New hotels in Bakersfield

Bakersfield tracks one open hotel of note: Hourglass Hotel, Trademark Collection by Wyndham, a boutique repositioning of a former Red Lion Hotel in the Rosedale area off Highway 99. Nothing else has opened recently in a market still dominated by interstate-adjacent chain properties, so Rosedale is effectively the city's one hotel story right now, and it reflects a broader pattern of conversion rather than new construction across Bakersfield's hotel supply.

What to do

A weekend in Bakersfield

Visit the Kern County Museum, an 85-year-old, 16-acre site with more than 70 historic structures (including Merle Haggard's childhood home, an old rail boxcar his parents bought in 1935 for $500) anchored by its Bakersfield Sound exhibit on the country-music scene built around Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Red Simpson, with costumes, instruments and original signage from more than 100 artists. In the evening, Trout's Nightclub keeps that honky-tonk history live as one of the last of the original Bakersfield venues of its kind, with music seven nights a week and line-dance lessons through the week.

A full week

With more time, Bakersfield's position at the southern tip of California's Central Valley makes it a practical gateway toward the Kern River Valley and the southern approach to Sequoia National Forest, both roughly an hour's drive east, offering a mountain counterpoint to the flat agricultural valley surrounding the city itself.

Where to stay

Rosedale, off Highway 99

Hourglass Hotel, Trademark Collection by Wyndham occupies a former Red Lion Hotel in Rosedale, on Bakersfield's northwest edge a few minutes from Meadows Field Airport and California State University, Bakersfield: a stretch of the city better known for interstate-adjacent chain hotels than independent properties. The building reopened independently in 2021, then moved through Choice Hotels' Ascend Hotel Collection before landing, after a 2023 renovation, in Wyndham's Trademark Collection: its 175 rooms and resort-style courtyard and pool standing in for the amenities a purpose-built boutique property would have from the start, making it one of the larger recent hotel conversions in the Central Valley.

Which hotel for your trip

Anyone visiting Bakersfield today

Hourglass Hotel is currently the one tracked option in the city, convenient to the airport and university rather than to a specific downtown sightseeing district.

Travelers focused on Bakersfield's country-music history

The hotel's Rosedale location is a short drive from both the Kern County Museum's Bakersfield Sound exhibit and Trout's Nightclub, the city's two main stops on that circuit.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hourglass Hotel a new building?

No: it's a former Red Lion Hotel that reopened independently in 2021 before moving through two soft-brand affiliations, most recently Wyndham's Trademark Collection after a 2023 renovation.

What is the Bakersfield Sound?

The country-music scene that grew out of Bakersfield in the 1950s and 60s around artists including Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Red Simpson, documented today at the Kern County Museum.

Is Buck Owens' Crystal Palace still open?

No: the venue closed after more than 28 years of operation; Kern County Museum's Bakersfield Sound exhibit and Trout's Nightclub are the city's remaining stops on that history.

How far is Hourglass Hotel from Meadows Field Airport?

A few minutes' drive.

How far is Sequoia National Forest from Bakersfield?

Roughly an hour's drive east via the Kern River Valley.

What historic structures can visitors see at the Kern County Museum?

More than 70 structures across 16 tree-lined acres, including an 1860 general store, a one-room schoolhouse, an 1882 doctor's office, and Merle Haggard's childhood home, a converted rail boxcar.