The New Era of B&Bs: Zebra Prints, Cannabis Gardens, and Maximalist Mansions

“We wanted to turn the perception of staying in grandma’s attic on its head.”

A room in Harry's Guest House, with a beige couch facing a wooden armoire

Harry’s Guest House

Photo by Likeness Studio

Once draped in doilies and dusty stereotypes, bed-and-breakfasts are in a new era. Creative entrepreneurs have transformed a once-sleepy hotel into a neon-lit maximalist mansion, a refurbished brothel into a saloon strung with chile ristras, and cabins into an inn with adult sleepover camp vibes. Breakfast might mean pimento cheese biscuits, late-morning beer, or even house-grown cannabis.

“We wanted to turn the perception of staying in grandma’s attic on its head,” says Suzanne Szostak, who opened Mine + Farm in the redwoods town of Guerneville, California, in 2021, complete with vegetable and cannabis gardens. “Today’s travelers are looking to stay in places that tell a story and give them a connection to local surroundings. Because B&Bs are independently owned, there’s more room to bring in unique elements.”

From a zebra-print manor in Newport to a “bed & brew” in Albuquerque, these U.S. properties—part of our Hotels We Love series—show why B&Bs have never been cooler.

Urban Cowboy

Two beds with red, tan, and black patterned coverings and modern evergreen pattern wallpaper behind them

A double room at Urban Cowboy

Photo by Ben Fitchett

Location: Denver, Colorado

Why we love it: Maximalist decor and furnishings feel like a lavish ode to the West

Loyalty program: Urban Cowboy offers a “Repeat Offender” discount for returning guests to have 10 percent off all future stays at all properties

Rates: From $209

In a Gilded Age Denver mansion, Urban Cowboy’s latest property marries tradition and maximalism, with vintage fur-lined couches, a hand-carved saloon bar, and copper soaking tubs. The 16 guest rooms feature custom wallpaper and beds draped in Pendleton blankets. The Honeymoon Suite has twin soaking tubs, while the Roses room is wrapped in floral wallpaper and gold trim. Common spaces include a parlor bar stocked with wine and Public House restaurant in the carriage house, serving wood-fired pizza and cognac-spiked Old Fashioneds.

The Truitt

Dimly lit seating area with modern furniture

The library at the Truitt

Courtesy of the Truitt

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

Why we love it: It’s got the motif of a classic colonial inn, filled with surprising pops of colors and textures

Rates: From $184

A brick colonial mansion dating to 1916, the Truitt sits near the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City’s tree-lined Country Club District. The gay-owned property originally served as a B&B in the ‘90s; today it’s an eight-room abode with two rooms in the adjoining carriage house. The Truitt expresses its motto of “fun, curated, and playful” through pink neon signage in the plant-filled entryway and suites with patterned rugs, Matouk linens, and funky gallery-worthy lighting. A library lined with sports memorabilia and leather couches anchors the common space. Instead of a full breakfast, guests find complimentary madeleines, locally made chocolates, espresso, and fruit. Plus, there’s wine on the house each evening (usually around 5 p.m.).

Top of the Ridge Farm

Location: New Durham, New Hampshire

Why we love it: From the food to the tranquil acreage, it’s like the Italian countryside in New England

Rates: From $149

Time stands still at Top of the Ridge Farm, an 18th-century farmhouse on six acres of land in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. The four-room inn blends New England charm with the Italian heritage of owners Gino and Tatiana Michelizza, who serve heirloom tomato tarts and poached eggs with crispy prosciutto in the morning and Venetian-style cicchetti in the evening. Common areas have wood-burning fireplaces and firepits, and an on-site gift shop is stocked with ceramics, jams, soaps, and dog toys. Rooms include the Sergeant Libbey, with an electric fireplace, balcony, and exposed brick and wood beams.

Painted Lady Bed & Brew

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Why we love it: With so much history on the walls, the hotel practically doubles as a Wild West museum

Rates: From $199

In Albuquerque’s Historic Wells Park neighborhood, surrounded by adobe-style homes and food truck plazas, Painted Lady Bed & Brew swaps breakfast for beer. Set in an 1881 brothel turned saloon, the (allegedly haunted) four-room inn embraces its haunted lore with chile ristras, vintage photographs, and what owner Jesse Herron describes as “ghostly flair” (e.g., painted animal skulls). The Ghost Light Saloon, an on-site trolley-car taproom, brews scary movie–inspired beers like “Danny’s Not Here, Mrs. Torrance” watermelon wheat, in homage to The Shining.

