million visitors in 2024. In Howard County, Turf Valley and Ellicott City’s inns sit between Baltimore and Washington.

Historic inns and B&Bs

Maryland is one of the oldest states, and its best small hotels are in buildings that prove it.

• Historic Inns of Annapolis: three buildings on State Circle and Church Circle: the Governor Calvert House (1727), the Robert Johnson House (1772) and the Maryland Inn (1772). Steps from the State House and City Dock, and a member of Historic Hotels of America.
• Tidewater Inn, Easton: downtown Easton’s grand old hotel, with the Hunters’ Tavern restaurant and spa services, a good base for the Waterfowl Festival (November 13 to 15, 2026) and St. Michaels.
• Havre de Grace: two B&Bs in Victorian mansions in the historic district, the Vandiver Inn (1886) and the Spencer Silver Mansion (1896).
• Chestertown, Frederick and Berlin: each has inns and B&Bs in historic houses, walkable to downtown restaurants.

One update: Oxford’s Robert Morris Inn, long a fixture of Eastern Shore guidebooks, was condemned by the town over safety concerns and is no longer operating as an inn or restaurant; it was listed for sale in 2026.

B&B tips: many require two-night minimums on weekends and three over holiday weekends, some don’t take young children, and cancellation windows are usually stricter than at big hotels, often a week or more. Ask whether breakfast is a full cooked meal or continental, and whether the room is in the main house or an outbuilding.

Cabin rentals, lake houses and pool rentals

For groups and families, a rental often beats a resort: more space, a kitchen and a porch for less per person. Where they cluster:

• Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County: lake houses and mountain cabins, many with hot tubs, game rooms and docks, and some with pools. Garrett County has more than 4,000 lodging bedrooms, and summer weeks book up by spring. Our guide to Deep Creek Lake covers the lake and its towns.
• Ocean City: condos and beach houses in every price range, often rented by the week in summer.
• The Eastern Shore: waterfront cottages around St. Michaels, Tilghman, Rock Hall and Kent Island.
• State park cabins: about 50 full-service cabins and dozens of camper cabins, booked through the state’s reservation site up to 12 months ahead, the best-value cabins in the state.

Rental tips: expect minimum stays (often a week in summer at the lake and the beach), cleaning and service fees on top of the nightly rate, and sales and occupancy taxes, usually collected by the booking platform. For a pool, filter for it early; few lake houses have one, and they go first. Read the cancellation policy twice, and check whether hot tubs, linens and firewood are included.

State park cabins or private cabin rentals?

	State park cabins	Private cabins and lake houses
What you get	Camper cabins (beds, a grill, bathhouse nearby) or full-service cabins (kitchen, bathroom, fireplace)	Whole houses, often with hot tubs, docks, game rooms and sometimes pools
Where	Inside the parks: Herrington Manor, New Germany, Janes Island, Elk Neck, Rocky Gap and more	Deep Creek Lake, Ocean City, the Eastern Shore, Western Maryland mountains
Booking	The state’s reservation site, up to 12 months ahead	Rental agencies and booking platforms, often by the week in summer
Minimum stay	Usually 2 nights, 3 over holiday weekends; a week or two at Janes Island in summer	Often a week in peak season, 2 or 3 nights otherwise
Bring	Linens, blankets and towels	Usually just food; check whether linens are included
Best for	Nature, trails and budget stays	Groups, families and longer trips

Treehouses, yurts and glamping

Maryland’s unusual stays are mostly in and around campgrounds. Maple Tree Campground near the Appalachian Trail on South Mountain rents treehouses; Cherry Hill Park in College Park has yurts and glamping pods; Deep Creek Lake State Park has a yurt; Gunpowder Falls State Park rents the Mill Pond Cottage in the Hereford area for $200 a night; and Janes Island’s Daugherty Creek Lodge sleeps 16 on the edge of the marsh. For every kind of campsite, cabin and glamping stay across the state, see our guide to camping in Maryland.

Two more unusual options: National Harbor’s FLOHOM houseboats, floating rentals docked at the marina a few steps from the Capital Wheel, and the Wye Island conference lodge near Queenstown, which state natural resources staff rent to groups, with a bunkhouse that sleeps 12.

All-inclusive in Maryland: what exists

Honestly, not much. Maryland has no Caribbean-style all-inclusive resorts where meals, drinks and activities come with the room. The closest you’ll get are packages, such as the golf-and-stay or spa offers resorts like the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Rocky Gap and Turf Valley run; Great Wolf Lodge, where water park access comes with the room; ski-and-stay offers at Wisp; and inns that include breakfast or sell dinner packages. If a true all-inclusive is the goal, Maryland isn’t the place. If you want a resort where you rarely need the car, the Hyatt in Cambridge, Rocky Gap and Gaylord National come closest.

