Outdoor seating independent inns

A 19th-century holdout on West Spain Street in the heart of Sonoma, The Swiss Hotel keeps its rooms small and plain in the old way \u2014 quaint quarters above a restaurant and bar that draw as many locals as guests. Meals spill onto outdoor seating, and the ground floor stays lively well past dinner. Nearly 500 reviewers have settled on a 4.5, which says something about a place that has never needed to reinvent itself.

Set on Pleasant Street a short stroll from Woodstock's green, The Shire is a bright, unfussy place to land in the Vermont countryside. Rooms are airy and light-filled, with some overlooking the river that runs behind the property. The wraparound porch, lined with outdoor seating, is the real draw — the kind of spot where a morning coffee easily stretches into an hour of watching the village wake up.