The best hotel in Massachusetts is not located in Boston (surprise!); it can be found on Cape Cod. The annual U.S. News & World Report top hotel list named the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Harwich as the best hotel in the state. Four years ago, Wequassett received a five-star rating from Forbes, the first on Cape Cod.
According to the list, which was released Tuesday, the Boston Harbor Hotel was ranked the second best hotel in the state, followed by the Nantucket Hotel and Resort, XV Beacon, and then the Four Seasons Boston. The top 10 hotels in the state — none of which fall into the bargain category — were almost evenly split between Boston and the Cape and Islands. There are no Western Massachusetts hotels in the state’s top 30.
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According to a release accompanying the list, U.S. News & World Report travel rankings are based on an analysis of both expert and user opinions. “We believe this unbiased approach makes our rankings more useful than simply providing our editors’ personal opinions."
The list diverges significantly from a Travel + Leisure ranking released last fall that named the $150-a-night Revolution Hotel as the best in Boston. The U.S. News & World Report list followed a more conventional path, placing only luxury hotels in the top 10. The Boston Harbor Hotel topped the list of Boston hotels, followed by XV Beacon, the Four Seasons, the Mandarin Oriental, and the Intercontinental.
Nationally, no Massachusetts hotel cracked the magazine’s top 50. Wequassett came in at 52 nationally, the Boston Harbor Hotel came in at 78. While Boston and Massachusetts didn’t fare particularly well on a national level, Twin Farms in Barnard, Vt., was ranked as the 19th best in the country, while the Ocean House in Watch Hill, R.I., came in at 25.
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According to U.S. News & World Report, the top 10 hotels in Massachusetts are:
1. Wequassett Resort and Golf Club, Harwich
2. Boston Harbor Hotel, Boston
3. The Nantucket Hotel and Resort, Nantucket
4. XV Beacon, Boston
5. Four Seasons, Boston
6. Mandarin Oriental, Boston
7. Inn at White Elephant, Nantucket
8. InterContinental Boston
9. The Wauwinet, Nantucket
10. The Ritz-Carlton, Boston

The top 10 hotels in Boston are:
1. Boston Harbor Hotel
2. XV Beacon
3. Four Seasons Hotel
4. Mandarin Oriental, Boston
5. InterContinental Boston
6. The Ritz-Carlton
7. Fairmont Copley Plaza
8. Hotel Commonwealth
9. The Liberty
10. The Colonnade

Christopher Muther can be reached at christopher.muther@globe.com. Follow him @Chris_Muther and Instagram @chris_muther.