Waterfront and spa resorts

Waterfront: the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay (Choptank River), the Inn at Perry Cabin (Miles River), Kent Island Resort (Kent Island), Rod ‘N’ Reel (Chesapeake Bay), Rocky Gap (Lake Habeeb), Gaylord National (Potomac) and, at the beach, Ocean City’s oceanfront hotels. Deep Creek Lake’s LakeFront Lodge in McHenry has 20 lakefront rooms and a 3-bedroom suite with a swimming area and dock, and the Lake Pointe Inn is a B&B-style inn on the shore.

Spa: the Sago Spa at the Hyatt in Cambridge, the spa at the Inn at Perry Cabin, The Spa at Turf Valley, Rocky Gap’s full-service spa and the spa at MGM National Harbor are the full-service options; many historic inns, such as the Tidewater Inn, offer treatments too. Book treatments when you book the room, since weekend slots fill first.

Ski resorts in Maryland and nearby

Maryland has one ski resort, Wisp, at Deep Creek Lake, with snow tubing, 33 runs and the slopeside Lodge at Wisp. Most Maryland skiers also know the resorts just over the lines: southern Pennsylvania’s Whitetail, Liberty and Roundtop, all within about two hours of Baltimore or Washington and on the Epic Pass; Virginia’s Wintergreen, owned by the same company as Wisp, and Massanutten and Bryce; and West Virginia’s bigger mountains, Snowshoe, Canaan Valley and Timberline. Wisp is the choice if you want a lake town, rental houses and a short drive from Pittsburgh; the Pennsylvania resorts are closer to the Baltimore-Washington suburbs for day trips.

Are there pet-friendly places to stay in Maryland?

Plenty, with rules. Many chain hotels and some resorts accept dogs for a fee, and Deep Creek Lake’s LakeFront Lodge is listed as dog-friendly by the county’s tourism office. Maryland’s state parks have pet-friendly campsites, camper cabins and cabins, often in designated pet loops. Rental houses vary; filter for pets and read the fee and breed rules. Beach and lake towns restrict dogs on the sand in summer, and Assateague Island National Seashore has strict pet limits, so plan dog-friendly activities as well as the room.

Resort seasons at a glance

Season	Where prices peak	Where the deals are
Winter (December to February)	Wisp and Deep Creek on snow weekends; National Harbor during ICE! and the holidays	Bay towns, Annapolis, Ocean City and Baltimore outside holiday events
Spring (March to May)	Annapolis during the spring boat shows and Naval Academy Commissioning Week; Baltimore at the Preakness	Ocean City before Memorial Day; Western Maryland in April
Summer (June to August)	Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake and the Bay towns on weekends	Midweek stays everywhere; city hotels in July and August
Fall (September to November)	Western Maryland on October foliage weekends; Annapolis during the fall boat shows; Easton at the Waterfowl Festival	Ocean City after Labor Day, except Sunfest in October

The pattern is simple: the beach and the lakes peak in summer, the mountains in October and on snow weekends, Annapolis around its boat shows and Naval Academy events, and National Harbor at the holidays. Shift your trip by a week or book midweek and the same resort can cost far less.

Accessible stays

Large resorts and newer hotels are the easiest bet for accessible rooms, roll-in showers and elevators; historic inns and B&Bs often have steep stairs, narrow halls and few ground-floor rooms, and many can’t be retrofitted. State parks offer some accessible campsites and cabins. Ask specific questions before booking, such as door widths, bathroom layout and parking distance, rather than relying on an “accessible” label.

How much does a hotel in Maryland cost? Taxes, resort fees and parking

Room rates vary too much to quote, but the add-ons are predictable. Maryland charges 6% sales tax on hotel stays, and counties add their own hotel tax:

County (main destinations)	Hotel tax (FY2026)
Baltimore City and Baltimore County	9.5%
Anne Arundel (Annapolis), Allegany (Rocky Gap, Cumberland), Garrett (Deep Creek)	8%
Montgomery, Prince George’s (National Harbor), Howard (Turf Valley)	7%
Worcester (Ocean City, Berlin)	6%, up from 5% on January 1, 2026
Frederick	5%
Talbot (St. Michaels, Easton)	4%

Those taxes add up: Maryland’s counties and towns collected $196.0 million in room taxes in fiscal 2025, led by Prince George’s County ($38.7 million) and Baltimore City ($29.2 million). On top of tax, the big resorts add fees: Gaylord National’s $27 resort fee plus parking from $22 a night in 2026, and MGM’s $15 self-parking for non-members since July 2026. Historic inns and B&Bs rarely charge resort fees, but downtown Annapolis and Baltimore hotels usually charge for parking.