Ms. Elsie’s Caribbean B&B

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Why we love it: A three-room retreat with an intimate “tropical hideaway” design

Rates: From $209

A three-room “tropical hideaway” in Charlotte’s cottage-filled Cotswold neighborhood, Ms. Elsie’s Caribbean B&B honors owner Cheryl Watkins’s Caribbean heritage. The tree-shaded retreat feels like an intimate island bungalow. The Bamboo King Suite comes with a plant-filled living room, four-poster bed, and Jacuzzi. Common areas include a game room, firepit, garden swings, and mini golf. Breakfasts are three-course Caribbean feasts with fruit plates, fresh juices, shrimp and grits, sweet plantains, and tropical desserts.

Mine + Farm

White guest room, with tray of snacks on small table at foot of bed

Guests at Mine + Farm can enjoy its walking trails

Courtesy of Mine + Farm

Location: Guerneville, California

Why we love it: Adult summer camp in the redwoods

Rates: From $315

Set on 2.5 redwood-ringed acres in Sonoma County, Mine + Farm has nine rooms, including the oak-paneled Forestville room in the main house and the fireplace-equipped Cazadero room in the carriage house. With a communal firepit, board games, telescope, and hot tub, the inn feels like an adult summer camp. Breakfast includes sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, and fresh juices. Cannabis is grown on site, with complimentary pre-rolls offered in the outdoor lounge. Eighty percent of the inn’s energy comes from on-site solar panels.

Harry’s Guest House

Location: Seattle, Washington

Why we love it: Apartment-style suites with amenities like kitchenettes

Rates: $325

In Seattle’s Capitol Hill, Harry’s Guest House sits beside sister restaurant, Harry’s Fine Foods. The two-suite property, owned by chef Julian Hagood and husband Jake Santelli, creates the feeling of staying in a friend’s Dutch colonial home, where antiques and hand-carved television cabinets share space with contemporary art. Guests can choose between the Lucy Suite, an artsy apartment with mushroom sculptures and a retro green-yellow tiled bathroom, or the upstairs Winnie Suite, a spacious attic-style space with nooks and an in-room tub. Full buyouts are available. Upgrade to a “full-service stay” for laundry service, housekeeping, and breakfast trays of lox bagels, yogurt parfaits, and croissants. Seasonal dishes from Harry’s Fine Foods can also be delivered in-room (think Thai peach salad and tagliarini pasta with corn alfredo).

The Cliffside Inn

Location: Newport, Rhode Island

Why we love it: Individually designed rooms in a Victorian mansion

Loyalty program: On a Lark Club

Rates: From $236

The Cliffside Inn channels coastal New England elegance in Newport’s Historic District. Renovated in 2019, the Victorian mansion is a few blocks from the historic Cliff Walk trail, which winds between ornate manors and the Atlantic Ocean. The 16 guest rooms are all individually designed: There’s the Swann Room, with zebra-print wallpaper and a spa shower, and the Atlantic Suite, with a fireplace in its sea-toned living room. Guests gather in the library, parlor (where afternoon wine is poured), or on the wraparound porch. Breakfast includes French-press coffee, housemade granola, and souffléd eggs.

Blue Ridge Inn B&B

Four-poster bed with ceiling fan above and curtained window behind headboard

A room at Blue Ridge Inn B&B

Courtesy of Blue Ridge Inn

Location: Blue Ridge, Georgia

Why we love it: A Victorian home turned B&B with Southern and Appalachian comfort food made from scratch

Loyalty program: Stash Hotel Rewards

Rates: From $100

The Appalachian Mountains provide the backdrop for the nine-room Blue Ridge Inn B&B in the heart of downtown Blue Ridge. The three-story, 19th-century Victorian home has a parlor that doubles as an antiques shop, a rocking-chair porch, a dining room with a fireplace, and a garden illuminated with lights and chandeliers that often hosts weddings and winetastings. Accommodations range from the Appalachian, with 15-foot ceilings, a four-poster bed, and landscape paintings, to the Larkspur Suite, with a chesterfield sofa and fireplace. Each morning, guests awake to comfort food like pimento cheese biscuits and hash brown sausage casserole.

A transplant to Oklahoma City after two and a half years of RV living, Matt Kirouac is a travel writer with bylines in Travel + Leisure, Thrillist, InsideHook, Condé Nast Traveler, and others.
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