Need a Presidents Day getaway? 12 born-again California lodges with vacancies

The San Francisco Standard
February 4, 2024
Maryan Jones Thompson

California’s hundreds of historic motels, lodges, hotels and resorts have gotten a serious glow-up since the pandemic. Everything from Gold Rush saloons to Old Hollywood hideaways to mid-century monuments have been redesigned from the ground up to host a generation of revenge travelers. Just in time for Presidents Day weekend, The Standard compiled a list of a dozen extraordinary hotels around the state that recently reopened following multi-million-dollar renovations.

The Incline Lodge
Skiing, trails and gambling | From $265 per night for Presidents Day weekend

The north shore of Lake Tahoe has become something of an accommodation ghost town. Despite the lake’s dramatic increase in popularity, many of the old motels and casinos near the California-Nevada state line have shuttered. The Incline Lodge steps into this void with a bottom-up rebuild of a former roadside inn. Modern design and furnishings are warmed by High Sierra touches—and the indoor pool is heated year-round. Best of all, the property makes a convenient base from which to ski Diamond Peak or Mount Rose, snowshoe near the lake, traverse the East Shore Trail past Sand Harbor, bowl at the all-new Bowl Incline or try your luck at the casinos.