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If the view means everything when you select a place to stay, this charming B&B in Rockport just might be calling your name. Every room has the ocean at its window and the rolling waves can lull you to sleep at night. Situated on a quiet street, you’ll find a good spot for a morning walk or run and the wonderful porch is a great spot to read or start out your evening cocktail hour.

The Iris Inn, a luxury Shenandoah bed and breakfast, is the perfect base to explore Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains. Located 30 minutes from Charlottesville, the Inn is close to nearly 30 wineries and is within a few minutes drive to the southern entrance of Shenandoah National Park. Owners Dave and Heidi Lanford warmly welcome visitors to their cozy mountainside inn with gourmet breakfasts and a complimentary nightly happy hour. The eco-friendly B&B also offers an electric vehicle charging station.

The Lake House at Ferry Point on Lake Winnisquam is in Sanbornton, New Hampshire. We were staying at this B&B for a couple of days as we explored the Lakes Region. The house is over 200 years old and has been lovingly restored to its former glory. It used to be the summer home of the Pillsbury family. It is the only lake front B&B in the region and is across the road from Lake Winnisquam. The view is one of quiet beauty..the house on a rise, the point across the road with its gazebo, dock, the little sandy beach, the hills and mountains in the distance. No detail has been overlooked by John and Cindy Becker, the innkeepers. As we walked into the welcoming foyer, we were met by John who showed us around the breakfast room, and living room with its bookcases and large hidden TV. The front porch has comfortable wicker furniture in which to relax and enjoy yourself. John took us up to our room. Each room is named after an area lake. There are 9 rooms. Our room had a huge four-poster bed with a sitting area. John showed us the “Welcome Basket” of goodies...razor, tooth paste, tooth brushes, maple popcorn, buffalo sticks, candy rocks, and bottles of water. The bathroom had fluffy white towels, a blow dryer, orange scented Tarocco shampoo, condition, and moisturizer. Breakfasts are created by John and are yummy. He also has cookies available all the time. You can tell that John, Cindy, and their children love this house and enjoy their guests.

Le Rêve rises up like a dollhouse from a street lined with bars and restaurants in the leafy neighborhood of Providencia. Completely renovated in 2011, this pretty boutique hotel works on a B&B basis, the idea being that guests make the most of the surrounding eateries. However, tea, coffee, and snacks are always available, and there is an open kitchen so guests can poke their head in the fridge when peckish. This gives the hotel a unique, homey feel.

Behind the white shuttered windows, communal areas include a lounge area with an honesty bar and a library stocked with international books. The dollhouse feel continues inside with details such as an elegant green velvet sofa, blue and white ceramics, and waitresses dressed in French maid outfits. Rooms are equipped with wireless Internet access.

Want to stay conveniently close to downtown Seattle‘s attractions without paying downtown-Seattle hotel prices? Or would you rather be a short walk away from Capitol Hill’s vibrant shopping, eating, and bar scene? Either way, the Gaslight Inn B&B is an affordable option. Located in Capitol Hill (it’s right on the #10 bus line that goes through the Hill and downtown in about 10 min.), the Gaslight has eight rooms, including two that are for single guests. Amenities include a heated pool, free wifi, the owners’ art collection, a library, and free continental breakfast. From the Gaslight, you’re just a block away from French patisserie Bakery Nouveau and the dining and shopping options on 15th Street, and it’s a short walk to the Pike/Pine area that’s the heart of Capitol Hill. Also walkable are Cal Anderson Park and Volunteer Park, where the Seattle Asian Art Museum is located. You can’t beat the Gaslight’s central location as a home base for your Seattle exploration.

Want to lounge around the pool that Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Diana Rigg once swam in? Then this is the place. Can Talaias, a large finca-turned-B&B, pushes its ‘agrotourism’ credentials and certainly the home cooking, with eggs and veg straight from the garden, is a powerful attraction. But it has a rather more glamorous draw too. The beautiful interiors of this 1960s villa suggest that someone with both money and taste had a hand in its making; and the photos on the wall reveal who. Comic actor Terry Thomas fell in love with Ibiza after his Hollywood pal Denholm Elliott introduced him to the island; this bohemian pad was his escape from an actor’s life. And his friends came to visit in their droves - Terry Thomas’s parties were legendary, and his swimming pool was one of the first to be built on the island. Somehow, that slice of history makes hanging out at this luxury rural retreat even more enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a chic lodging with personality to spare, Park Hotel is it. Designed under the concept of ART—atrium, restaurant, travel—it occupies 10 levels of the triangular Shiodome Media Tower and pays homage to Japan’s natural beauty with a glass-enclosed courtyard (purported to be the largest hotel atrium in Tokyo) and trees and greenery dotting the spaces between the building’s 25th and 34th floors. An artist-in-residence program ensures that every room on the 31^st floor features unique murals and paintings by local creatives, while more conventional rooms come in light, neutral tones, but all are furnished with stylish pieces by B&B Italia. The hotel also houses a wood-paneled spa, an art gallery, and a kaiseki-style Japanese restaurant and casual French bistro where the dishes are pieces of art in and of themselves.

