Splurge Hotels · Baltimore
Baltimore’s best-rated rooms are across the water or uptown from the ship. AAA’s 2026 list names three Four Diamonds here, the Four Seasons, the Pendry and The Ivy, and none of them is in Locust Point, where the terminal is. Here’s what each one costs you on sail morning.
We looked for the nicest places to stay before a cruise from Baltimore. One of the six also makes our top 20: The Ivy, in Mount Vernon. The Four Seasons is in Harbor East, the Pendry on Fells Point’s Recreation Pier and the Royal Sonesta on the Inner Harbor; Hotel Revival and Hotel Ulysses are in Mount Vernon. All are a cab from the ship. Tap the night you’re after and the pick lights up.
Three of the six are on AAA’s 2026 Four Diamond list, and Maryland has no Five Diamond hotel. The other three aren’t on AAA’s Four Diamond list or Forbes’s Baltimore page, and we say so rather than stretch. Live! Casino Hotel & Spa in Hanover, by BWI, is Four Diamond too; we haven’t reviewed it yet.
AAA Four Diamond since 2025, in Mount Vernon, with breakfast, afternoon tea, the bar's cocktails and valet parking in the room rate.
AAA Four Diamond since 2012 and Baltimore's only Forbes Four-Star hotel, with a rooftop infinity-edge pool and a Forbes Four-Star spa in Harbor East.
AAA Four Diamond since 2019 and Forbes Recommended, on Fells Point's Recreation Pier, with a waterfront pool and Rec Pier Chop House.
The former InterContinental Harbor Court on the Inner Harbor, with an indoor lap pool, racquet courts and parking prices printed with tax included.
A Mount Vernon boutique with Topside on the roof, B-Side for vinyl and cocktails, $49 valet with tax included and pets at no charge.
An Ash-run boutique in Mount Vernon with 116 rooms and suites and four bars on Ash's list, bookable through Marriott — and no parking.
Tap a pin for the hotel’s card, then open the review. The numbers follow the list above.
Hover or tap a hotel to light its column. Green is on offer, gold comes with a cost or a catch, grey isn’t there or isn’t stated.
| Feature | The Ivy | Four Seasons Baltimore | Pendry Baltimore | Royal Sonesta Harbor Court | Hotel Revival | Hotel Ulysses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA rating | Four Diamond, since 2025 | Four Diamond, since 2012 | Four Diamond, since 2019 | — | — | — |
| Forbes Travel Guide | — | Four-Star; Four-Star spa | Recommended | — | — | — |
| Restaurant | Magdalena, A Maryland Bistro | Maximón | Rec Pier Chop House | Explorers Restaurant & Lounge | Topside, on the roof | Ash—Bar |
| Bar or drinks | Mansion Bar; cocktails in the rate | The Bygone, 29th floor | The Cannon Room | Explorers lounge | B-Side | Bar Dalí; Bloom’s; The Coral Wig |
| Spa | Spa at The Ivy; treatments extra | 10,000 sq ft spa; rooftop infinity-edge pool | Waterfront pool, seasonal; spa not stated | Massage by appointment; indoor lap pool and sauna | — | — |
| Breakfast | Included | Paid | Paid | Paid | Paid | Not stated |
| Kitchen | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Resort fee | None printed; all in the rate but dinner and spa | None stated | Destination fee; amount not printed | $25 a day plus tax | None stated | None stated |
| Parking | Included in the rate, by valet | Valet; price not stated | $65 valet a night | $28 self; $42 valet, tax included | $49 valet, tax included | No; no parking at the hotel |
| Shuttle to the port | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Distance to the port | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
None of the six runs a shuttle to the ship, and none says how far the terminal is. The Four Seasons’ house car covers a two-mile radius on weekday mornings and The Ivy’s 3 miles, and neither says whether the Cruise Maryland Terminal is inside it. The MPA puts the Inner Harbor about 2.5 miles from the terminal.
Breakfast is in the rate at The Ivy and extra at the Four Seasons, the Pendry, the Royal Sonesta and Hotel Revival; Hotel Ulysses doesn’t say.
Fees add up: the Royal Sonesta charges a $25 daily destination fee plus tax, and the Pendry lists one without the amount. Parking, where it’s printed, runs $28 to $65 a night, and Hotel Ulysses has none. None of the six says you can leave the car while you cruise; the terminal lot is $25 a day, per Cruise Maryland.
Booking.com lists airport taxis you can book ahead. Check the pickup point, the price and the cancellation terms before you book.
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| Hotel | Why it isn’t in the six |
|---|---|
| Live! Casino Hotel & Spa, Hanover | AAA Four Diamond since 2019, and the one Four Diamond by BWI, in Hanover. We haven't checked its cruise details. |
| Baltimore Marriott Waterfront | On the water in Harbor East, with redesigned harbor- and skyline-view rooms and a Club Lounge, but $54 valet, no pool listed, no pets, and it's on neither AAA's Four Diamond list nor Forbes's Baltimore page. |
| Canopy by Hilton Baltimore Harbor Point | At Harbor Point, with harbor-view suites, EV charging and pets up to 75 lb, but $55 valet, no pool listed, and it's on neither AAA's Four Diamond list nor Forbes's Baltimore page. |
| Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor | On Light Street, with a seasonal sixth-floor rooftop pool and the 'More Rooftop Pool Bar, but Hyatt's parking prices didn't load for us, and it's on neither AAA's Four Diamond list nor Forbes's Baltimore page. |
| Merriweather Lakehouse, Autograph Collection | AAA Four Diamond since 2022, in Columbia, Howard County. We haven't checked its cruise details. |
By the ratings, the Four Seasons in Harbor East: AAA Four Diamond and the only Forbes Four-Star hotel in Baltimore. The Pendry on Fells Point's Recreation Pier and The Ivy in Mount Vernon are the other AAA Four Diamonds, and The Ivy is No. 13 in our top 20. None of them is in Locust Point, where the terminal is; all are a cab from the ship.
No. AAA's 2026 Five Diamond list has no hotel in Maryland, and Forbes rates no Baltimore hotel Five-Star. Its highest here is the Four Seasons, at Four-Star.
None of our six says it runs one. The Four Seasons' house car covers a two-mile radius on weekday mornings and The Ivy's covers 3 miles, and neither says whether the Cruise Maryland Terminal is inside that. American Cruise Lines sells a night at the Four Seasons with transportation to the ship, but that's for its own Chesapeake Bay cruises from the Inner Harbor, not the Cruise Maryland Terminal.
None of the six says so. The Royal Sonesta Harbor Court prints $28 to self-park and $42 for valet, tax included, the Pendry $65 for valet and Hotel Revival $49; The Ivy's valet is in the room rate, and Hotel Ulysses has no parking. At the terminal, Cruise Maryland charges $25 a day per vehicle, paid by card on arrival.
Some do. The Royal Sonesta Harbor Court charges a $25 daily destination fee plus tax, and the Pendry lists a destination fee without printing the amount. The Ivy puts nearly everything in the room rate but dinner and spa treatments. Check what any fee covers when you book.
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