Where to stay in St Augustine: Best Hotels, Unusual Inns and Fantastic Vacation Rentals

We visited St Augustine quite a few times before officially moving here, and each time, we stayed somewhere different. There are many hotels in Saint Augustine, as well as other options, such as camping, and we’re covering them all! After you read this expert article, you should be able to make a solid choice in choosing a hotel and where the best area to stay in St. Augustine is for your family.

Whether it’s your first trip to Saint Augustine or it’s your annual visit, the options for where to stay change frequently so we encourage you to check out the new and upgraded hotels in the St Augustine area, particularly when you’re visiting for Nights of Lights! We’ve got recommendations for hotels in St Augustine and all the way up to Jax Beach for weekends and long getaways, so let us know if you have any questions.

What part of St Augustine is best to stay in?

A city like St Augustine is great for any type of traveler because there is such a diversity of accommodations. Whether you want to find a budget hotel or want to book a beautiful, historic suite, there are lots of options! We love wandering through the historic downtown (check out our St Augustine scavenger hunt) so it’s nice to be close by, but also there are benefits to staying outside of the popular historic district.

When you’re choosing where to stay in St Augustine consider the type of trip you want:

• historic visit downtown, all on foot
• beach trip w/ a little history
• home base and explore the whole area

Staying in Downtown or Uptown St Augustine

If you want to not have to drive at all, choose a hotel downtown, from Castillo Drive to Lincolnville. This zone includes Uptown, downtown and the Flagler Model Land neighborhoods, all which are great for walking, dining and shopping. There are historic buildings and brick streets throughout, so there’s lots of character. There are also a few hotels on St Augustine Bay just across the Bridge of Lions from downtown, so they look at the fort and waterfront, and they’re still walking distance to everything.

While we tend to only go downtown once or twice during the holidays, everyone else LOVES it. When Nights of Lights begin in mid-November, hotels in St Augustine start to book up fast. People love to stay in the middle of the glow and get to walk through Christmas lights everywhere the go. If that’s your thing, go for it! During the holiday season, you’ll pay a premium to be downtown, but it may be worth it for you.

Beach Trip to St Augustine

While our city is known for being the oldest in the USA, we also have amazing beaches. Come for the history, stay for the beach, is what I tell my friends. St Johns County has a lot of coastline and nearly all of it is accessible to the public, so when you’re looking for where to stay in St Augustine, you can’t go wrong choosing a beach vacation. Check out our guide to ALL beach access points in St Augustine!

For a beach trip, come to our neighborhood!! You can choose either St Augustine Beach or Vilano Beach, and you’ll be happy with either. Here in St Augustine Beach, we’re on Anastasia Island and the feeling is similar to a west coast beach town with lots of beach access points, restaurants that expect you to show up sandy, and surf shops with board and bike rentals. Clearly this is our favorite because we’ve chosen it as our home neighborhood.

Vilano Beach is on the north side of St Augustine Bay and is cute with dining, great beach access and an awesome pier for watching dolphins. I like this neighborhood for a vacation because it’s close to downtown but far enough that it’s 100% beach vibes. Also, there’s easy access to the GTM Research Reserve beaches, the best shark tooth hunting on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

St Augustine as a Home Base to Explore

You will love our city. Staying in St Augustine for a Florida vacation is a great way to experience a different take on Florida life, but you don’t have to stay directly downtown or even at the beach if you’re planning on exploring. I love that we are so close to other cool places such as the natural springs of the Ocala National Forest, or the alligator filled swamplands around Gainesville, or downtown Jacksonville with its museums and shows. If you find a great hotel in St Augustine you can make it your home base for day trips inland or northward to Jacksonville or south to Daytona.

Staying near I-95 might not sound like a great option, but it’s a good place to find hotel on a budget (and there are some pretty okay options) and have easy access to the main road to everywhere else. The intersection of Highway 16 and I-95 has several hotels and restaurants and is only about fifteen minutes from downtown. While it may not look great on a map, it’s a good home base to enjoy St Augustine AND more of North Florida.

Recommendations for Hotels in St Augustine – Budget Travel Brands

We like to travel with national travel brands quite a bit, including both Best Western and IHG. There are several Best Western options for where to stay in St Augustine, which is great for booking something within a budget. IHG has a few properties too, so IHG Rewards points actually go pretty far here. Additionally, there are more upscale travel brand options too (see below).

Best Western Hotels in St Augustine

Located outside of the downtown core near the freeway, the BW Plus St Augustine I 95 was a wonderful, quiet option for visiting during the holiday season, which is one of the busiest times of year in the city. We enjoyed the large rooms, the outdoor pool and hot tub area (complete with lounge chairs), and the daily breakfast.

