The setting: The large flat-panel TVs and Blu-Ray DVD players at Sausalito’s Inn Above Tide may be au courant, but they hardly compare with the wide-angle views from the hotel’s 31 well-appointed rooms and suites, all of which not only face the water but seemingly hover over it. Watch ferries glide in and out of the dock next door as Angel Island looms nearby, or gaze at the broad swath of San Francisco shimmering across the bay; city lights and the Bay Bridge add sparkle to the night. If you can pull yourself away, Sausalito’s urban attractions are within an easy stroll, and Marin’s natural wonders within a short drive or bike ride.

The backstory: The three-story cedar-shingled hotel began life in the 1960s as a luxury condominium built on the site of a former garage by Bill McDevitt, who later converted most of it into office space. Sensing a sea change on Sausalito’s formerly scruffy waterfront, he closed the building in 1993 for a two-year transformation into the luxurious Inn Above Tide, and continued to make enhancements until his death in 2011. Since then, his children have kept the hotel in the family, adding two new suites in 2014.

The appeal: Petaluma woodworker Aaron Crespi supplied the handsome headboards, bamboo and walnut tansu-style armoires and stump tables, part of the California contemporary decor that has recently been spruced up with a warm palette. Most guests are Northern Californians celebrating romantic occasions, drawn by gas fireplaces, private decks and soaking tubs in the majority of the rooms (there are 13 different floor plans), as well as those famous views. Fly-in tourists and business travelers also enjoy being so close to San Francisco, yet not stuck in its commotion at night.

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