What drives the rate: summer weekends at the beach and the lakes, October foliage weekends in the mountains, and event weekends such as the Preakness (at Pimlico on Sunday, May 23, 2027), the Annapolis boat shows, Naval Academy graduation week and the Waterfowl Festival. Midweek stays and the quiet months from January to March are the cheapest almost everywhere except ski weekends at Wisp.

Stays for couples, families and groups

• Couples: the Inn at Perry Cabin and the inns of St. Michaels and Oxford; the Historic Inns of Annapolis for a walkable city break; a Deep Creek cabin with a hot tub in October or February; a spa weekend at the Hyatt in Cambridge.
• Families: Great Wolf Lodge’s water park, Gaylord National’s atrium and ICE! at the holidays, Ocean City condos with kitchens, and state park camper cabins for a cheap night in the woods.
• Friends and golf groups: Rocky Gap for golf, the casino and the lake; Turf Valley for two courses near the cities; the Hyatt in Cambridge for golf with a marina.
• Big family reunions: a Deep Creek lake house or an Ocean City beach house by the week, Janes Island’s Daugherty Creek Lodge (sleeps 16), or a block of rooms at a resort with meeting space.
• Solo travelers: historic inns in Annapolis, Frederick and Chestertown, where you can walk to dinner, or a Cumberland hotel as a base for the rail trail.

Resort amenities worth paying for

Not every resort extra earns its fee. The ones that usually do in Maryland: a marina or dock if you’re bringing a boat or want to rent one (the Hyatt in Cambridge, Rod ‘N’ Reel, Rocky Gap’s lake); an indoor pool for winter and rainy days (the Lodge at Wisp, Rocky Gap, Great Wolf); a spa with weekday specials; and free or included parking, which in Baltimore, Annapolis and National Harbor can be worth more than the breakfast. The ones that often don’t: a resort fee that bundles services you won’t use, and a “water view” upgrade when the whole property faces the water anyway. Ask what the resort fee covers before you commit; at Gaylord National in 2026 it included the free Harbor Bus to National Harbor and MGM.

Before you book: a quick checklist

1. Add the taxes: 6% sales tax plus the county hotel tax for your destination (4% to 9.5%).
2. Add the fees: resort fee, parking, pet fee, cleaning fee for rentals.
3. Check the minimum stay, especially at B&Bs, rentals and state park cabins in summer.
4. Read the cancellation policy, and choose a refundable rate for beach trips in hurricane season.
5. Look at the event calendar for your dates: the Preakness, boat shows, Naval Academy graduation, festivals and holiday events raise prices and sell out rooms.
6. For the Eastern Shore and Ocean City, plan your Bay Bridge crossing outside peak hours, or come through Delaware.
7. Confirm check-in and check-out times; Gaylord National’s, for example, are 4 p.m. and 11 a.m.

When should you book a stay in Maryland?

• Summer at Ocean City or Deep Creek Lake: by early spring for weekly rentals and July weekends.
• State park cabins: up to 12 months ahead, at 9 a.m. on a weekday, for summer and October weekends.
• Event weekends: several months out for the Preakness, the Annapolis sailboat and powerboat shows, Naval Academy Commissioning Week, the Waterfowl Festival and Chestertown’s Downrigging.
• Holiday season at National Harbor: by early fall for December weekends during ICE!.
• Everything else: two to four weeks out is usually fine midweek, and last-minute deals appear in winter.

Cancellation rules vary widely. Big resorts often allow free cancellation until a day or a few days before arrival on flexible rates, while prepaid rates, B&Bs and vacation rentals are stricter, sometimes non-refundable. Read the policy before you book, and consider a refundable rate for hurricane-season beach trips (June 1 to November 30).

Where to stay in Maryland by trip type

Trip	Where to base yourself	Stay type
Romantic weekend	St. Michaels or Oxford	Inn at Perry Cabin, a harbor inn or B&B
Golf and spa	Cambridge, Rocky Gap or Ellicott City	Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Rocky Gap, Turf Valley
City break	Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or Fells Point	City hotels and boutique inns
History	Annapolis or Frederick	Historic inns
Beach week	Ocean City or Berlin	Oceanfront hotel, condo or beach house
Mountain lake week	Deep Creek Lake	Lake house or the Lodge at Wisp
Ski weekend	McHenry	The Lodge at Wisp or a slopeside rental
Casino and shows	National Harbor or Rocky Gap	MGM, Gaylord or Rocky Gap
Family water park	Perryville	Great Wolf Lodge
Budget nature trip	Any state park	A camper cabin or campsite

Where is the best area to stay in Maryland? It depends on the trip, but for a first visit, Annapolis puts you within about 40 minutes of both Baltimore and Washington and about an hour from St. Michaels. If you’re still deciding whether the state deserves a week, our Maryland vacation planner answers the “is Maryland worth visiting” question region by region, with drive times and costs.

