Seeing a total solar eclipse, when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, completely blocking the sun’s face — known as totality — is a spine-tingling experience. Everything is suddenly bathed in darkness. The air cools, and nocturnal animals might wake up thinking it’s nighttime.
Millions of Americans are expected to travel to the path of totality to see the rare celestial occurrence sweep across the country during the afternoon of April 8, 2024. It cuts across North America, passing through Texas, the Midwest and some eastern states. While eclipses happen somewhere in the world around every 18 months, the next total solar eclipse from the contiguous United States won’t take place until 2044.
Hotel rooms in these destinations, and everywhere in between, are booking up quickly, but there are still some great options with availability, from boutique inns to city hotels with loyalty programs. Many are offering specials to entice eclipsegoers, like special package rates, eclipse viewing glasses and celestial-themed cocktails.
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Where is the best place to see the 2024 solar eclipse?
Some of the best places to see the 2024 eclipse include Dallas, where many hotels with rooftop restaurants and pools will host viewing parties; NASA partner Indianapolis; Cleveland, where the location on Lake Erie might result in cloud-free skies; and Niagara Falls State Park, with its natural beauty.
San Antonio
The Hill Country splurge
While San Antonio is the largest city in the eclipse path, the thin band known as the path of totality will just miss the city’s popular River Walk area, where many hotels are located.
However, La Cantera Resort & Spa in the northwest part of the city has a prime location in the path. The 550-acre ranch-inspired retreat with an 18-hole championship golf course sits atop one of San Antonio’s highest vantage points, offering views of downtown and the surrounding hill country. The resort is partnering with the nearby University of Texas at San Antonio’s Department of Physics and Astronomy for the ultimate eclipse adventure.
The Moon Shadow three-night package includes a welcome reception, educational presentations under the stars with telescopes for viewing, a program for children introducing them to the magic of the night sky and space-themed outdoor movies. On Monday, the main event, a Total Eclipse viewing party open only to resort guests, will unfold just off the patio and lawn behind the sports bar Grille 254. La Cantera also has a Tex-Mex restaurant and cocktail bar and an open-air restaurant serving homestyle Texas cuisine.
A portion of the package and event proceeds will benefit students at the UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy.
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Rates for this package begin at $3,500 for two adults for a three-night stay.
Austin
The hipster stay
Known as the hotel that started a hip hotel revolution in Austin, Hotel San Jose still has availability for the total solar eclipse. Austin is expected to get just under two minutes of totality. On Congress Street, Austin’s live music mecca, Hotel San Jose, has a large open courtyard at the center of the property where refreshing cocktails are served daily, like frosé and the Courtyard Martini with Japanese vodka and housemade olive juice.
While eclipse viewing and package details are still being worked out, guests will be treated to a special surprise in-room eclipse amenity, and they can join in the festivities at Hotel San Jose’s sister property, Carpenter Hotel, a few miles away. While the Carpenter is sold out, it’s hosting a viewing party for locals, guests and visitors with viewing glasses, themed snacks and drinks at Carpenters Hall. The restaurant is decorated with reimagined union banners, a nod to the building’s original purpose as a union hall, and has a terrace with a retractable roof.
Rates for this package begin at $678 per night.
Related: The 9 best things to do in Austin
Dallas
The pool party
With about four minutes of totality, one of the longest periods of darkness for the total solar eclipse, Dallas will be an undeniable eclipse hot spot. Adding to the allure, many hotels in Dallas have rooftop restaurants, bars and pools, including Virgin Hotels Dallas, which is celebrating the blackout with a Total Eclipse Watch Party at its rooftop Pool Club. The Design District hotel is also offering a Total Eclipse Room Package with an overnight stay in a chambers guest room (Virgin’s signature smart rooms have partitions that allow guests to turn their space into two separate areas, a sleeping nook and dressing area), a special eclipse-themed welcome amenity and tickets to the party. Guests need only venture to the stylish lounge with 360-degree views of the city to take a dip in the pool and watch the awe-inspiring spectacle unfold.
Rates for this package begin at $689 per night.
Indianapolis
The prime location
While the towering JW Marriott Indianapolis isn’t offering an eclipse package per se, the 622-room hotel does still have a good amount of availability and is next to many of the city’s best eclipse viewing areas. Located in central downtown, visitors can walk to the Indianapolis Zoo and Indy’s urban greenspace White River State Park across the street, where dozens of food trucks will line the Old Washington Street Bridge during the eclipse.
Modern guest rooms and suites have floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views of the Indianapolis skyline. Spring for a room with Executive Lounge access to receive a decadent included breakfast. After seeing the once-in-a-generation event, guests can dine on filet mignon with truffle smashed potatoes at OP Italian or something more casual at High Velocity. The JW Marriott also has an on-site Starbucks.
Rates for this hotel begin at $558 per night.
Cleveland
The sophisticated eclipse stay
Cleveland’s only true luxury property, The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland, offers sophisticates all the bells and whistles. The hotel has a shiny fitness club, an excellent restaurant inspired by Cleveland’s industrial roots and 206 plush guest rooms and suites with lake, city or river views — and we can’t forget the marble bathrooms with rainfall showers.
During the 2024 total solar eclipse, the hotel in the heart of downtown is also offering an elegant eclipse travel experience. As part of its Solar Eclipse Package, guests stay overnight in a Club Level accommodation for two and receive a specialty celestial cocktail at TURN Bar + Kitchen as well as keepsake solar glasses and a tracking map. The Ritz-Carlton’s gray and blue color palette already feels celestial-themed.
With miles of lakeshore and acres of greenspace providing unobstructed, accessible viewing locations, visitors will likely be quite pleased they chose Cleveland, the only location in the path of totality where NASA has a research center. Dark Sky-designated Observatory Park, thirty miles east of the city, is another prime place to watch the eclipse.
