3 Best Hotels in Nevada City, Sacramento and the Gold Country

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.

Once more proudly anchoring the southern portion of Nevada City's historic district, this three-story boutique property, whose structure dates from 1856, underwent a multiyear makeover, and the attention to Victorian-era detail impresses throughout. It starts with the wrought-iron balconies out front and continues in the lobby with its dark trim, porcelain-hex-tile floor, and floral wallpaper. Accommodations—which range in size from smallish rooms with full or queen beds to suites and studios with kings—all have furniture, photographs and prints, and accents like ornate retro phones that recall the hotel's early decades, as does the decor of the restaurant, Lola, named for the 19th-century entertainer Lola Montez. As in the 1800s, the bar is a swank place for a drink.

It looks like a typical one-story motel, but the Outside Inn offers a variety of accommodations inspired by nature or activities in nature. Each room is unique; ask about kitchenettes, full kitchens, suites, patios, or the stand-alone cabin off-property. One room honors the town's Nevada Classic, the nation's second-oldest bike race, once won by Greg Lemond. Others pay tribute to wildflowers, river rafting, and fishing. There's a climbing wall in the rock-climbing suite. Enjoy homespun hospitality with plenty of inspiration to get you out of the room and into nature.