Sweet Dreams - best B&Bs in the U.S. West

Sunset, Feb, 2000 by Jeff Phillips

* Stairs to upper floors are steep; one unit offers ground-floor access. A traditional breakfast--assigned seating at 8:30 sharp--is served in the cheery yellow dining room.

* Colorful original frescoes grace the front parlor; throughout the house, period furnishings mix with eclectic accents. The most popular Victorian guest rooms are on the second floor, and the master suite with its grand canopy bed has views of Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound, and the bay. The small-bathroom limitations of a historic house can have their charms--even in the room where the antique tin tub doesn't fit in the bathroom

ESSENTIALS: Nine rooms on three levels of the main house, plus a cottage of two suites with mini-kitchens. $92-s$155. 744 Clay St.; (800) 321-0644, (360) 385-3205, or www. starrettmansion.com.

Jena Macpherson

* WOLFE KREST, Salt Lake City, UT

Who says contemporary comfort and historic preservation can't go hand in hand? Certainly not Kay Malone, whose 1905 Georgian revival manor house has been restored right down to the moldings above its fanlight windows, and is one of the city's newest and most elegant B&Bs.

Malone--wife of Utah Jazz basketball great Karl Malone--had no choice but to gut the dilapidated old Wolfe Mansion, which had been converted into apartments and neglected. The new interior acknowledges the building's classic exterior in the detailed woodwork and elegant parquet flooring, but the spacious floor plan allows even the smallest of the individually designed guest rooms to feel comfortable.

Four of the mansion's rooms overlook the green swale of City Creek Canyon (a 2-mile hiking trail starts across the street) and the flat sprawl of downtown. Enjoying this view from the living room, you'll find it hard to remember that the marble portico of the state capitol is barely a block away. Before slipping under the comforter on your bed, call down for a nightcap serving of ice cream to spoon while lounging in the plush chairs or at the game desk in each room. Be careful stepping out of the jetted tub (all rooms except the wheelchair-accessible room have them); the marble floors can be slipper.

ESSENTIALS: Thirteen rooms; several with fireplaces. $150-$300 (check midweek discounts). 273 N. E. Capitol Blvd.; (800) 669-4525, (801) 521-8710, or www.wolfekrest.com.

The newness of this operation combined with a rush for emergency repairs last fall after damage from a freak tornado--convinced us that the small slips by a still-green staff and the disappointing breakfast buffet should be only temporary conditions.

* SHIPMAN HOUSE, Hilo, HI

Jeff Phillips

In a state where tropical climate and rampant development have not been kind to historic wood buildings, the existence of this stately 1899 Victorian home is remarkable. The fact that it has remained in the same family for generations, has been lovingly restored, and still contains some of its original furniture--including a magnificent koa wood dining room set and the piano that Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani played after lunch when visiting--borders on the miraculous. With high ceilings and circling fans, uncluttered furnishings, and objects of family history in every room, this is old Hawaii at its simple, yet gracious, best.