We’ve come to learn that BW Plus is our favorite of the Best Western family of hotels. Strong Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast, and nice in-room amenities make BW Plus our brand of choice. And this property is a great example of the more upscale BW Plus variety.

A bonus to this St Augustine hotel is that it’s very close to the interstate, which make day trips like visiting the many Florida springs or Daytona Beach super easy.

Book the BW Plus St Augustine I 95 here!

BW Historical Inn – This BW property is on the edge of downtown, so it’s still walking distance to everything in historic St. Augustine, but it’s also a bit removed for a more mellow stay. The bonus of choosing the BW Historical Inn is that it’s location NOT being directly downtown allows for some lower room rates. If you’re visiting during Nights of Lights, we would recommend this BW hotel in St Augustine because it IS removed from the primary activity area yet is close enough that you could have a nice walk into town (St. Augustine is a walkable city) or catch a cheap taxi.  Book the BW Historical Inn here!

BW St Augustine Beach Seaside Inn – If you are wondering “how far is downtown St. Augustine from the beach?” It’s only about a mile as the crow flies, but from downtown to the first beach access point it’s about 4.5 miles. Right across from all beach access points in the Saint Augustine Beach neighborhood is the BW Saint Augustine Beach Inn. If having a beach vacation is your main goal, this is the spot for you! Cross the street and you’re at the beach, or if the surf is high there’s a nice pool. This hotel is very close to some of our favorite St Augustine Beach restaurants, so you can’t go wrong. We’ve had several friends come visit and stay here.  Book the BW St Augustine Beach Seaside Inn here! 

Best Western directly across from the Castillo – The BW Bayfront is located DIRECTLY ACROSS from the historic Castillo de San Marcos. It’s as set into the action as you can get. Recently renovated, it’s a great option for being able to explore Saint Augustine on foot and wander the streets at night without being too far from home.  Book the BW Bayfront St Augustine here!

IHG Hotels in St Augustine – Consistently Good

We have two Holiday Inn Express locations in St Augustine: one on Anastasia Blvd between downtown and the beach, and one in the peninsula of Vilano Beach. Both are very well maintained and in a great location for having either a beach trip or visiting downtown St Augustine. The Vilano Beach location is actually quite nice and you’ll be surprised how cool it is to stay in this funky beach zone of St Augustine. Book the Holiday Inn Express Vilano Beach here!

There’s also a cool little IHG property very near the Holiday Inn Express location on Anastasia Blvd called the VOCO Hotel. It’s a vintage art deco style building with good sized rooms and, wait for it, a rooftop pool. Well, almost rooftop. It’s very unique for the neighborhood and is a great option if you’re trying to use points or want to be between downtown and the beach. Book the VOCO St Augustine Hotel here!

Historic Hotels in Saint Augustine

If there’s one thing cool about old cities, it’s that they have some unique accommodations, particularly around the historic district. Saint Augustine has some nifty hotels and inns directly in the historic downtown and around Lions Bridge. And if you want a bonus historic hotel recommendation, we’ve got one below that’s just north in Jacksonville Beach. Check ’em out!

St George Inn at the St Augustine City Gates

Even though it’s not historically a hotel, the St George Inn is a pretty cool hotel property. It’s located across several old buildings just inside the city gates and right nest door to the BW Bayfront. With many of the rooms having private porches and nearly direct access to St George Street, it’s a fun St Augustine hotel for feeling historic and right in the action.

The Historic Casa Monica Hotel

Located right next to Flagler College and the Lightner Museum, the Casa Monica Hotel is part of the Historic Hotels of America. This beautiful property was built in 1888 and has survived the many events, both natural and financial, that have hit north Florida. The Casa Monica is for sure at the top range of hotel budgets, but if it’s your travel style and luxury is what you want, it’s worth considering.

The Collector Inn Downtown

The Collector in St Augustine’s historic neighborhood is so cool. There are gardens and a collection of historic buildings. It’s an inn but also feels like a vintage bed and breakfast. It’s an adults-only hotel/resort, so this is NOT a family option. The mood at the Collector is calm and peaceful, even on a Friday night. There is a lovely little bar on property and an adjoining patio perfect for an evening cocktail before wandering through town. Book the Collector Inn here!

More Historic or Faux Historic Hotels in St Augustine

Of course there are more historic places to stay in and around downtown St Augustine. All along Spanish Street and throughout the Flagler Model Land neighborhood there are bed and breakfasts and small inns. You can take your pick! There are a few other higher end national travel brand hotels downtown as well. Directly on the waterfront is the historic collection of 18th century houses that make up the Hilton St Augustine Historic Bayfront. It has the bay in the front and Charlotte Street in the back. It’s an amazing location! Book the Hilton St Augustine Historic Bayfront hotel here!

