Fodor's Expert Review Francis House

Built in 1886 of locally quarried tufa, abandoned for half a century but gloriously restored, the Second Empire–style Francis House is now a five-room luxury inn. Owners Dina and Richard Dwyer (she's an interior designer and he's a general contractor) opted for ultrachic sophistication that evokes the past but feels utterly contemporary. Second-floor rooms have higher ceilings than the third-floor ones, though at 9 feet the latter hardly feel claustrophobic. In one of many clever touches throughout the inn, Richard instructed the architect to angle third-floor interior walls to mimic the mansard style outside, lending the rooms the feel of a Parisian atelier. Although their marble bathrooms are similar, Dina decorated each guest room individually with elegant simplicity.