America's Best Bed and Breakfasts

Overlooking 1,300 acres of protected land, the two-story inn on this working ranch has a wraparound porch; there's also a private cottage that features its own garden. In addition to serving eggs from Beltane hens at breakfast, the ranch produces olive oil and the owners raise grass-fed beef. Rooms from $150; beltaneranch.com.

There's a fireplace in each of the 29 rooms here, and many have private decks overlooking the Pacific. Quiche, homemade granola and freshly baked muffins land on the buffet each morning, and the owners serve wine, tea and hors d'oeuvres in the afternoons. Dogs are welcome. Rooms from $175; bluelanterninn.com.

Husband-and-wife owners Jensen and Grace Lorenzen transformed a 19th-century house that belonged to the town's founder (James Cass) into this elegant five-room inn. Jensen oversees the kitchen, creating dishes like buttermilk-brined Riconda Dairy chicken with chanterelle mushrooms, brussels sprouts and market yam puree; the wine list emphasizes Central Coast producers like Kosta Browne. Rooms from $165; casshouseinn.com.

This 10-room property is decorated with crystal chandeliers, stained-glass windows and antiques. Signature breakfast dishes include a blueberry strata— like a creamy, blueberry-studded bread pudding topped with warm maple syrup. Rooms from $175; williamshouse.com.

There are 19 rooms across two renovated mansions at this Savannah property built around a quiet square. Breakfast includes southern specialties like freshly made biscuits with sausage gravy and savory waffles with herbs and Parmesan. Rooms from $199; foleyinn.com.

Each of the 17 restored guest rooms at this beautiful 19th-century mansion has a working fireplace. The breakfast menu includes rich Southern dishes like poached eggs with grilled tomato, creamed spinach and green onion cream sauce, plus bacon, country sausage and cheese grits. Hors d'oeuvres and wine are served every afternoon, and there are desserts and cordials in the evenings. Rooms from $169; gastonian.com.

The former mansion of Carl Vrooman—Assistant Secretary of Agriculture under President Woodrow Wilson—now contains five suites with period antiques. Breakfast ranges from cheese crêpes topped with mixed berries during the summer to pecan-pumpkin waffles in the fall. Rooms from $100; vroomanmansion.com.

This terrific boutique B&B in the French Quarter is made up of three historic town houses with balconies and courtyards. Breakfast—like buttermilk biscuits with homemade strawberry preserves, fresh juice and a café au lait—arrives on a silver platter. Rooms from $240; soniathouse.com.

Built in 1874, this charming four-suite B&B has been extravagantly restored with Victorian furnishings and updated with modern amenities. Guests snack on homemade chocolate chip cookies each evening, and innkeeper Ronald Mitchell specializes in sweet breakfasts, like pancakes with caramelized apples. Suites from $425; innat202dover.com.

Chef-proprietor Mark Salter recently renovated this 16-room inn, which was originally home to Robert Morris, "Financier of the Revolution" and a close friend of George Washington's. The signature breakfast is a take on eggs Florentine with spinach, Maryland jumbo lump crab and Meyer lemon hollandaise sauce. Rooms from $120; robertmorrisinn.com.

Innkeeper Julee Rosso co-authored The Silver Palate Cookbook series, which has sold more than six million copies. She upholds her home-entertaining cred with Champagne brunches, homemade afternoon sweets and an evening hors d'oeuvre buffet. Rooms from $195; wickwoodinn.com.

This inn, built in 1906, was recently renovated with Venetian plaster walls, stained glass windows and hand-carved furniture. There's a buffet of local organic bacon, homemade croissants and quiches bubbling with cheese each morning, plus coffee from a nearby shop that roasts small batches of organic and fair-trade beans. Rooms from $189; antiguainn.com.

Located in one of Santa Fe's most historic neighborhoods, this laid-back 24-suite inn is decorated with crafts and antiques from Turkey and India. Guests eat homemade granola, fluffy pancakes and cooked-to-order eggs with red and green chiles in the inn's adobe-walled courtyards. Suites from $425; fivegraces.com.

