Archbishop’s Mansion
1000 Fulton St., San Francisco | (415) 563-7872; (800) 543-5820 | www.thearchbishopsmansion.com
Romantics should enjoy the Archbishop’s Mansion, right on Alamo Square Park. Every room has a partially or fully canopied bed, many have stone fireplaces and whirlpool tubs, and all are named after different operas.

Babbling Brook Inn
1025 Laurel St., Santa Cruz | (831) 427-2437; (800) 866-1131 | www.babblingbrookinn.com
With its acre of gardens, pines and redwoods, rustic walkways and a sinewy brook that powers an antique grist mill, you’d never guess that the Babbling Brook Inn is only about a mile from downtown Santa Cruz and the Boardwalk.

Blue Violet Mansion
433 Brown St., Napa | (707) 253-2583; (800) 959-2583 | www.bluevioletmansion.com
The owners of the Blue Violet Mansion have done everything in their power to trick you into thinking you’ve been transported to 1886 the moment you step into their beautifully restored Queen Anne Victorian. The rooms contain old fireplaces, clawfoot bathtubs, soaring ceilings and even period-appropriate books. The Victorian look is completed with a gazebo, manicured rose gardens and a sweeping grand staircase.

The Chateau Tivoli
1057 Steiner St., San Francisco | (800) 228-1647 | www.chateautivoli.com
Looking for a kinky night in a classy B&B;? Try the Mark Twain suite at the Chateau Tivoli. In addition to a private parlor and a tower sitting area, the third floor suite has a king-size, mirrored, canopy bed. And when we say mirrored, we mean mirrored, both on the headboard and above on the wooden canopy itself. Mark Twain? Who knew?

Churchill Manor
485 Brown St., Napa | (707) 253-7733 | www.churchillmanor.com
The rooms in this 1889 mansion are lovely, but the real treat is leaving the room to walk around the veranda that nearly surrounds the house, sit in the four grand parlors and take breakfast in the sunroom overlooking the gardens and fountain.

Compassion Flower Inn
216 Laurel St., Santa Cruz | (831) 466-0420 | www.compassionflowerinn.com
Ever wanted to visit a B&B;, but didn’t want to leave your “medical” marijuana at home? Try the Compassion Flower Inn, where not only will they welcome you with open arms (assuming you have a doctor’s note) but you can even stay in the Hemp Room, which is decorated with handmade prints of everyone’s favorite medicinal herb.

Dockside Boat and Bed
Gate C, Pier 39, San Francisco | (415) 392-5526
57 Clay St., Oakland | (510) 444-5858 | www.boatandbed.com
Pretend you’re Gilligan (and the Skipper, too!) with a stay at either Bay Area Boat and Bed. You can be the temporary-owner of variety of boats for a night or two, from a 36-foot Hunter Sailboat to a 52-foot motor yacht. You can’t actually take the boats out on the Bay yourself, but private charters are available.

East Brother Light Station
117 Park Place, Point Richmond | (510) 233-2385 | www.ebls.org
Accessible only by boat (they’ll pick you up at Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor), this lighthouse-turned-inn has four bedrooms, each with a great view of the bay. Since you are basically stuck on the island until you leave, your reservation includes a full breakfast and a multi-course dinner.

Gingerbread Mansion Inn
400 Berding St., Ferndale | (707) 786-4000; (800) 952-4136 | www.gingerbread-mansion.com
For a truly luxurious B&B; experience, the Gingerbread Mansion Inn is hard to beat. It has large, painstakingly decorated rooms, enormous bathrooms, well-manicured English gardens and an executive chef and sous chef on staff to whip up exquisite breakfast options.

Inn of Imagination
470 Randolph St., Napa | (707) 224-7772 | www.innofimagination.com
Explore all that is whimsical in this Spanish Revival style inn, where each of the three rooms is named and decorated after classic creative-types: Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll and, uh, Jimmy Buffet. Seriously. Make sure to check out the floor to ceiling mural in the dining room that imagines what would happen if these three luminaries could hang out.

