Creekside independent inns

A traditional bed-and-breakfast set along Sonoma Highway at the edge of the wine country, the Cinnamon Bear Creekside Inn fills its rooms with antique furnishings and opens onto a garden. Mornings bring breakfast; evenings bring hors d'oeuvres, the kind of small ritual that turns guests into regulars. Its 4.6 rating across 283 reviews suggests the formula works.

Tucked along Arnold Drive in the heart of Glen Ellen, this small Sonoma Valley retreat scatters its cottages across the property, a few of them set close enough to the creek to hear the water. The inn keeps its own restaurant and a martini bar, so dinner and a nightcap are a short walk from your door rather than a drive through wine country. At 4.6 stars across 250 reviews, it's the kind of unhurried place guests return to for the quiet as much as the cocktails.

Tucked onto Shrimp Boat Lane where Shem Creek meets the marsh, this waterfront inn trades Charleston-area bustle for the slow traffic of trawlers and tidal water just beyond the railing. Rooms are contemporary and unfussy, with an outdoor pool for the long Lowcountry afternoons and breakfast, parking and Wi-Fi included. It's the kind of place guests return to for the view rather than the frills — reflected in a 4.4 rating across more than 700 reviews.