This property is currently closed for renovation and expects to reopen in early 2020.

An intimate boutique hotel with a B&B feel, La Colombe D’Or (meaning “golden dove” in French) is a Texas landmark built in 1923 as a private residence, for the founder of Humble Oil. Acquired by Steven Zimmerman in 1979, the “Fondren Mansion” became one of the smallest luxury hotels in the world. The unique property also has its own art gallery and Le Grand Salon event space, which has carved wood panel walls that originally hung in a French chateau. The third-floor gallery displays sculpture and oil paintings by local and international artists as well as works on paper by Picasso, Dali, and Man Ray, and there are many more pieces sprinkled throughout the property.

With only five suites (all named after French artists such as Monet and Degas) and nine villas (across the street from the ballroom), all flush with original art and 19th-century French antiques, the hotel feels personal yet posh. Bonus: 24-hour concierge service and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Across the Cumberland River from downtown, residential East Nashville got its first taste of hipster cool in 2016 when this Instagram-friendly bed-and-breakfast opened in a renovated Queen Anne mansion. Like its sister property in Brooklyn, Urban Cowboy’s eight suites and freestanding cabin are each uniquely named—Midnight Rider, the Lion’s Den—and decorated with geometric inlaid woodwork, Southwestern-inspired designs, and handcrafted furniture, plus custom wallpaper and copper and claw-foot tubs. The communal music parlor encourages interaction among guests with a collection of gently worn instruments, as does the all-weather fire pit, where blankets and good cheer are plentiful, especially after enjoying craft cocktails and wood-fired meals at Public House, the property’s on-site restaurant and bar.

Everyone seems to be traveling to the Jersey Shore to help it get back on its feet. I have a suggestion that you will enjoy and savor - Day’s Ice Cream in Ocean Grove, Ocean Grove is a unique Victorian jewel of a town located just south of Asbury Park in Monmouth County. There is the huge wooden Auditorium surrounded by the tiny tents. Many programs and events are offered for your entertainment. There are beautiful beaches. Ocean Grove offers a large choice of hotels and B&B’s. The serene Main Street has its little boutiques making it fun to shop there. There are a great many cafes and eateries. One of my favorite eateries is Day’s Ice Cream - an old fashioned Victorian ice cream parlor that has been in business since 1876. Day’s is open from May until October and I love to sit on the big, old fashioned porch and enjoy a dish of their ice cream. I’m not alone in finding this famous ice cream parlor to be #1. The ice cream is delicious and the atmosphere is wonderful. Day’s has just opened at a second location. They are now on the boardwalk in near-by Asbury Park. Want excellent ice cream? Don’t mind the long lines on summer nights. The line moves fairly quickly and the short wait IS worth it. Get to Day’s Ice Cream. Day’s : 732-988-1007

To get from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, don’t take I-25 North--it’s busy and sterile. Drive east on I-40 to the backside of the Sandía Mountains, get off on exit 175, and head north on Highway 14, also known as “The Turquoise Trail.” You’ll wind through forest to plateau, through mining towns and old Spanish land grants. Halfway to Santa Fe you’ll come to Madrid. (Note--do NOT pronounce it the way you would the capital of Spain; here it’s “MAD-rid.”) In the early 20th-c., some four thousand people lived here; by WWII it had become a ghost town when the local coal demand dropped. By the 1970’s the town began to be reoccupied--artists moved in, galleries set up...it claims to have more artists per capita than any other town in the country. (The population is around 400.) And in 2006, the town served as the set for the John Travolta film “Wild Hogs.” Driving in from the south, you’ll note the brightly painted houses; just after the highway curves, find a place to park among the motorcycles and grab a coffee at Java Junction (they have a B&B upstairs)--their motto: “Bad Coffee sucks.” The morning I stopped here, the café had a welcome sign in German; some Mercedes businessmen were having a road-trip meeting...Madrid is alive and well.