Former NYC restaurateurs David Page and Barbara Shinn host guests in a remodeled farmhouse at their Long Island vineyard, Shinn Estate. Page, who cooked at Manhattan's beloved Home restaurant, prepares breakfast dishes, like slow-cooked eggs with savory biscuits, each morning. Doubles from $175; shinnfarmhouse.com.

Actor Richard Gere is part owner of this eight-room luxury inn, which features a yoga studio and two restaurants, the Barn and the Farmhouse. Beds are topped with Frette linens, and popular breakfast dishes include poached eggs over polenta with maitake mushrooms and brioche French toast with whipped ricotta and candied orange zest. Rooms from $395; bedfordpostinn.com.

Former Aureole chef Gerry Hayden and pastry authority Claudia Fleming own this inn with a public restaurant. The couple serves New American dishes, such as raw hamachi and seared Hudson Valley foie gras for dinner and stellar seasonal scones in the morning. Those staying overnight sleep in cherrywood sleigh beds. Rooms from $250; northforktableandinn.com.

Built by the same architect behind the Vanderbilts' nearby Biltmore Estate, this inn has eight rooms with full baths stocked with Aveda products. Innkeeper Lori White and her husband owned bakeries in Palm Beach and Martha's Vineyard before opening the Black Walnut. She stops at the farmers' market each morning to stock up for three-course breakfasts that might include orange-ricotta pancakes. Rooms from $185; blackwalnut.com.

This mansion's 21 rooms have modern amenities, like wireless Internet service, plus antique details such as hand-carved marble fireplaces, intricate woodwork and Tiffany stained glass windows. Chef Marc Collins updates Southern dishes for dinner at restaurant Circa 1886, housed in the former carriage house. He also oversees breakfast, which might include sautéed shrimp and organic Carolina grits or rice-flour pancakes with maple syrup and homemade rabbit sausage. Rooms from $259; wentworthmansion.com.

Each of the four Spanish-styled casitas on this 300-acre working farm features a big wrought-iron bed, 1,200-thread-count sheets and a fireplace. Bouley vet Raj Dixit plans breakfast around the inn's organic gardens and orchards, making caramelized grapefruit, blueberry scones with lemon confit and homemade yogurt with granola, which guests can eat on their private patios. The restaurant also prepares picnic lunches and serves them by the inn's creeks and ponds. Casitas from $480; www.dosbrisas.com.

Many of the rooms at this romantic 23-room inn have sitting areas with fireplaces, and some have large whirlpool tubs. Breakfast features a buffet with homemade granola and freshly baked muffins followed by a more substantial dish like apple-cheddar crêpes. Rooms from $169; www.rabbithillinn.com.

This new bed-and-breakfast has nine rooms with radiant heated floors. Breakfast, open to the public, includes home-baked coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls and seasonal fruits and berries. Rooms from $179; snapdragoninn.com.

Constructed in 1792, this inn features 12 guest rooms with fireplaces and a farm-to-table restaurant called Verterra. The owners procure meats, produce and cheeses for breakfast from within 20 miles, and homey breakfast dishes range from buttermilk blueberry pancakes to omelets made with local eggs, with crispy bacon, sausage and hash browns. Rooms from $139; weathersfieldinn.com.

Built in 1910, the main building features a restaurant and five all-white rooms; four alternative stays include a cabin and a yurt (a circular tent-like structure with a kitchen, wood stove and bath house). Inspired by a turn at Copenhagen's acclaimed Noma restaurant, chef Blaine Wetzel creates visually stunning dishes with produce and eggs from the inn's organic Nettles Farm. Wetzel also cures his own meats, using Mangalitsa pork, and hosts Sunday-night feasts starring spot prawns caught in nearby Rosario Straight. Rooms from $125; willows-inn.com.

Nine guest rooms have oversize canopy beds and fireplaces or whirlpool tubs, and breakfasts include homemade brioche French toast and fluffy pancakes made with local buttermilk. In summer, guests can sample a fabulous deep-dish pie made with six pounds of fresh local cherries. Rooms from $75; innatcedarcrossing.com.