What to skip

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best area to stay in Maryland?

For a first trip, Annapolis is the best all-round base: about 40 minutes from both Baltimore and Washington, with historic inns in walking distance of the harbor and St. Michaels about an hour away. For specific trips, stay in St. Michaels for a romantic weekend, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for museums, Ocean City for the beach and Deep Creek Lake for the mountains.

How much does a hotel in Maryland cost?

It swings by season and place. Ocean City’s hotels averaged about $295 a night in July 2026, and prices fall sharply midweek and off-season everywhere. Add 6% sales tax and 4% to 9.5% county hotel tax, plus resort and parking fees at big resorts, such as Gaylord National’s $27 resort fee and parking from $22 a night in 2026.

When should you book a stay in Maryland?

Book summer beach and lake rentals by early spring, state park cabins up to 12 months ahead, and event weekends, such as the Preakness on May 23, 2027, the Annapolis boat shows and National Harbor’s holiday season, several months out. For ordinary midweek trips, two to four weeks ahead is usually enough, and winter often brings last-minute deals.

Are there pet-friendly places to stay in Maryland?

Yes. Many chain hotels and some resorts take dogs for a fee, Deep Creek Lake’s LakeFront Lodge is listed as dog-friendly, and state parks have pet-friendly campsites, camper cabins and cabins in designated loops. Rentals vary, so filter for pets. Beaches restrict dogs in summer, and Assateague Island National Seashore has strict pet rules.

Are there ski resorts in Maryland?

One: Wisp Resort at Deep Creek Lake, with 33 runs, snow tubing and the slopeside Lodge at Wisp. It isn’t on the Epic Pass. Many Marylanders also ski in southern Pennsylvania (Whitetail, Liberty and Roundtop), Virginia (Wintergreen, Massanutten, Bryce) and West Virginia (Snowshoe, Canaan Valley, Timberline).

Is there a casino resort in Maryland?

Two with full resort hotels stand out: MGM National Harbor, just outside Washington, with 308 rooms, a concert venue and a spa, and Rocky Gap Casino Resort near Cumberland, with 198 rooms, Maryland’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and a lake. Note MGM’s $15 self-parking charge for non-members since July 13, 2026.

What is the most luxurious resort in Maryland?

The Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels is the usual answer: a colonial-era mansion on the Miles River with 78 rooms and suites, a full-service spa and fine dining. The Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge and Rocky Gap near Cumberland are AAA Four Diamond resorts with golf and spas, and MGM National Harbor is the choice for a casino-and-shows weekend near Washington.

Are there all-inclusive resorts in Maryland?

Not in the Caribbean sense. No Maryland resort includes all meals, drinks and activities in the room rate. The closest options are golf, spa and ski packages at resorts such as the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Rocky Gap and Wisp, Great Wolf Lodge’s included water park, and inns that include breakfast or offer dinner packages.

Related Maryland guides

• Deep Creek Lake: lake houses, Wisp and where to stay
• Maryland vacation planner
• Camping in Maryland: campgrounds, cabins and glamping

Sources and verification

Everything on this page was checked on September 23, 2026 against the organizations listed below, and the guide is compiled from their published information rather than from first-hand stays.

• Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay
• Inn at Perry Cabin
• Rocky Gap Casino Resort (Century Casinos)
• Wisp Resort: the Lodge at Wisp
• Historic Inns of Annapolis
• Maryland Department of Legislative Services (local hotel tax rates)

Also consulted: Gaylord National and MGM National Harbor guest information, Turf Valley Resort, Kent Island Resort, Rod ‘N’ Reel Resort, the Tidewater Inn, Great Wolf Lodge, Garrett County tourism, the Town of Ocean City’s lodging figures, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (state park cabins) and the Comptroller of Maryland.

Maryland Tourism Guide is an independent publication. It is not affiliated with Visit Maryland or any agency or business named here, and no one paid to be included.

Photo credits

• Skipjack Stanley Norman at the Inn at Perry Cabin (featured image): photo by IPC123, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Gaylord National Resort from the Potomac: photo by MamaGeek, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Rocky Gap Casino Resort and Lake Habeeb: photo by Acroterion, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• View from the dock at Kent Island Resort (then Kent Manor Inn): photo by Antonio Zugaldia from Washington, D.C., United States, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
• Sunset over North Beach: photo by Flickr user: Chris Williamson https://www.flickr.com/people/chriswsn/, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
• Tidewater Inn, Easton: photo by Farragutful, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Maryland Inn, Annapolis: photo by Acroterion, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Deep Creek Lake: photo by Maryland GovPics, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)