Uptown Hotel with Creative, Contemporary Décor

On any given weekday in Uptown Charlotte, suit-clad bankers, analysts, and traders buzz about the city's financial sector. But from the moment one steps out from the shadows of the towering offices and into the lobby of The Blake Hotel, business takes a back seat to style. The voguish space favors a chocolate-and-vanilla palette, glammed up here and there by playful accents such as lamps shaped like massive, luminescent jellyfish. A wander through The Blake stirs the imagination at every turn, from the white wicker egg chairs in the lounge area to the elegant cabanas at the pool bar.

City-view rooms deliver on their name with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Charlotte skyline and parts of a nearby town called City. Chrome furnishings and modern artwork bring just a touch of panache to simple, modern interiors of brown and cream. After restful nights beneath cloudlike duvets, lodgers wake up on the right foot with cooked-to-order omelets, waffles, and eggs in the Vault restaurant.

A complimentary shuttle service takes guests anywhere within a 3-mile radius of the hotel, or, for about the price of a taxi, the hotel’s chauffeured SUVs and sedans will make trips to anywhere in town. Though The Blake's outdoor pool may be a little chilly in the winter, visitors have free access to the indoor, Olympic-size swimming pool across the street at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center.

Charlotte, North Carolina: Southern Culture in the 21st Century

As the second-largest banking center in the U.S., Charlotte commands respect in the business world, but the Queen City has begun to earn a name for itself in the cultural sphere as well. In the last 10 years, the Uptown area has blossomed, welcoming several new museums and performing-arts centers, as well as dozens of upscale restaurants. Just a 15-minute walk from the hotel, the Levine Center for the Arts comprises four architecturally significant venues, including the 1,150-seat Knight Theatre, which hosts performances by Opera Carolina and North Carolina Dance Theatre, as well as Broadway touring shows.

Just beyond the skyscrapers, the NoDa historical arts district thrives as a funkier, smaller-scale version of Uptown’s polished arts scene. Vintage-clothing boutiques and coffeehouses intermingle with knitting shops and art galleries, and up-and-coming restaurants showcase southern staples and progressive cuisine.