Seeing wild wolves in Yellowstone National Park is nearly impossible without a guide; amateur wolf watchers in any case need high-powered binoculars and tolerance for cold, as the best observation season is winter, when wolf fur stands out against the snow. But at Howlers Inn Bed & Breakfast & Wolf Sanctuary, just outside Bozeman, guests year-round can observe a captive-bred pack from their bedroom window, and even pet a wolf through the chain-link fence of the inn’s four-acre sanctuary. Owners Chris and Mary Martha Bahn originally opened the federally licensed shelter in 1993 for a single rescued wolf that was unable to return to the wild. Built to fund the shelter as it accommodated more animals to live as a pack, the cozy log B&B sits on 42 acres in Bridger Canyon amid boulder-strewn meadows backed by pine-covered hills. Two wolf enclosures, with a seasonal pond and creek, are currently home to five spayed or neutered timber and Alaskan tundra wolves, born in captivity, whose owners could no longer keep them. The Bahns do not breed or exhibit the animals for profit, but they’re happy to discuss wolf conservation as well as the controversial issues of game farm breeding and hunting. Guests are welcome to photograph the human-habituated animals during their stay.

Once the vacation home of the Italian Duchess Rosa de Ferrari, this exceptional estate was converted into a hotel in 2005. 2014 marked the arrival of a new owner and a new era for the property. Today, Hotel Esencia is an elegant small resort on one of the prettiest beaches on the Mayan Riviera. Surrounded by 50 acres of lush jungle and manicured, palm-fringed grounds, Esencia pairs the amenties and comforts of a larger hotel with the attentive care typical of a boutique property or B&B. Amenities include two swimming pools, a spa, and two restaurants. In the spacious rooms, lots of details stand out: iPod surround systems, well-stocked minifridges, 600-thread-count sheets, and walk-in closets.

I don’t know whether it was the early morning fog, the rolling hills surrounding the vineyard, or the grapes themselves that made me do a double-take: Was I really in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, or was I back in California’s Sonoma Valley? With its intoxicating location and old world charm, Casa Silva (the colonial-style inn that sits in the midst of the family vineyard) has the best of both. It’s a place to relax, tour the surrounding vineyards, and – naturally -- drink their own varietals (especially the Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and Petit Verdot). With only seven rooms, Casa Silva sits somewhere between a B&B and a guest house, with shabby chic rooms that are a throwback to Chile’s colonial era. We snagged room no. 4, with high ceilings and a comfy four-poster bed as well as an oversized bathroom. While the inn itself is special, the restaurant is worth a visit on its own. It has a clubhouse feel, overlooking the family polo field, but with unique and breathtaking views of the Andes. Hotel guests can take a leisurely 20-minute walk through the vineyard to the restaurant, which features Chilean specialties like conger eel, queso fresco, and tuna ceviche in one of the most dramatic settings I’ve ever enjoyed. (And don’t pass up the mote con huesillos, aka “wheat berry peach dessert.”) Finally, not to be missed: the tour of Vina Casa Silva, which houses one of Chile’s most up-to-date wine facilities and the family’s collection of perfectly restored antique cars.

In the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains north of Santa Fe, the village of Chimayó has become famous for its adobe church, “El Santuario,” whose side chapel’s dirt floor is reputed to have healing powers. Every Good Friday, tens of thousands of pilgrims make their way to this “Lourdes of the Southwest.” Others descend upon this valley for more temporal reasons. Just down the road from the Santuario is the century-old adobe home that houses the “Rancho de Chimayó,” a New Mexico institution. Owned by the Jaramillo family, this restaurant is known for its carne adovada--pork that has been stewed to tenderness in red chile. You may or may not believe in the power of the dirt in the Santuario’s floor, but the taste of this valley’s chile will have you convinced that the terroir--the taste of place--deserves its venerable reputation. Get the “combinación picante” so that you can sample a tamal, rolled cheese enchilada, beans and posole along with the carne adovada. And don’t use all of your sopaipilla (the steaming square of puffy frybread) to soak up the chile; save a corner so you can douse it with local honey as a dessert... Chimayó is an easy forty-minute-drive from Santa Fe, on “the high road to Taos.” Across the road from the restaurant is a B&B, run by the same family as well.