If you’re a die-hard baseball fan, you don’t just go to home games; you travel near and far to support your team. Get inspired by Fever Pitch—not The Bad News Bears—this season and stay in one of the best hotels near baseball stadiums.
Whether it’s location, themed rooms, or some Hall of Fame nostalgia, these properties will make your day- or weekend-long trip to the ballgame an experience that’ll last long after the ninth inning. Behold, the best hotels near baseball stadiums.
Best Hotels Near Baseball Stadiums
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1. The Rally Hotel
Where: Denver, CO
Practically a baseball’s throw from Coors Field, The Rally Hotel made its debut in spring 2021 just ahead of the All-Star Game that was hosted in Denver. Subtle design details throughout the hotel are a nod to America’s pastime, from red baseball stitching on leather banquettes to grass green carpet in the hallways that lead to the guest rooms that are numbered in a stadium font—the whole hotel is like a game of sports I-Spy. A Rockies Hall of Fame exhibit is coming soon, but, until then, there’s plenty of team memorabilia in the lobby and a two-story kinetic sculpture by the check-in desk with baseballs moving through the chutes. Before heading to the game, pop into the Rally Bar for mini corndogs you can dunk in honey-mustard and a vodka cocktail made with butterfly pea flower that turns your drink a Rockies shade of purple.
Artwork and baseball relics narrate Cardinal’s history at Live! by Loews — St. Louis, a 216-room hotel that was built on the former site of the 1966 Busch II Stadium. Abstract blueprints of the former stadium adorn headboards in suites while Cardinal-red travel trunks from the team’s use during the Prohibition era glimmer on the walls of Bar Bourbon. The hotel is an anchor of Ballpark Village, a buzzy entertainment district adjacent to Busch Stadium, so the game day excitement is definitely palpable here. We should mention that Live! by Loews is also for whiskey lovers: The Whiskey Room boasts a list of 480 bottles of bourbon, rye, Irish, scotch, and Japanese whiskies in an intimate space.
The hotel’s namesake Zachary Taylor Davis is considered one of the most influential Chicago architects, and he was hired in 1914 to design Weeghman Park, which would later be re-named Wrigley Field. Davis (considered the Frank Lloyd Wright of baseball architects) was one of the first to design ballparks with steel-beam and concrete instead of wood. Guests at Hotel Zachary are spoiled with panoramic views of Wrigleyville and Wrigley Field, and the hotel offers an “Architecture of Baseball” package that comes with an architectural tour of Wrigley Field, which is a National Historic Landmark. Hotel rooms and spaces are imbued with Chicago’s baseball heritage, with ivy-green headboards, pinstripe carpet, historical photographs and rare Wrigley Field memorabilia.
As far as the best hotels near baseball stadiums go, the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor offers the ultimate “room with a view” experience. Ten of the hospitality suites here have views of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, including a prized home plate view from the one-bedroom balcony suite where you can step outside of your room to hear the crack of the bat and watch a Baltimore Orioles game. If you can’t snag a suite, though, 74 additional rooms have stellar home plate views and the pool and fitness center look into Oriole Park, too. During baseball season, the hotel runs a Triple Play Package which includes perks like food and beverage credits.
Red Sox fans and out-of-towners alike will have a home-field advantage by staying at Hotel Commonwealth. Not only is Commonwealth the official hotel of the Sox, it’s a stone—rather, a ball’s throw away from Fenway Park. You can choose from an array of packages, some of which include VIP on-the-field access to batting practice, a behind-the-scenes tour of the famed Green Monster and the chance to have personal messages displayed on the scoreboard. The Fenway Park Suite is a dream come true for Red Sox fans, with a walk-out balcony overlooking the beloved ballpark, a real bag of actual Fenway dirt, a baseball glove for catching fly balls, and a coffee table signed by numerous legends.Don’t fret if you’re not a Sox fan. (Odds are if you’re staying in a hotel, you’re not.) Hotel Commonwealth’s Baseball Suite pays homage to baseball titans the likes of Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. If you’re thinking this is heaven, just wait ‘til you pop in Angels in the Outfield. The suite has 40+ classic baseball films to kick back and relax to. It’s hard to beat this when browsing the best hotels near baseball stadiums.
Can’t get enough of America’s favorite pastime? We can’t blame you. Head to Yankee Stadium or Citi Field to catch a game before high-tailing it upstate for some nostalgia by staying in the historic Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, NY. Rumored to be the birthplace of baseball, Cooperstown is like falling into a time warp. The village is home to everything from baseball-themed restaurants, bat companies, and, of course, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which houses over 40,000 3D items of memorabilia, three million books and documents, and 500,000 photographs. You’ll notice the baseball obsession just about everywhere. Case-in-point: At The Hawkeye Bar & Grill inside the Otesaga Resort, the toothpicks holding your burger together are adorned with mini baseballs on the end. The resort’s double play package includes tickets to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum and a souvenir baseball bat.
7. The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club
Where: St. Petersburg, FL
Consider The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club “home base” if you’re a traveling fan (aka not rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays). If you stay at the Vinoy, you’ll be 10 short minutes from Tropicana Field, and if you purchase The Vinoy Grand Slam Baseball package, you’ll enjoy accommodations, breakfast, transportation to and from the field for two and a spectator survival kit.
