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The Sutter Creek Inn is widely considered the grandmother of western bed-and-breakfasts — one of the oldest B&Bs west of the Mississippi. The solid redwood Georgian home was built in 1859–1860 by John Keyes, a merchant who operated a grocery and general merchandise store adjoining Hotel Sutter on Main Street. Keyes married Clara McIntire, who had traveled from New Hampshire via Panama. After John’s death in 1875, Clara married Edward Voorheis, a mining investor who became a California State Senator from 1890 to 1898. The couple significantly expanded the property — adding a billiard room, library, new kitchen and dining room, and a second story to the wash house — and the home became a center of hospitality for visiting governors and legislators.
In 1966, Jane Way, a Burlingame mother of five, purchased the property at auction for $32,000 and moved her family to Sutter Creek. She funded renovations by buying and selling antiques, converted five bedrooms into guest rooms, and opened in 1967 — pioneering what many consider California’s first bed-and-breakfast. Over the following decades, she grew the inn to nineteen rooms, restoring 19th-century “payday houses” originally built by miners and landscaping nearly an acre with trees and flowering plants. Jane is credited with inventing the inn’s famous swinging beds — beds suspended from the ceiling on chains — a whimsical signature that has delighted guests for decades. She ran the inn until her death in 2011 at age 91. Starting in 2020, the Jay and MunDen Michel family took over ownership, continuing the tradition with their sons Christopher and Thomas.
The inn offers rooms in the original house and private cottages nestled among the gardens, several featuring wood-burning fireplaces and soaking tubs. The Toolshed, Patio Room, and Hideaway all feature swinging beds, while the spacious Storage Room — the largest accommodation — has a king bed, open beam ceilings, and a huge soaking tub. John’s Cabin and The Cellar offer their own private patios, and David’s Room sits across historic Hayden Alley with a large porch and town views. Intentionally, there are no televisions or telephones in the rooms — instead, guests find a full library of books and board games, a piano, and a chess set in the main house. Nearly an acre of gardens features ancient trees, hammocks, chaise lounges, a grape arbor, croquet, and hidden alcoves for quiet reading. A complimentary full country breakfast is served family-style each morning at the 9 AM bell, with coffee available earlier.