Halfway between San Francisco and Portland is a ten-suite luxury inn hidden away in an idyllic Oregon mountain town that the Washington Post called a “dream you’ll never want to leave.”

A dream within a dream, luxury suites at the Ashland Creek Inn give guests a first class base camp to experience the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival at its doorstep and explore natural wonders such as Crater Lake in its bioregional backyard.

Since opening its doors a decade ago, Ashland’s only all-suite inn has become a perennial pied-à-terre for patrons of the town’s annual ‘ode to Shakespeare’’, the nine-month festival that Time magazine ranked one of the top five regional theaters in the country.

But beyond Broadway-quality theater, access to world-class natural wonders coupled with a culture of near non-stop festivals celebrating everything from local food to international film has put the boutique inn and its tiny town on the map for a new generation of travelers for whom the play’s not the only thing.

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Outside, the Ashland Creek Inn looks like an old-world European hotel, with soft sand- colored stucco walls and shutters and awnings in deep blue. The Inn is nestled on the banks of Ashland Creek, and you can hear the murmuring rush of the water as well as the hustle and bustle of downtown Ashland, just blocks away. A longtime favorite of theater-goers, family reunions and business travelers, the Ashland Creek Inn is known for privacy, personal accommodation, exquisite taste and exceptional morning fare.

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At the Ashland Creek Inn (70 Water St., 541/482-3315, $230 and up) you won’t get any closer to Ashland Creek without getting wet. This small luxury-level inn is directly adjacent to the stream and has several guest rooms with cantilevered decks directly above the rushing water. Each of the 10 suites is uniquely decorated according to a theme—the Caribe, the Marrakech, the Edinburgh—and each offers complete kitchens, living rooms, private entrances, and decks. Best of all, this comfort and style is just moments from downtown shopping and the theaters.

As the name implies, this luxurious B&B is located on the shady banks of Ashland Creek, and the decks here are wonderful places to spend a hot summer afternoon or for a glass of wine before heading off to the theater. The rooms, mostly large suites, have fun themes, including the Caribbean, Morocco, Denmark, and Taos. All are very tastefully decorated with antiques and art, and all but one have a kitchen or kitchenette. Although this inn is only two blocks from the heart of downtown, it feels like a remote forest retreat. Breakfasts are multi-course affairs that you can enjoy on a deck or in the garden when the weather is good.

I usually love the idea of staying at a Bed & Breakfast more than the actual stay. So many of them are way too cluttered, cutsie, chintzed and china-ed for my taste.

However, Ashland Creek Inn sets the bar at the tippy-top. If I had my way, all new B&B owners would be required to take a class from ACI’s gracious proprietor, Graham Sheldon, before they open.

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