The best hotels on Cape Cod, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard

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• With its historic fishing villages, quaint gray-shingled cottages, pristine dunes, and miles of beautiful ocean and bay-fronting beaches, Cape Cod is the quintessential New England summer getaway — but it also makes for a charming off-season escape.
• We rounded up the best hotels across the Cape, including standouts on its two islands, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. From romantic colonial inns to funky boutique hotels and family-friendly resorts, priced range from $115 to $365 per night to start.
• Our top stays offer close proximity to Cape Cod's beaches and charming coastal towns, and are highly-reviewed and rated on trusted traveler sites like Booking.com and Trip Advisor. They include interesting historical details, and amenities like outdoor pools, beachfront dining, and ocean view rooms.
• Read all Business Insider hotel reviews here.

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Long a favorite summer retreat for the New England set, Cape Cod now attracts millions of visitors from around the world to its beautiful golden beaches, charming historic villages, and rolling dunes sprinkled with gray-shingled cottages. Rustic seafood shacks serve local catches, while the signature Cape Codder, a mix of vodka and cranberry juice, is ubiquitous in local bars and taverns.

The Cape, in local parlance, is a roughly 70-mile-long, crescent-shaped peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic, and also includes two islands: Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. It's divided into four regions, each with its own distinct personality and rich history.

Closest to the mainland, the Upper Cape is home to some of the oldest towns in America including Sandwich, which dates back to 1639. Mid Cape is considered the urban hub with the biggest population and largest city, Hyannis; this is also where most people catch ferries to the islands.

Once you reach the "elbow," or the Lower Cape, you've entered what is considered prime Cape territory. The quaint towns of Chatham, Orleans, Harwich are here, as are some of the region's finest beaches, including Nauset Beach. This area is particularly popular with families.

The Outer Cape includes miles of pristine beaches, seagrasses, and sand dunes, plus the 43,000-acre Cape Cod National Seashore, and has a wilder, more remote feel. That is, until you reach the easternmost tip and Provincetown (commonly referred to as P-town), which is a bustling LGBTQ enclave known for its artsy vibe and eclectic nightlife.

Finally, there are the islands: Nantucket, with its picture-perfect cobblestoned historic district, and the larger, showier Martha's Vineyard, which regularly lures celebrities, former presidents, and royalty.

Our top hotel picks are found in just about every region of the Cape, with a wide variety of properties suited to different travelers' styles and budgets. There are quaint historic inns and B&Bs, luxe family-friendly resorts, and funky boutique hotels, all ranging in price from $115 to $365 per night to start.

Keep in mind that hotel rates — as well as crowds and traffic — soar in the summer. For a more serene, wallet-friendly escape, consider visiting in the off-season.