Waters Edge Hotel

This may be San Francisco Bay — Tiburon is located on the north side of the Golden Gate, just around Richardson Bay from Sausalito — but there’s something decidedly New England about Waters Edge. The view takes in what is quite unmistakably San Francisco’s skyline, as well as the nature preserve of Angel Island, but the hotel itself is a departure, an urbane retreat in muted creams and unfinished woods, with a deck overlooking the moored sailboats of the neighboring yacht clubs — not an everyday sight in today’s Northern California.

The rooms and suites are luxurious, with goose down duvets atop feather beds, chaises and hand-knitted throws to ward off the chill bayfront air (again, seemingly more Massachusetts than sunny California). Every bathroom includes a full-size tub, increasingly a luxury item in American hotels, and a complimentary breakfast is served in-room.

Tiburon is one of the Bay’s most charming communities, and its location places it within minutes of San Francisco, and less than an hour from the wine country. It’s an ideal spot for a holiday or a romantic getaway, and it offers business travelers at least one major advantage: the Tiburon Ferry, direct across the bay to San Francisco, takes mere minutes — though it’s worth knowing that the last ferry, depending on the day, leaves as early as 7pm.