6 Books Set in Hotels

Books set in hotels have always seemed especially atmospheric and alluring to me. Exotic, mysterious, creepy, romantic, nostalgic, haunted, you name it. These novels offer the perfect literary escape, so I thought it would be fun to make a list as we approach the release date for ​The Guest in Room 120!

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles
From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Table for Two, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel.

THE SANATORIUM by Sarah Pearse
Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel. “An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat.” —Reese Witherspoon

THE GUEST IN ROOM 120 by Sara Ackerman
A spellbinding dual-timeline novel set at Honolulu’s iconic Moana Hotel, where a real-life mysterious death in 1905 collides with a writer’s search for the truth one hundred years later. For fans of Ariel Lawhon and Fiona Davis.

THE STORM by Rachel Hawkins
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins is back with a thrilling new gothic suspense set in a Gulf Coast beach motel where hurricane season can be murder. (Releases in Jan 2026)

HOTEL NANTUCKET by Elin Hildebrand
“The queen of beach reads” (New York Magazine) and #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers an immensely satisfying page-turner in this tale about a summer of scandal at a storied Nantucket hotel.
​
THE CODEBREAKER’S SECRET by Sara Ackerman
1965. Fledgling journalist Lu Freitas comes home to Hawai'i to cover the grand opening of the glamorous Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Rockefeller's newest and grandest project. When a high-profile guest goes missing, Lu forms an unlikely alliance with an intimidating veteran photographer to unravel the mystery. The two make a shocking discovery that stirs up memories and uncovers an explosive secret from the war days. A secret that only a codebreaker can crack.