American River Inn

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the American River Inn. It was like stepping back in time. The period furnishings throughout the inn were beautiful. Breakfast each morning was exceptional. We made ourselves at home even inviting local friends in for wine before dinner. Jason and his staff attended to our every need. We look forward to our return. Dick & Kate

We wanted a weekend getaway, and prices were expensive everywhere. I decided to search off the beaten path, and discovered this great value in the hidden town of Georgetown. Only an hour and a quarter from downtown Sacramento, the town feels like big cities don't even exist. The air was clear and smelled like snow (even though there was no snow visible anywhere). The price of the room was about half what I saw in the Sacramento metro area, and it included breakfast! The hotel dates from 1853, and has been restored semi-authentically to that time period. Antiques abound throughout, some tasteful, others quirky, but all good. Most rooms share a bathroom with others, which was fine. The shower was a claw-foot tub with a curtain enclosure. It is an 18-step stairway to most of the rooms, but I did see that there are a couple of ground-floor rooms as well. Keep in mind that there are no televisions in the rooms, or anywhere else! This is a good place for a true, quiet getaway. I imagined myself as a famous author on a writing retreat (Murder, He Wrote). Guests are expected to keep the front door locked, and are supplied with a key for doing so, in addition to the room key. Rooms do not have a deadbolt; just a doorknob lock. In the morning all us guests gathered in the sitting room; I was surprised at how many guests there were (about 10 couples), since I hadn't heard anyone all night. We enjoyed discussing the supposedly ******* rooms, but none of us had experienced anything metaphysical. We moved into the dining room for breakfast, which was outstanding. We enjoyed coffee, tea, and orange juice while eating individual egg and vegetable souffles, toasted English muffin, and fresh fruit. Checkout was at noon, so we felt like we could take our time and lounge a bit. The hotel staff was friendly, polite, and helpful, from the innkeeper to the young workers. You can see in my picture that they're working on the place, redoing the roof, as well as part of the exterior. There was no activity while we were there, so it was not a problem. I suspect that the work is limited to weekdays only. There were several restaurants within walking distance, as well as interesting gift shops and an art gallery. The town hosts a jeep event each year in July, and I suspect the town is crowded on that weekend. Our weekend in March was wonderfully quiet. I recommend the American River Inn for an easy-to-get-to, but away-from-it-all retreat.

Our room was comfortable. Some loud partier noise from the street on Fri and Sat nights though it didn't keep us from sleeping. Breakfast on the porch was lovely. The only wrinkle in our stay was that Saturday evening I came in from the day and was chatting with the innkeeper and two other folks she was hanging out with. I mentioned I was from Oakland and each of them proceeded to criticize Oakland in multiple ways. It was unpleasant and disheartening to say the least. Not a way to be with your guests.