You can’t get any closer to Rogers Centre (home of the Blue Jays) than if you stay in the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel—the hotel is literally inside the stadium. Guests have even caught baseballs from the windows of their field-view rooms. As the only hotel in North America located within a major league sporting venue, the Marriott has its own mascot, a baseball named Slider who makes cameos on game days. Reserve a window table at the on-site Sportsnet Grill and watch batting practice while enjoying a hot dog and beer.
You’ll have to book this suite far in advance because The Hotel Union Square only has one “Dugout Suite.” And it’s pretty spectacular. The walls are orange and the rest of the room is outfitted with Giants décor; plus there’s a gift basket loaded with ballpark treats like Cracker Jack, peanuts and bubble gum. What’s more, the hotel is just a 20-minute walk from the stadium so you can avoid all the traffic.
The Omni San Diego’s seasonal baseball-themed package is hard to pass up with accommodations, breakfast, free parking, two tickets to a Padres game and—wait for it—free apple pie delivered directly to your room. Does it get any more American than that? It doesn’t, but it does get more convenient; the hotel connects to Petco stadium via skywalk.
There’s no doubt when the weather turns colder as we settle into winter, stouts take center stage. And while we enjoy all its iterations: standard stout, imperial stout, and robust barrel-aged stouts, we think this malty, chocolate-filled beer’s close cousin deserves a little respect as well. Of course, we’re talking about the oft-overlooked porter. And the best porters, oh buddy, they’ll have you rethinking your seasonal bevvie of choice.
For those uninitiated, the porter style had its genesis in England like many other iconic beer styles. It first appeared in the 1700s and is (you guessed it) named after porters—individuals tasked with transporting luggage.
A confusing origin story
“Stout is the direct descendant of porter. In the 1700s, it was common to use the word ‘stout’ to refer to a bolder, higher-alcohol version of any beer style, much in the same way we use the word ‘imperial’ today,” says Zach Fowle, advanced cicerone and head of marketing for Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix, AZ. “Porter was the most popular beer of the day, and over time, “stout porter” became a popular variant. But by the late 1800s, demand for regular porters evaporated, and stout porter shortened simply to stout.”
But more has changed between the 1800s and today than just our penchant for wearing top hats. “Today, most brewers seem to market beers as either stout or porter based on vibes, rather than on any notable stylistic differences,” he says.
Specifically, porters are known for their dark, almost pitch-black color and rich, sweet flavor profile. If you were to drink a porter and a stout side by side, you might even have difficulty discerning the differences between the two.
Stout versus porter is an enduring topic of discussion in the brewing industry. “While there’s no debating the porter came first—and stout used to be called stout porter, so it was a stronger version of a porter—the lines have become very blurred over the years,” says Rob Lightner, co-founder of East Brother Brewing in Richmond, CA.
“I would venture that even among professionals, a blind taste test would often yield inconclusive results,” says Lightner.
The difference between porters and stouts
Porters tend to be on the milder, more chocolatey end of the spectrum, Lightner says, whereas stouts are typically a little stronger and more roasty. Of course, this isn’t a hard and fast rule
Fowle agrees, “Porters tend to be fruitier, sweeter, and less bitter than stouts, with cocoa and caramel flavors in balance with dark malt bitterness. And stouts are usually hoppier, drier, maltier, and more coffee-forward—and may even have a touch of acidity.”
Whether or not they fit neatly into boxes, one thing’s for sure: both make for incredible cold-weather brews.
“As the nights grow longer, drinking a light, summery beer just doesn’t seem right,” says Fowle. “Porter is the perfect style for the transition to winter: warming and toasty yet not too heavy, with flavors of coffee, chocolate, and pie crust that correspond with autumn weather and holidays.”
It’s the perfect time to broaden your repretoire. Sweet, robust, warming, and well-suited to the season, here are the best porters to drink now.
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1. Deschutes Black Butte Porter
There are few porters more well-respected than Deschutes’ iconic Black Butte Porter. It’s brewed with Cascade and Tettnang hops as well as 2-row, Chocolate, Crystal, and Carapils malts as well as wheat. This 5.5% ABV year-round offering is great for cold-weather drinking because of its mix of roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate. It’s a robust, subtly sweet beer perfect for imbibing on a crisp fall night.
The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
Marius Bugge
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
Marius Bugge
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
Marius Bugge
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
Marius Bugge
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
Marius Bugge
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Marius Bugge
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
Marius Bugge
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Marius Bugge
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top. Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
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If you haven’t picked up a jump rope since elementary school, you’re missing out on a fantastic cardio workout. Not only will you burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time—200 to 300 calories in 15 minutes—but jump ropes can also improve your coordination and agility. Better yet, jumping rope doesn’t require much space, so it’s easy to do at home, and it’s often more mentally stimulating than jogging or swimming.
Choosing a Jump Rope
When deciding which jump rope is best for you, it’s important to determine what your goals are. While lightweight speed ropes are popular for cardio-focused training, weighted or drag ropes will be best for those focused on strength training.
No matter what your training goals are, we’ve got you covered with this roundup of 10 jump ropes from top brands including Crossrope, TRX, Rogue, and more.
The Best Jump Ropes of 2022
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