The Hotel Hershey

Architecture Rooted in a Founder's Travels

Grand resort hotels built during the early 1930s Depression era occupy a specific place in American hospitality history: they were civic statements as much as commercial ventures, designed to project confidence through permanence. The Hotel Hershey, opened in 1933, belongs firmly to that tradition. Milton Hershey and his wife Catherine drew on their European travels to commission a property modeled on Mediterranean resort architecture, and the physical evidence of that decision has survived nearly a century of use. The green-tile roof, the open terraces, the Spanish mosaic floors, the restored wooden balustrades, the reflecting pools and formal fountain arrangements: these are not period-revival gestures added during a later renovation. They are original fabric, maintained and in several cases restored rather than replaced.

Set on Pat's Hill and overlooking both Hersheypark and the broader central Pennsylvania countryside, the building's position was clearly deliberate. Mediterranean hillside resort architecture depends on topography: the terraces and pools need a view to anchor them. That relationship between building and land still holds. The hotel's 300 acres of manicured grounds function as an extension of the architecture rather than a separate amenity, with gardens, reflecting pools, and miles of hiking trails forming a managed landscape that frames the property on every side.

For guests arriving from the Northeast corridor, the geometry of the trip is practical: roughly three hours from New York City, two hours from Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., an hour and a half from Baltimore, and fifteen minutes from Harrisburg International Airport. That positioning places The Hotel Hershey in a reachable weekend tier for a large urban catchment, without the compressed scale of a city hotel. The difference matters architecturally: the 300-acre footprint allows for a physical spread that properties like The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City or Aman New York simply cannot replicate.

What the Grounds Contain

American resort hotels built on significant acreage tend to split into two types: those where the grounds are largely decorative, and those where the outdoor programming is substantive enough to anchor a multi-day stay. The Hotel Hershey operates in the second category. The Hershey Golf Collection's three courses are available to guests, alongside a recreation complex with basketball, volleyball, and lighted tennis courts. Several miles of hiking trails cross the property. Seasonal programming extends to bonfires and s'mores, and the Cocoa Clubhouse provides structured activities for younger guests.

This breadth of on-property activity puts The Hotel Hershey in a different peer category from, say, the intimately designed resort at Troutbeck in Amenia, where the scale is intentionally tighter. The comparison that holds more precisely is the full-amenity wellness and recreation resort model, closer in spirit to Canyon Ranch Tucson or Bernardus Lodge and Spa in Carmel Valley, though with a distinct sense of place rooted in Pennsylvania rather than the American West.

Complimentary guest privileges extend beyond the property itself. Admission to Hershey Gardens, a 23-acre botanical garden with eleven themed sections including more than 30,000 tulips in spring and more than 5,000 roses in summer, is included for all guests. The Milton and Catherine Hershey Conservatory within the gardens houses a year-round indoor tropical butterfly atrium, one of around 25 such facilities operating continuously in the United States. Admission to The Hershey Story Museum, which documents both Milton Hershey's biography and the development of the town, is also included. These are not peripheral add-ons: they give the property a cultural dimension that extends beyond the hotel's own walls.

The Spa and Wellness Offer

Chocolate-infused spa treatments sit at an unusual intersection of marketing and genuine therapeutic tradition. Cacao-based body treatments have appeared on European and American spa menus for decades, and The Hotel Hershey's spa program builds on the property's chocolate association in a way that feels organic rather than tacked on. The specifics of treatments available are leading confirmed directly with the property, but the spa has been a recognized element of the hotel's offer for years, holding a Forbes Travel Guide recommendation alongside the main hotel.

Among U.S. resort spas with strong design presence and a connection to landscape, properties like Amangiri in Canyon Point or Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur have set a high benchmark for integrating the spa into the broader physical experience of the property. The Hotel Hershey operates in a different register: its spa identity is tied to place-specific ingredients rather than architectural minimalism, which creates a distinct positioning within the luxury wellness category.

Accommodations: Traditional Rooms to Woodside Cottages

The guest room renovation completed across 2017 and 2018 updated all main-building rooms while preserving the traditional proportions of a 1930s-era hotel. Those proportions are worth understanding before booking: the standard guest rooms are well-appointed but run toward the compact end. Marble-tiled bathrooms with combination tub and shower are standard across the main building. Premium king rooms add a seating area with a pull-out sofa configuration.

The named suites, including the Milton Hershey Suite and the Catherine Hershey Suite, offer expanded layouts with double sinks in the Milton suite's bathroom. The Catherine suite is noted for its family configuration. The full accommodation count of 276 rooms includes more than 20 premier suites.

