11 Best Hotels in Sacramento and the Gold Country, California

Far enough from downtown's bustle yet convenient to shops, restaurants, and performing-arts venues, this serene inn occupying a Victorian-era home is run by a couple whose sense of style informs everything from the spotless, individually decorated guest rooms to the landscaped outdoor spaces. The main house contains six rooms, all with TVs and tub showers, and all but one on the second floor. There's also a one-bedroom apartment in the carriage house behind the inn. All guests can access the Victorian's chipper communal sunroom, which has a toaster, a refrigerator, and a microwave. Brewed coffee is laid out here, as are teas.

The oversize rooms in this elaborate Italianate-style home have brass beds, down comforters, gas-burning stoves, and claw-foot tubs. Broad wraparound verandas encourage lounging, as do the colorful gardens and large elm trees. A delectable breakfast is served each morning; fresh cookies are available all day.

This lavish but rustic B&B occupies a converted turn-of-the-20th-century hay barn, the centerpiece of which is a 27-foot slate fireplace that rises to a sloping ceiling of timber beams. Every room was designed with romance and pampering in mind, with meticulous bedding, gas fireplaces, and private entrances to sleek, deep outdoor tubs secluded by lattice sliding doors. Lush gardens and hammocks overlook a pond and wooded nooks. Guests enjoy breakfasts of homemade breads and dishes cooked with herbs and vegetables grown on-site or nearby.

Guests typically leave this B&B gushing over just about everything—the Tuscan-villa atmosphere, the expansive vineyard vistas, the sublime hospitality, the elaborate breakfasts, the luxurious accommodations, the ultrasoft sheets. Each of the five spacious suites (500–700 square feet) is designed for comfort and relaxation, with plush furniture and bedding; fireplace sitting areas; private patios; and well-lit marble bathrooms with double vanities, rain showers, and deep soaking tubs. The women who own the inn also operate the adjacent Teneral Cellars winery (tastings daily), which donates 10% of sales profits "to organizations that empower women and fight for gender and racial justice." 

A judicious 2023 makeover broadened the appeal of one-block Amador City's 1879 redbrick hotel without sacrificing the throwback feel of the guest rooms, two with balconies overlooking town. A wooden staircase leads directly from the lobby bar to three second-floor rooms with king beds, three with queens, and all with exposed brick walls and painstakingly sanded original floors. The bathrooms, equipped with period-sensitive fixtures, are stocked with high-quality products. As with the hotel, renovations to the restaurant preserved a sense of the past, with the updated farm-to-fork cuisine providing contemporary travelers additional incentive to book here. A nearby hilltop cottage contains three larger suites. Rates are higher for these, but good views and a quieter setting compensate.

Effusive but not intrusive hospitality is the trademark of this contemporary inn between Placerville and Plymouth whose spacious light-filled suites and a cottage have views of the oaks, firs, and other trees surrounding the property. Furnished with king-size beds with pillow-top mattresses, all the accommodations have private decks and sitting areas with fireplaces. Microwaves, coffeemakers, flat-screen TVs with satellite connection, and refrigerators stocked with complimentary sodas and waters are among the other amenities.

The team behind Plymouth's Taste restaurant converted two adjacent run-down buildings into this boutique hotel whose individually decorated rooms rank among the area's finest. Done in soft beige and brown tones, the rooms neatly split the difference between fancy and functional, affording you a dash of style along with good value. Amenities include flat-screen smart TVs, free Wi-Fi, and coffeemakers.

What began in the 1880s as a saloon and boardinghouse for miners and other long-term guests now contains four second-floor guest rooms done in pastels and furnished with high-quality linens, free Wi-Fi, and flat-screen TVs with cable. Two rooms have direct access to a balcony that overlooks Volcano's small business district. The breakfast here is substantial and well made.   

The updated country decor of this historic district inn suggests a boutique hotel, but touches like the warm scones delivered to guest rooms each morning recall a traditional bed-and-breakfast. The crisp white walls in the main redbrick lodge's lobby give way on the second floor to the softer olive greens and grays predominating in the accommodations. A few are furnished with queen beds, but most have kings. Some rooms have fireplaces, private balconies, small refrigerators, and heated bathroom floors—or, in the case of the penthouse, all of these plus a microwave. Four nearby spacious cottages, all decorated in a similar style and all with decks, seem built for romance.

For many years known as the Grey Gables Inn, this property at the northern end of Sutter Creek's historic downtown received a boutique-style makeover following a 2021 change of ownership. All rooms have gas-log fireplaces, Keurig coffeemakers, upscale bath products, and TVs; some accommodations have a soaking or Jacuzzi tub, and the suites have a private patio. Afternoon tea and evening refreshments are served in the parlor (or you can enjoy them in your room); birds flit about the wisteria in the terraced garden.

Decorated with contemporary furnishings that have 19th-century accents, this inn, whose owners also manage several area vacation rentals, benefits from a prime Main Street location within walking distance of restaurants, shops, and wine-tasting rooms. The innkeepers aim to please, so much so that many guests return year after year. Many rooms have balconies, a bonus in good weather.