New hotels in Omaha

Omaha has added four new hotels since 2020, all clustered within about a mile of each other across the Old Market, Blackstone District and downtown core, with a fifth (Millwork Hotel, converting a century-old warehouse in the Millwork Commons district) confirmed for late 2027. The Old Market and downtown suit a first visit built around walking, the riverfront and the Henry Doorly Zoo; Blackstone works better for a food-and-drink-focused stay a short rideshare away. Here's what's open, what's coming, and which hotel fits your trip.

What to do

A weekend in Omaha

Start in the Old Market, Omaha's cobblestoned historic core, for boutiques, galleries and restaurants strung along its passageways, then walk the Gene Leahy Mall and the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge (a footbridge that crosses the Missouri River into Iowa) for the riverfront's public-park stretch. Devote an afternoon to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, consistently ranked among the best zoos in the country, before an evening back in the Old Market or a short rideshare to the Blackstone District for dinner and a nightcap.

A full week

With more time, the Joslyn Art Museum's mix of American and European collections and the Durham Museum, housed in Omaha's restored 1931 Art Deco Union Station, both reward a slower pace. Lauritzen Gardens' seasonal displays along the riverfront and a stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the Missouri River, round out a longer stay: Council Bluffs carries its own Lewis and Clark history as the site of the expedition's first council with Native American tribes in the region. Baseball fans should time a summer trip around the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field downtown, an Omaha institution since 1950. Omaha is also Warren Buffett's hometown and Berkshire Hathaway's headquarters, and the company's annual shareholder meeting each May, sometimes called 'Woodstock for Capitalists', fills the city's hotels for a weekend if a trip happens to overlap with it.

Omaha rewards a car less than its Midwest-highway reputation suggests: the Old Market, riverfront and Blackstone District are all connected by the ORBT bus rapid-transit line along Dodge Street, and a rideshare between any two of the neighborhoods in this guide rarely runs more than ten minutes.

Where to stay

The Old Market

The Farnam, Autograph Collection, opened in May 2021 as Nebraska's first Autograph Collection hotel, converting the high-rise portion of a 1990 Holabird & Root office tower at 1299 Farnam Street, on the edge of the Old Market facing the Gene Leahy Mall: the name honors Henry Farnam, the railroad engineer who brought the Pacific Railway terminus to Omaha. Moxy Omaha Downtown opened in October 2023 a few blocks away at 409 S 12th Street, a ground-up, six-story build on the edge of the Old Market Entertainment District, its brick exterior chosen to match the neighborhood's historic warehouses and its 113 rooms built around Marriott's playful micro-hotel format.

Blackstone District

Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel opened in November 2020, a $75 million restoration of the 1915 Blackstone Hotel, an Omaha Landmark since 1983 and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985, into Kimpton's first Nebraska property. Its 205 rooms and five dining concepts anchor a district known locally as the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich, a short rideshare from the Old Market and downtown.

Downtown, near the Brandeis Theatre

The Peregrine Omaha Downtown, Curio Collection by Hilton, opened in April 2021 at 203 South 18th Street, converting the derelict 1910s Saunders-Kennedy Building, once physically connected to the historic Brandeis Theatre next door, into downtown Omaha's flagship boutique hotel, roughly 90 rooms with a rooftop bar called The Perch. The roughly $22 million adaptive reuse was funded partly by state historic tax credits, and the hotel's name honors the peregrine falcons that nest on downtown Omaha's high-rises.

Millwork Commons

Millwork Hotel, targeting late 2027, is converting a former wood-milling warehouse standing since the early 1920s at 1201 Nicholas Street into a 144-room boutique property, the centerpiece of Millwork Commons: Omaha's North Downtown district, built on a 19th-century industrial core now recast as a creative and tech hub. The $57 million project, designed by Alley Poyner Macchietto with interiors by Curioso, keeps the warehouse's industrial bones visible rather than erasing them, and will be operated under Aparium's most curated hotel tier.

Which hotel for your trip

Travelers who want to walk everywhere should base in the Old Market: The Farnam and Moxy Omaha Downtown both sit inside or on the edge of the district, within a few blocks of the riverfront, the zoo shuttle routes and the Old Market's restaurants.

Food-and-drink-focused travelers get more out of Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel in the Blackstone District, a neighborhood built around its restaurant and bar scene rather than tourist attractions.

Design-minded travelers and repeat visitors should look at The Peregrine Omaha Downtown, the adaptive reuse of a century-old office building next to the historic Brandeis Theatre, with a proper rooftop bar program.

Business travelers and Berkshire Hathaway shareholder-meeting attendees are generally best served downtown or in the Old Market, both a short walk or rideshare from the CHI Health Center where the meeting is held each May: book well ahead, since the weekend can sell out the city's hotel supply.

Extended-stay and relocation travelers should look ahead to Millwork Hotel once it opens in late 2027: its North Downtown setting near Millwork Commons' offices and startups is built for a slower, work-focused visit rather than a weekend of sightseeing, though today's open hotels all sit within a short drive or rideshare of the same district.

Travelers curious about Omaha's next wave should watch Millwork Hotel, targeting late 2027 in the Millwork Commons district: the first hotel to bet on North Downtown's ongoing creative-district redevelopment.

Frequently asked questions

What is the newest hotel to open in Omaha?

Moxy Omaha Downtown, which opened in October 2023 at 409 S 12th Street on the edge of the Old Market Entertainment District.

What hotel is confirmed to open next in Omaha?

Millwork Hotel, targeting late 2027 inside a converted early-1920s warehouse in the Millwork Commons district.

Is the Old Market within walking distance of the Henry Doorly Zoo?

Not quite: the zoo sits a short drive or rideshare south of downtown, but the Old Market's hotels are close to the riverfront park system and Gene Leahy Mall.

Which Omaha hotel is inside a historic landmark building?

Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel, a restoration of the 1915 Blackstone Hotel, and The Peregrine Omaha Downtown, converted from the 1910s Saunders-Kennedy Building next to the Brandeis Theatre, are both adaptive reuses of designated historic structures.

What is the Blackstone District known for?

Food and drink: it's often credited as the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich, and the neighborhood today centers on restaurants, breweries and cocktail bars rather than shopping or sightseeing.

When is the best time to visit Omaha?

Late spring through early fall covers the riverfront gardens and the College World Series in June; the Old Market and Blackstone District's indoor restaurants and bars make winter visits workable too, if colder.

Is Omaha walkable without a car?

The Old Market, downtown and the riverfront are walkable on their own, and the ORBT bus rapid-transit line along Dodge Street connects them to the Blackstone District in a few minutes: a rideshare covers the rest.

Does Omaha get busy during the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting?

Yes: the annual meeting each May, sometimes called 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' draws tens of thousands of shareholders and can fill the city's hotel supply for the weekend, so booking well ahead matters if a trip overlaps with it.

What is Omaha's most historic hotel building?

Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel, a $75 million restoration of the 1915 Blackstone Hotel, an Omaha Landmark since 1983 and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.