3 Best Hotels in Stillwater, Minnesota

Formerly the home of a lumber baron, this four-story Victorian mansion is a short walk from downtown Stillwater and tucked into a historic neighborhood. Owners Jeremy and Erin Drews are a young couple who are coffee aficionados and brew their own beer, and the full breakfast that they serve daily in the dining room highlights local food producers. In each of the five rooms are a king bed, Italian-made bed linens, L'Occitane en Provence toiletries, a private bath, a fireplace, and a whirlpool tub.

With rooms and suites named after 19th-century literary legends, from Alfred, Lord Tennyson to Agatha Christie, this inn certainly has a storybook setting. The Victorian home, built in 1882, is in a residential neighborhood three blocks from downtown Stillwater. Passionate about antiques and gourmet cuisine, its owners filled the rooms in period style, from hand-painted wallpaper to crystal chandeliers, and a daily complimentary breakfast highlighting organic and artisanal foods is taken in the dining room next to a carved Gothic wall. Each room features a private bath, some with lavish spa-like features. Cooking classes are offered monthly.

With a riverfront patio and an Irish pub, this is a destination inn. Formerly a lumber-exchange building, then a train depot, the Victorian-era building has a rich past. Public spaces reveal extensive renovation to preserve the building's architecture along with new period-style additions such as ceiling murals in the dining areas. Rooms feature queen beds, double-whirlpool baths, and gas fireplaces, and some have balconies. Live music is on offer at Charlie's Irish Pub (known as Charlie Lustig's Saloon during the late 1800s) on Friday and Saturday nights. Don't miss the Sunday brunch, a locals' favorite.