Rates for this package begin at $899 or 76,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.
Little Rock, Arkansas
A stately hotel
Arkansas has reportedly only experienced two total eclipses in its history, but dozens of towns and cities are in the path of totality this time around, including the capital, Little Rock, where totality is expected to last more than two minutes. Located within two buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, AC Hotel Little Rock Downtown is just minutes from Riverfront Park on the Arkansas River, one of the state’s marquee eclipse viewing locations. The hotel near the Clinton Presidential Library has an ornate facade but thoroughly modern-inspired interiors with midcentury European furnishings in tones of brown, gray and black.
While viewing event and package details are still being worked out, before viewing the eclipse, guests will be treated to a hearty breakfast of freshly baked croissants, sliced prosciutto, cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit and breakfast tarts.
Rates for this package begin at $510 or 23,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.
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Rochester, New York
The boutique stay
The lakeside city of Rochester is expecting three minutes and 38 seconds of totality on April 8. On East Avenue, the The Strathallan Rochester Hotel & Spa – a DoubleTree by Hilton, where every stay begins with a warm DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie, is offering an Eclipse 2024 package with breakfast included. Among the contemporary hotel’s other perks are a full-service spa, rooftop bar and a steakhouse with tiered chandeliers.
Many special events and activities are taking place a few minutes’ walk from the hotel throughout the weekend leading up to the eclipse, like the Rochester Museum & Science Center’s four-day-long “Roc the Eclipse Festival,” including hands-on activities and speakers. Other smart eclipse viewing areas include High Falls, a 96-foot waterfall in downtown Rochester, Ontario Beach Park along the Lake Ontario shoreline and Genesee Country Village and Museum.
Rates for this package begin at $391 a night with a three-night minimum or 50,000 Hilton Honors points.
Finger Lakes, New York
Luxury on the lake
As the name might suggest, life at The Lake House on Canandaigua, a history luxury hotel in New York with a heated lakefront pool and handcrafted wood furniture, revolves around the lake. The location will prove convenient during the 2024 total solar eclipse when guests enjoy unobstructed front-row seats to the eclipse with lake views as far as the eye can see.
The Lake House’s 2024 Solar Eclipse Viewing Package includes luxury accommodations for two in a light-filled guest room with a rain shower and soft linens, a keepsake blanket, eclipse viewing glasses and a Celestial Celebration on April 8, from noon to 5 p.m. Held in the property’s Naples Room, which opens to the front lawn leading directly to Canandaigua Lake, revelers will dine on solar eclipse-themed hors d’oeuvres like sun chips and caviar, moon ball meatball sliders and crispy milky ways.
Rates for this package begin at $724 per night with a two-night minimum and check-in on Sunday, April 7.
Niagara Falls, New York
The natural wonder
The city of Niagara Falls will provide such a beautiful natural backdrop for the total solar eclipse that it was recently announced it will host NASA in April. Sheraton Niagara Falls is offering a two-night package including overnight accommodation, two complimentary eclipse viewing glasses, a custom “Total Solar Eclipse 2024 — Niagara Falls USA” wine bottle and breakfast for two on both Monday and Tuesday mornings.
Take your pick when it comes to scenic viewing points inside Niagara Falls State Park. The eclipse should cast an eerie light onto the American Falls and Rapids at Prospect Point, and the view from Observation Tower, which extends dramatically over Niagara Gorge, will likely be otherworldly, too. Consider arriving a few days early. Beginning on April 4, NASA scientists and other experts will be at locations across the city hosting educational events and programs. All events will be free and open to the public (reservations may be required based on space availability).
Rates for this package begin at $899 per night with a two-night minimum.
Stowe, Vermont
The adventurer’s base camp
Stowe’s official tourism organization, Go Stowe, is offering eclipse travelers a lodging special that includes complimentary solar eclipse viewing glasses for each person in the party when booking any lodging reservations through GoStowe.com.
The Field Guide Lodge, a modern take on a Vermont chalet a short drive from Mount Mansfield, still has availability. Guest rooms in two distinct buildings include everything from roomy suites for families to cozy Lodge Rooms. The hotel also has a swimming pool, hot tub and spa services.
When it comes to viewing the eclipse, it’s just a 10-minute walk into downtown Stowe. The total solar eclipse should be viewable from most places in town and along Mountain Road, or guests can take the free shuttle to Stowe Mountain Resort, where they can watch darkness sweep across the landscape from the slopes. The ice rink at Spruce Peak will also be open.
Rates for this hotel begin at $642 per night.
Rangely, Maine
Small-town charm
Rangley, Maine, population 1.222, may not be at the top of every traveler’s bucket list, but it will be in the spotlight come April 2024. It’s in the path of totality, and visitors will find there’s plenty to love about this town in the center of the Lakes Region. Surrounded by mountains, it’s considered one of Maine’s adventure capitals, with abundant fishing, hiking and skiing.
The robin’s-egg-blue Rangeley Inn and Tavern may not be fancy, but character oozes from every corner. Built in the late 19th century, the hotel has a wide covered porch and a lobby lounge with a brick fireplace and a piano. The inn’s Solar Eclipse Package includes a buffet breakfast of blueberry pancakes and fluffy frittatas, live-streaming of the eclipse in the banquet room so guests can see it unfold across the country and an Eclipse Viewing Party with hors d’oeuvres, a bar and live music.
Free of light pollution, Rangley is known for having an exceptionally dark sky. Adventurous guests can also go skiing at Saddleback Mountain and plan on plenty of stargazing come nightfall.
Rates for this package begin at $379 per night with a two-night minimum.
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