Top B&B Destinations in Northern California for the Holidays

Charming towns steeped in old-fashioned holiday traditions pair perfectly with historic bed and breakfast inns decked in festive holiday finery. To help you find your ideal holiday getaway, the California Association of Boutique and Breakfast Inns has compiled a handful of destinations and inns in the northern part of state that promise nostalgic magic for your holiday.

Victorian Inn and Gingerbread Mansion, Ferndale

Visiting the Victorian village of Ferndale during the holidays is like stepping into an old-fashioned Christmas card. Victorian storefronts lining Main Street glow with twinkling lights and dazzle with festive displays, including a Christmas tree outside each store. At the end of the street, America’s tallest living Christmas tree towers over the scene. At the top of Main Street, the grand Victorian Inn is festooned in lights and holiday finery for the season. Many of its rooms feature cozy fireplaces and large bay windows overlooking town. Just a block off Main Street, you’ll also find the AAA Four Diamond-rated Gingerbread Mansion Inn, a meticulously restored Victorian wrapped in enchanting Victorian-era Christmas decorations.

Benbow Inn, Humboldt County

Steeped in Old World charm and traditions spanning more than 90 years, Benbow Historic Inn in Humboldt County is a nostalgic retreat in any season, but Christmastime at the inn is pure magic. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, the inn’s Christmas elves transform the 1926 English Tudor-style inn into an old fashioned, Toyland-themed wonderland. Families return to the inn year after year to address holiday cards by the glow of the fireplace, piece together holiday puzzles at large tables in the center of the lounge and sing carols around the Christmas tree. The inn hosts multi-course, prix fixe dinners overlooking the Eel River on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Queen Anne Hotel, San Francisco

Queen Anne Hotel and San Francisco are both magical places to be during the holidays, with limitless options for yuletide fun. Visitors can start with a nighttime cable car ride to see the skyscrapers lit up for the holidays. There’s also ice skating, a theatre show, window shopping in Union Square or a trip down to the Cow Palace for the annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair. The festivities continue with multiple tree-lighting ceremonies, a holiday boat parade, musicals, The Nutcracker Ballet and a dazzling fireworks show that rings in the New Year. In the midst of it all, the Queen Anne Hotel will be decked out for the holidays and offering some of the year’s best prices on accommodations.

Cornell Hotel de France, San Francisco’s Nob Hill

The Cornell Hotel de France on Nob Hill will be lavishly draped in garland, bright lights and festive ornaments. With its Christmas tree framed in the living room window and an elaborately festooned façade, the hotel is a recognizable staple of Nob Hill (and a popular backdrop for social media). The hotel offers special lodging and dinner packages perfect for guests visiting the city during the holidays; and the hotel’s Restaurant Jeanne d’Arc, which will also be decked to the nines, is perfect for family gatherings, hosting prix fixe Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners accompanied by live music.

Old Monterey Inn, Monterey

Start a new holiday tradition at the Old Monterey Inn with fireside wine and hors d’oeuvres, a relaxing couple’s massage and a two-course gourmet breakfast. But for those longing for more nostalgic holiday trappings, Monterey’s local holiday events deliver. Christmas in the Adobes is a stroll through the streets of downtown Monterey that showcases 23 historic sites. Ice Skating by the Bay invites skaters to bundle up in their most festive attire, grab that special someone, and hit the ice with a view of Monterey Bay. Christmas on the Wharf combines the festive cheer of holiday entertainment, sweet treats and Santa meet-and-greets with the quaint seaside setting of Old Fisherman’s Wharf.

Green Gables Inn and Gosby House, Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove’s Green Gables Inn and Gosby House Inn go all out in decorating for the holidays, making them both worthy stops on the town’s Christmas at the Inns event (December 3-4, 2019). From the enormous Christmas tree standing in the parlor of the Gosby House to the whimsical antique carousel horse and Victorian charm of the Green Gables, each inn offers a distinctive take on holiday cheer. The event ($20, good for both nights) features live music at each inn, costumed Christmas carolers, instrumentalists and other entertainers. Each inn also offers its own spread of home-baked cookies, hot cider, coffee and tea, along with the chance to tour multiple inns in one night.

Seven Gables Inn, Pacific Grove

The oceanfront Seven Gables Inn in Pacific Grove will also open its doors for the town’s Christmas at the Inns tour. With its crystal chandeliers, ornate columns, gilded artwork and Persian rugs, the inn easily dazzles without decorations. But for the holiday season, the inn pulls out all the stops, trimming the inn in Victorian-era Christmas splendor. Designated by American Historic Inns as “One of the 10 Most Romantic Inns in America,” and voted #2 in USA Today’s voter poll of the Most Romantic Inns in the U.S., Seven Gables is ideal for couples longing for an intimate holiday in a picturesque setting.