25 Terrific Hotel Novels to Indulge in on Vacation

The Pink Hotel by Liska Jacobs

If you loved White Lotus, you’ll love this snarky look at classism in this book set at The Pink Hotel (aka The Beverly Hills Hotel.)

Suburbanites Keith and Kit Collins are there are on their honeymoon, though Keith is secretly applying for a position at the illustrious hotel. As they are drawn into the glamourous trappings of the hotel, they become the playthings of the rich and famous.

Keith believes he can be one of them, but Kit feels lost. Will their marriage survive the crazy cast of characters inside and the wildfire raging outside the hotel’s walls? You’ll have to read this dark novel to find out.

Find this book in Hotel Books / Books with Colors in the Title

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

This is my favorite Elin Hilderbrand EVER. As usual, Elin’s storytelling revolves around a large cast of characters, this time employees of The Hotel Nantucket.

As we spend a summer with the staff and select hotel guests, we get to see what goes on behind the scenes of a luxury hotel. We see romances unfold and fall apart multiple scandals, demanding guests, and a ghost story!

I love how everyone’s stories folded together while revolving around the glorious hotel. If only I could visit this beach town resort this summer! This is one of the contemporary fiction books that is perfect to read this summer!

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel is all about 2 families who own a resort in the Catskills and are thinking of selling or overhauling the Golden. This is the ultimate in family drama books.

Three generations of the Goldmans and Weismann clans have gathered to make the decision and family secrets are unspooling left and right in the midst of goat yoga, comedy shows, and salon catastrophes.

It was a pleasure to read it while staying at the Hyatt on the Chesapeake and experiencing some resort life of my own. 

Find this book in Best Books for Book Clubs / Summer Camp Books / Books With Colors in the Title

Summertime Guests by Wendy Francis

Well, this book was such a treat! It takes place at a seaside resort over one fateful weekend. We get a glimpse into the lives of the various guests and what brought them to the resort.

Oh and did I mention it opens with a woman falling to her death by the resort pool? Was it a murder? Was it a suicide? Was it an accident? And which of the guests is the victim?

It’s a light read perfect for the beach. Check out more beach reads at our beach read hub!

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

Widowed Traci Eddings is the proprietress of The Saint an exclusive resort owned by her deceased husband’s family. As she struggles to keep his beloved hotel afloat, she deals with her conniving brother-in-law, disgruntled staff, and a series of mysteries that lead to the death of someone she loves.

The story is also narrated by various staffers who live in the on-site staff dormitory and a man in town to solve a crime from the past. There are lots of subplots, including a romance and 2 murder mysteries, but the heart of this novel is about Traci reclaiming her life and her hotel.

Why I Liked it: I’m a sucker for a resort setting, and since I read this one on my recent spring break, the vibes were vibing. While the large cast of characters was a struggle at first, I quickly got them straight and found value in each of their perspectives.

Find this book in Hotel Novels / Summer Reads of 2024 / Books Set at the Beach

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

March 2022 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

This contemporary fiction book was a WILD ride and I loved every exhilarating twist and turn! The Home Club is clearly based on members-only celebrity clubs like SoHo House but the newest Home Club is opening on a private island and features an opening weekend to die for.

Literally, because it’s a murder mystery. Except we the readers don’t know who is murdered, how, or why at the beginning…but instead we are treated to various narrators telling the points of view of the weekend as it unfolds.

The layered approach to telling the story of the celebrity shenanigans and the murder of a key figure in the Home Group family had me flipping through the pages of this isolation novel. A truly enjoyable beach read!

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews

Can you believe this was my first Mary Kay Andrews story? What a story it was!

After Letty discovered her sister murdered, she whisks her niece, Maya, down to Florida so they can go into hiding. While Letty tries to untangle her sister’s web of secrets at The Surf motel, Joe, the owner’s son, tries to untangle his growing feeling for Letty.

Part mystery, part suspense, part romance, but pure delight, this won’t be my last Mary Kay Andrews novel. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting

Avery Spark owns and runs an event hotel with her two sisters. She doesn’t have time to date. She spends her time when she is not working with her best friend and roommate Declan.

When Avery has a car accident and Declan feels responsible, the two end up spending more time together than they ever have. Eventually, the chemistry between them is undeniable. This best friends-to-lovers romance really hit the mark for me.

The Honeymooner by Melanie Summers

I first reviewed Melanie’s The Crown Jewels trilogy a few years and I loved it. It literally had me cackling and swooning all at once, so I had to jump at the chance to review her newest series – Paradise Bay.

The first book did give me a few chuckles as it set up both the new series locale (Paradise Bay Resort) and it’s owner’s love story.  I did love the story, the new location, and the funny characters. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series. 

And Now You’re Back by Jill Mansell

Didi met her first love when she was 17 years old. After one magical night in Venice with Shay, Didi was in love until Shay disappeared. Thirteen years later, Shay turns up once again to fulfill the wishes of his dying father.

Shay has booked the nicest room in Didi’s hotel, so their paths cross again and again. I started this second chance romance book and did not put it down until I was done. It was such a feel-good book.

Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan

Mure Island Series #4

This was a happier book in the series than the last one. We get to see Flora and Joel’s new baby, check in with Fintan, and meet a new cast of characters as the residents of Mure prepare for the new hotel opening.

There were cute love stories, wrapping up of some longstanding plot lines, but also space for more books in the series to written.

The Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

The coronation is happening at just the right time for Edie Howard to save her beloved hotel. But things start going awry with threats to the hotel and the Queen herself that have Edie and her long-term residents in the middle of the danger.

With interesting facts about the coronation, a romance sub-plot, and the thrilling race to ward off danger, this is the perfect royal read for fans of QEII! This is a fun historical fiction hotel book.

Hotel Portofino by J. P. O’Connell

I was thrilled to have read this charming story of a Hotel in Portofino, Italy during the years just after WW1.

In it, the new British owners of the Hotel Portofino settle into running a hotel with their adult children. The guests are eccentric, there is a mystery around a piece of stolen art, and some romantic relationships come together and fall apart.

Why I Like it: It reminded me of the second Downton Abbey movie in which the Crawleys headed to the south of France for a vacation! It’s got all the family drama I look for in books like these.

Find this book in Books set in Italy / Hotel Novels / Seaside Books / Books Like Downton Abbey

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

I adored this second-chance love story that wasn’t too girly. There was intrigue and insight into Hollywood today versus 60 years ago. It’s about a secret love affair revolving around the movie Cleopatra and the small, seaside hotel at the center of the story.

It features family secrets, Richard Burton, modern and old Hollywood, and so many other plot lines in a novel that isn’t very long for all it contains within it’s pages.

Why I Like it: I guessed the big reveal pretty early on, but it was still a wonderful book set in Italy about how love found, lost, and then found again can impact our lives.

Find this book in Books Set in Italy / Seaside Books / Hotel Novels

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

This historical fiction hotel novel is set in Moscow between 1918 through the 1950s, Count Alexander Rostov has narrowly escaped execution and has been sentenced to house arrest within his hotel, the Metropol for the rest of his life.

The Count is confined to the attic room. Once a part of the spoiled elite, he becomes friends with the staff and the inhabitants.

Why We Loved it: The book is beautifully written and I grew to love the Count. This is slated to becom a tv show soon.

Find this book in Books Becoming TV Shows / Books set in the 1920s / Hotel Novels

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

Normally, historical romance books take place in England, so imagine my surprise when I found out this hotel novel takes place in Vienna! Finally, a new city to read about – and what a fun city it was!

Vienna’s high society and its nightlife came to life in this fun romance. I adored learning about how the aristocracy behaved – these are no dowdy English ladies! And the balls! So many decadent balls. I just loved the premise of this one too – the granddaughter of the emperor’s mistress is reopening her family’s hotel when a CIA agent shows up to uncover shady financial issues and spoil her plans.

The Resort by Sara Ochs

Set on a secluded resort island in Thailand, the story is told by Cass, an ex-pat who is outrunning her former life, and Brooke, a travel influencer who isn’t quite what she seems.

When Cass discovers the body of a murdered resort guest while teaching her scuba diving class, their sleepy resort is thrown into chaos. Cass and her fellow ex-pats, known as The Permanents, will do anything to avoid media exposure, but as bodies pile up, Cass and Brooke begin to explore what dark secrets lie at the heart of the island.

Why I Loved It: This novel was a thrill ride from the opening murder scene. I was left completely unprepared for the conclusion and the final chapter had me gasping out loud! I can’t imagine a more fun tropical thriller.

Find this book in Hotel Novels / Full Cast Audiobooks / Best Beach Reads / Best New Thriller Books

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

June 2020 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

I’ve just read THE thriller of Summer 2020 and it’s soooooo good.⁣ A murder at a wedding. On an isolated island. In the middle of a power outage.⁣ Yaaaaaaaaas. ⁣This is an unputdownable psychological thriller book and a vacation I would NOT want to be on.

The murder sets the scene and then we get the story in flashbacks without knowing who is murdered until the end. ⁣

Why I Love it: I’ve become very picky about thrillers recently and this one is hands down my favorite of the year so far.⁣ It also made our Best of 2020 list!

Find this book in Locked Room Mysteries / Books Like People We Meet on Vacation / Best British Mysteries / Books Becoming Movies in 2024 / Hulu Book Adaptations / Best Beach Reads / British Books

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

👏 👏 👏. Okay, Sandie, I see you! I loved this slow-building drama/thriller about an old group of college buddies gathered again for a wedding at a hotel.

The story was a slow build but the final chapters were FIRE. These friends had secret and scandal-filled lives! I couldn’t put this hotel novel down at the end. I gasped out loud at the INSANE ending.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

This recently banned book tells the story of Mia and her family who are immigrants from China. Mia’s struggles to be successful in America are met with the divide between classes in her school, the racism she faces, and her family’s quest to make ends meet.

Why We Love This Book: I loved learning from Mia and watching her problem-solve to help her family as they took over caring for the Calivista Motel. If you are looking for realistic fiction middle grade books that skew a little younger, check out this realistic fiction book.
Appropriate for ages 9-11
Find this book in Coming-of-Age Books / Books for 10-year-olds / Audiobooks for Kids / Hotel Novels / Books about Poverty and It’s Impact