Turn-of-the-Century Schoolhouse Turned Charming Bed-and-Breakfast

When it was first built in 1905, the red-brick building that would become The Roosevelt Inn served as a schoolhouse. For nearly 70 years, dutiful pupils filed beneath the front stoop's neoclassical pediment—including John Hough, who, along with Tina Hough, now serves as the hotel's innkeeper. The blackboards and desks have now been replaced with antique beds, but a row of old-fashioned, wrought-iron desks sits lined up beside the stairwell, each desk bearing a gleaming apple on its wooden surface, preserving the building's scholastic legacy.

Upstairs, overnighters can whisk away uncomfortable memories of rigid chairs and arm-wrestling matches with school nurses by unwinding in comfy guest rooms with plush pillow-top mattresses and oversize clusters of pillows. The Johnson room boasts a four-poster oak bed covered in a lace canopy, with a private bath hiding on the opposite side of an old chimney. In the Williams room, a wooden table displays a miniature sailing ship near its window, with views of the expansive west lawn and the norway maple trees beyond. The Noble suite adds a second bedroom along with art-deco antiques dripping with elegant curves.

An oversize whirlpool housed within a wood-frame glass atrium eases tense muscles with churning, steaming waters as the sunset paints the property in sherbet hues. The next morning, a two-course breakfast awakens taste buds with dishes such as belgian waffles covered in fruit and served atop lace tablecloths. Within the dining nook, a landscape mural of rolling hills and glassy lakes wraps around the entire room.

Downtown Coeur d'Alene: Lakeside Charm and Romantic Retreat

Gentle ripples from kayakers' paddles are about the only activity on the placid waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene, and the setting sun peeks between the trunks of towering pines. Along the shoreline, couples share romantic picnics on the floating boardwalk, which stretches more than 3,000 feet into the lake. Shoppers can venture inland to sample vintage wines at a nearby winery, and live music soundtracks each sip. The downtown area features eclectic restaurants and nostalgic boutiques brimming with antiques, homemade candy, and prototypes for steam-powered iPods.