5 Best Hotels in Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, Virginia

A stay here seems particularly moving at night, when the town's historic area is quiet and you have Williamsburg pretty much to yourself. Five of the 25 homes and three lodging taverns are 18th-century structures; the others have been rebuilt on their original foundations. Antiques and period reproductions furnish the rooms, and the costumed staff reinforces the historical air. Modern amenities include hair dryers, irons, ironing boards, coffeemakers, and a complimentary fruit basket and bottle of wine. The Colonial Houses share the facilities of the adjacent Williamsburg Inn and the Lodge.

On the second floor of Merchants Square and practically across the street from the historic district stands this family-run B&B (there's no elevator). Each room is stylishly decorated by the owner in a motif that spotlights an aspect of Williamsburg town history. Modern amenities include a hair dryer, cable TV, and in-room phones with voice mail. Rooms have either a shower or a combination tub-shower. Included in the rates are homemade cookies, nonalcoholic beverages, and a full hot breakfast.

As a working farm, this spot stands out from similar B&Bs in the area; inside, antebellum-era antiques original to the house, as well as Civil War maps and artifacts, decorate every room. The 1819 Greek Revival home was built for Sarah Harrison, sister of President William Henry Harrison, by her husband John Minge. Rooms are generously sized, particularly for a home of this era. There's a nice pool on peaceful grounds, which will appeal to families. The Southern breakfast here might include buttermilk biscuits, Smithfield ham, apple butter, bacon and sausage, and strong coffee, served on antique china. Reviewers rave about hospitality of the hosts.

This inn was designed by a Colonial Williamsburg architect to resemble a period structure: the two-story redbrick building at the center has a wood-frame wing. Appropriate antiques and reproductions decorate the interior. The War Hill is inside a 32-acre operating cattle farm, 4 miles from the Colonial Williamsburg information center. Those in search of privacy may want one of the cottages or the first-floor suite (other rooms open onto a common hallway).

Charming and hospitable, this redbrick inn near the historic district is modeled after a plantation-style house from the 1700s. Rooms have 18th- and 19th-century antiques, pewter pieces, four-poster beds, and pleasant views of the city. The suites are particularly inviting: each has a separate sitting room, French doors, and a porch overlooking gardens. There are no phones in the rooms, but local calls are free from the inn's foyer.