Another great option looks historic, but it’s actually new constructions, and that’s the Renaissance St Augustine Historic Downtown hotel. It’s located very near the Castillo de San Marcos and across the street from Ripley’s Castle. It’s a large property and is very nice, including several dining options. I love that it’s at the edge of Uptown, and if I were booking a hotel in St Augustine for Nights of Lights, this is where I would stay for sure. Great spot and a beautiful hotel! Book the Renaissance St Augustine Historic Downtown hotel here!

BONUS:  Casa Marina Hotel in Jacksonville Beach

I know, this isn’t one of the hotels in St Augustine, but just 40 minutes north is one of our other favorite Florida beach cities, Jacksonville / Jacksonville Beach. Jax Beach was a hot spot in the 1920s and has a wonderful little hotel that still has the old Hollywood vibe: the Casa Marina Hotel. Book the Casa Marina here!

The Casa Marina Hotel is right on the beach and is wonderfully charming and historic. With both rooms and suites, it’s a great option for families that want to stay closer to the big city of Jacksonville while still enjoying the beach vibe just beyond the hotel. We also really enjoyed the vintage Penthouse dining at the Casa Marina. Lot’s of reasons to check it out!

Vacation Rentals in Saint Augustine

Historic St Augustine was the first reason we fell in love with Florida, but beach time is also mandatory when you’re visiting.  If you’re more of a vacation rental sort of person, both in town and near the beach there are many options. You’ll find that in Saint Augustine Beach there are several condo communities that have vacation rentals. We’ve stayed in one before and enjoyed the vibe of being in a community vs in a hotel area.

Because vacation rentals have many different requirements, from number of required nights to restrictions on allowing children, it’s not always the best fit, but might be for you.  Search for vacation rentals in St Augustine here via VRBO!   

Butler Beach and Crescent Beach is just to the south of St Augustine Beach, and still is the city of St Augustine, and here you’ll find even more vacation rentals. We actually owned a vacation rental in Butler Beach for years and our guests always loved how quiet this part of the town is. I really like this neighborhood because the beaches are much less busy that St Augustine Beach, and with vacation rentals on both sides of A1A you’ll have a variety of price points to choose from.

We really enjoyed staying in a private vacation rental at the Ocean Village Club off Highway A1A in St Augustine Beach. If you’re able to rent a condo in this complex, you’ll love the pool and beach boardwalks. It’s perfect for families.

Note: AirBNB is also a good way to find a vacation rental for some people. We have found lots of great places through AirBNB and we like the openness of the reviews. When we owned a vacation rental here in St Augustine, we listed it solely on AirBNB because we liked the popularity of the platform, but ultimately as owners we found that AirBNB wouldn’t support us in claims against guests (OMG, I’m so done with running a vacation rental) so we unlisted. Today we don’t use the platform to list a rental or look for vacation rentals. We’ve learned that we much prefer the transparent costs of hotels and resorts and the stress-less stay over worrying about owners and ratings (and we’re very clean, mindful people).

Camping in Saint Augustine

We love camping in Florida and do it whenever we can. We have two really great ideas for camping in Saint Augustine, either for roughing it or glamping. Both of our suggestions are in the St Augustine Beach area, so they’re very close to the Saint Augustine Lighthouse, Alligator Farm, and Fort Matanzas National Monument, as well at the beaches.

KOA Holiday in St Augustine Beach

We really enjoy KOA Camping because it’s convenient and yet also makes sure that we’re spending time outdoors. St Augustine Beach actually has a KOA Holiday campground just off the A1A, complete with camping spots, RV hookups, or camping cabins. 

Camping in Florida is fun, but there aren’t a ton of options close to many of the main tourist areas, so the St Augustine Beach KOA is a great exception to consider.

Camping at Anastasia State Park

Also in the St Augustine Beach area, Anastasia State Park has some wonderful camping options. Staying at the state park means that you’re very close to the beach as well as some prime kayaking spots such as Salt Run.  There are 115 campsites that can accommodate tents or RVs. They are open year-round.  Check camping reservation availability here.

By now you should feel pretty well informed about hotels in St Augustine, understanding alternative options, and even where you can camp. If you have any additional questions or are curious about any hotels that we didn’t mention, please let us know by leaving a comment or send us a note. We’re happy to help!  If you prefer to search your own accommodations, feel free to use the search box below

And go ahead and pin this for planning your own St Augustine accommodations and vacation!