The Best Places to Stay in Bourbon Country

NuLu Bourbon Loft boasts a gorgeous Old Rip Van Winkle Mural on exposed brick walls.

Story Intro Bob Eidson
Best Places Descriptions Caroline Paulus

Our obsession with the Bourbon Lifestyle continues with our inaugural list of the Best Places to Stay in Bourbon Country. The Bourbon Tourism market in Kentucky is continuing to benefit from industry expansion and a favorable regulatory environment. With pending changes to the liquor laws to allow out-of-state shipping and on-premise liquor sales at distilleries, it’s easy to be excited about the next frontiers of growth. We’ve been preaching about the growth in the tourism numbers for years, and on the horizon, it looks like consumers will be able to do many things once thought untenable. But we see it like Sinatra… “the best is yet to come.”

Having covered the best of the Bourbon Lifestyle for a decade, we’ve had the pleasure of being guests at many great spots that host folks for Bourbon Country escapades. Even with a deep knowledge of where to stay overnight, we decided this past January to engage our audience and ask for nominations for Best Places to Stay in Bourbon Country. We were thrilled when 168 places were nominated. Our task was to separate the best from the rest, and we had a lot of work to do!

Our list cuts across 5 different categories: Large Hotels (125 rooms or more), Boutique Hotel (less than 125 rooms), Air BnB, Traditional BnB & Very Unique. The criteria for evaluation included: Strength of “a Bourbon experience” for their guests, overall reputation in the hospitality community and amenities on-site or within close proximity. What survived was a list of 40 places that deserve the honor of being named to the Best Places to Stay in Bourbon Country.

To those working in the hospitality industry, we send a toast in honor of you. Let’s be honest, this business isn’t for everyone. The standards in hospitality are unforgiving, because of the constant focus on the customer experience. In publishing this list, it’s our sincere wish to recognize those outstanding hospitality providers.

Read on to find the Best Places to Stay in each category!

Large Hotels

Boutique Hotels

Traditional BnBs

AirBnBs

Very Unique

Caroline Paulus
Caroline Paulus is the Senior Editor for The Bourbon Review. She lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky. Follow her on Instagram @misswhiskeyhistorian to keep up with her latest in bourbon news - and a few old finds, too.