Here we are. Right in the middle of a blazing summer. Sure, we all have our go-to beaches, lakes, or boardwalks. But have you ever considered a summer respite at two fabulous boutique city hotels? 

While these may seem like an odd summer retreat, an impeccably designed and dreamy dark cocktail lounge can be a perfect place to beat the heat – no sunscreen required. 

We’ve all gotten accustomed to feeling almost too much at home with the chores at an Airbnb summer rental. Remember good old-fashioned hotels? Where a bellhop comes out to the car and gets your bag? Where they have an attractive concierge, ready to answer any question with a saucy foreign accent? 

If this sounds like a good time, then I suggest two spots, one north and one south, and both are about two hours away. 

Choose south for Baltimore’s Hotel Ulysses. What other spot in that city would likely be written up in Vogue Magazine?  

Located in a former gay flop house, The Ash design group brought their “A” game to this hotel project. It helps, of course, that they own the property and therefore were not edited by a board of directors or a self-aggrandizing developer. They used color-saturated brocade fabrics, Pompeii-inspired floor mosaics and ample tassels to perfectly capture both the sexy and the campy side of sleaze.  

The hotel bar is called “Bloom.” Here you will want to bring out your very best Von Furstenberg wrap dress, spike heels and a great jacket. (A Teva should never set foot in this place.) 

Just as delightful, the Coral Wig bar is hidden, like a speakeasy, in another part of the building. My travel companion does not drink, but that doesn’t mean he gets left out of the spirit of things. The mocktails are just as layered and intricate as every other part of this place. Then, after dark, you can stroll less than five minutes to the George Washington Monument, which twinkles with the heyday architectural history of this fine city. 

If, instead, you choose to head north, there’s no better spot to settle in than The Ace Hotel in New York City. It’s the place that, when it opened 20 years ago, got all of us designers to paint “Paint it Black.”

The Ace Hotel has managed to perfectly balance masculine elegance and bold humor. Instead of a “reserved sign” on a particular bar table, a sign reads “Sorry Gorgeous, I’m taken.” In a wink to Jeff Koons, black archway curtains on closer inspection are made of latex gloves. A turntable, acoustic guitar and vinyl albums can be found in your room. Burnished brass fixtures and a tin trash bin that may have come from your high school English classroom are clever touches that abound in this place. 

If you must go outside, Madison Square Park has all you would ever want from a city park, with views of stellar and vastly different architecture at every turn – starting with the Flatiron building. 

Both of these places have captured the very best of what flawless design has to offer: The ultimate escape. 

Val Nehez is the owner and principal designer at Studio IQL in East Falls, which you can find at StudioIQL.com and on Instagram at studio_iql or for smaller projects quickandlov