Jabberwock
598 Laine St., Monterey | (831) 372-4777; (888) 428-7253 | www.jabberwockinn.com
Every day is an un-birthday at Jabberwock, an Alice in Wonderland-themed B&B; near Cannery Row and the Monterey Aquarium. All the rooms are named after places in Lewis Carroll stories and breakfast treats include “Nuddy Nubble Abblestuffel.”

Landis Shores
211 Miranda Rd., Half Moon Bay | (650) 726-6642 | www.landisshores.com
Sure, many of the rooms at Landis Shores on Miramar Beach feature whirlpool tubs, fireplaces and cute rocking chairs. But you probably won’t notice, seeing as you’ll be out on your private deck, stunned by the incredible right-on-the-ocean views.

MacCallum House Inn
45020 Albion St., Mendocino | (707) 937-0289; (800) 609-0492 | www.maccallumhouse.com
In addition to more traditional rooms, the MacCallum House Inn also has several private cottages, so you don’t have to see another soul after you check in. You can even get in-room massage and spa services. But you may want to leave your private heaven to fill up on the complementary breakfast of prepared-to-order organic entrees at the inn’s acclaimed restaurant.

Madison St. Inn
1390 Madison St., Santa Clara | (408) 249-5541
The Madison St. Inn takes its proximity to the Winchester Mystery House to heart by offering murder mystery weekends for groups of eight to 12. Everyone gets involved in the case, be it as a suspect, detective or even the murderer. Bwah ha ha ha ha!

Martine Inn
255 Oceanview Blvd., Pacific Grove | (831) 373-3388; (800) 93950 | www.martineinn.com
Have fun the old-timey way at the Martine Inn. The game room has a 1917 nickelodeon, 1890 pool table and a 1930s dime slot machine. The inn also boasts a library stocked with over 1,000 books, a significant collection of antique silver flatware and a 1932 baby grand player piano.

Old Thyme Inn
779 Main St., Half Moon Bay | (650) 726-1616; (800) 720-4277 | www.oldthymeinn.com
Herbs are all the rage at this seven-room Victorian home. Eighty varieties of herbs and flowers grow in the garden, each of the rooms is named and decorated after a different spice and herbal aromatherapy spa amenities are also available. But perhaps the most delicious use of the homegrown wares is in the full breakfast with treats like lemon-rosemary coffee cake and basil featherbed eggs.

The Red Victorian
1665 Haight St., San Francisco | (415) 864-1978
Some people need a B&B; with an ethos. And for those people we present The Red Victorian, suitably located in the Upper Haight. With names like The Flower Child Room, The Butterfly Room and The Peace Room (not to mention The Love Bathroom), it’s clear this “traveler’s hotel” is milking all it can from it’s history as a hippie crash pad during the Summer of Love.

Redwood Rose
1309 Spruce St., Berkeley | (510) 559-3621 | www.bbonline.com/ca/redwoodrose
Ever wonder what it would be like to sleep inside a giant redwood? Well, you won’t get much closer than this 1902 Craftsman style home, where almost everything, from the floors and walls to the intricate moldings (and even an ironing board) feature the hearty dark wood.

Rose Garden Inn
2740 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley | (510) 549-2145; (800) 922-9005 | www.rosegardeninn.com
Fans of pink rejoice! The Rose Garden Inn not only manages to somehow include the color in almost every room of its two adjoining mansions, but its beautifully maintained gardens also feature pink roses and other flamingo-colored flora.

Victorian Garden Inn
316 E. Napa St., Sonoma | (707) 996-1689 | www.victoriangardeninn.com
There are rooms of all shapes and sizes at this Greek Revival farmhouse, from the gigantic Woodcutter’s Cottage (with fireplace, sitting area, and extra-large clawfoot tub) to the smaller, more aromatic, Garden Room, located right beside the Victorian garden and babbling brook. But for something high above the usual, try the Top O’ the Tower room, which is perched atop an old water tower.

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