Woodside Cottages occupy a distinct tier. Bathrooms are significantly larger than their main-building counterparts, with a separate shower and a soaking tub fitted with a flat-screen television. Four- and six-bedroom cottages can be reserved by small groups or families as entire units, with access to a Great Room featuring cathedral ceilings, a fireplace, microwave, and wet bar with refrigerator. This format puts the Cottages in a category that invites comparison with compound-style lodging at properties like Blackberry Farm in Walland or SingleThread Farm Inn in Healdsburg, though the Hershey setting and scale are their own thing entirely.

Dining Across Five Venues

Large-footprint resort hotels typically manage their dining programs in one of two ways: consolidate into a single dominant restaurant and treat the rest as supporting service, or build out a genuine portfolio of distinct concepts. The Hotel Hershey operates closer to the second model. The Circular anchors the program as the property's formal American dining room, described as an American dining experience reimagined. Trevi 5 offers modern Italian, while Harvest positions itself around fresh American cooking with local ingredients. Chef's Market handles daytime coffee, sandwiches, and salads. The Iberian Lounge covers cocktails and lighter fare, its name a direct reference to the Mediterranean architectural lineage of the building. Room service is also available.

Five distinct outlets within a single hotel is a significant operational commitment and allows guests to stay entirely on-property across a multi-night visit without repeating a dining context. For a comprehensive look at the broader Hershey food scene beyond the hotel, see our full Hershey restaurants guide.

Planning a Stay

The Hotel Hershey operates as an Official Resort of Hersheypark, which translates into concrete guest benefits: the property guarantees the lowest rate on Hersheypark tickets, provides complimentary seasonal transportation to the park and other local attractions, and extends free extra morning and evening hours for park access. Complimentary parking is included. These arrangements make the hotel the most operationally direct base for a Hersheypark visit, particularly for families coordinating park schedules with younger children through the Cocoa Clubhouse programming on-property.

For guests whose interest sits more squarely with the resort itself, the combination of the gardens, spa, golf, and multiple dining venues supports a stay that has nothing to do with the amusement park. The spring bloom at Hershey Gardens, with its 30,000-tulip display, and the summer rose garden make April through June a particularly strong window for garden-focused guests. The butterfly atrium runs year-round.

Guests considering comparable full-amenity resort experiences in the U.S. might weigh properties like Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Surfside, Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, Kona Village in Kailua Kona, or Little Palm Island Resort and Spa. What The Hotel Hershey offers that none of those do is a specific, coherent sense of American civic heritage: a town built by one man's fortune, a hotel designed as a direct expression of his travels, and a landscape maintained to the standard of the original vision for nearly a century. Other notable comparisons in terms of architectural character and setting include Raffles Boston, Chicago Athletic Association, and internationally, Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz and Aman Venice, each of which carries a comparable weight of historic fabric and institutional continuity. Booking is handled directly through the hotel at 100 Hotel Road, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of setting is The Hotel Hershey?

The hotel sits on 300 acres of formal gardens, reflecting pools, and manicured grounds on Pat's Hill in Hershey, Pennsylvania, approximately three hours from New York City and two hours from Philadelphia. The architecture follows a 1930s Mediterranean resort model, with original mosaic tile, terraces, and fountains maintained from the 1933 opening. It operates as an Official Resort of Hersheypark and holds a Forbes Travel Guide recommendation.

What is the signature room at The Hotel Hershey?

The Woodside Cottages represent the property's premier accommodation tier. They feature larger bathrooms with separate showers and soaking tubs fitted with flat-screen televisions, and are available as individual king or double-queen rooms or as complete four- or six-bedroom cottage units for groups. The Great Room within a full cottage includes cathedral ceilings, a fireplace, and a wet bar with refrigerator. Main-building suites, including the Milton Hershey and Catherine Hershey suites, are the alternative for guests preferring to remain in the original historic building.

What should I know about The Hotel Hershey before I go?

All guest rooms in the main building were renovated in 2017 and 2018, though the traditional proportions of a 1930s hotel mean standard rooms run on the smaller side. All guests receive complimentary admission to Hershey Gardens (23 acres, eleven themed sections) and The Hershey Story Museum. The hotel's Official Resort status with Hersheypark includes ticket pricing advantages, complimentary parking, and extended park hours. Spring, when over 30,000 tulips are in bloom at the Gardens, and summer, when the rose garden peaks, are particularly strong seasons for non-park visitors.

Is The Hotel Hershey reservation-only?

As a full-service hotel with 276 accommodations, The Hotel Hershey operates on standard advance reservation. Given its status as the primary luxury resort in Hershey and its role as an Official Resort of Hersheypark, peak summer weekends and holiday periods book significantly in advance. Reservations should be made directly through the hotel. Dining reservations for The Circular and other on-property restaurants are advisable, particularly for dinner service during high-occupancy periods.