Greenbriar Inn

A 17-room family-owned inn in a 1908 Queen Anne home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho — close enough to downtown to walk, far enough that it's quiet at night. The Greenbriar has been a small inn for decades; the building has been there since the lake town's lumber-and-mining heyday. Restaurant on-site, full breakfast, and the kind of front porch that earns its rent in summer.

It is the small-inn alternative to the Coeur d'Alene Resort's marquee tower. Considerably cheaper, considerably quieter.

The setting

Coeur d'Alene sits on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene in the Idaho panhandle, thirty minutes east of Spokane and five hours north of Boise. The Greenbriar is on Wallace Avenue, three blocks north of Sherman Avenue's restaurants and the lakefront's Tubbs Hill park. The drive from Spokane International (GEG) is 35 minutes.

This is the working-resort end of the Idaho lakes country — Lake Coeur d'Alene is one of the bigger lakes, with serious summer boating culture and a long winter ski drive to Schweitzer or Lookout Pass.

The building

A 1908 Queen Anne — clapboard, multiple gables, a corner turret, deep eaves with carved bargeboard. The interior keeps original wood floors, period mantels, and the carved staircase. Public rooms include the dining room (where the restaurant operates), a fireplaced parlor, and a wraparound porch. Materials are clapboard, oak, brass.

The rooms

Seventeen rooms across the main house and a converted carriage house. Categories include classic Victorian rooms (smaller, with period charm), larger king rooms with sitting areas, and a few suites with claw-foot tubs. Beds are queens or kings; bathrooms range from period to recently refreshed. From-rates open around $235 in season, including a full hot breakfast.

Food & drink

The Greenbriar Restaurant runs dinner on most nights and a serious wine program — by the standards of small-town Idaho, an outsized list. Non-guests book the dining room. Breakfast is included for guests.

On the property

The wraparound porch, the dining room and bar, a small back garden. There's no pool, no spa, no gym in the resort sense.

• Restaurant and bar on-site
• Full breakfast included
• Wraparound porch
• Walking distance to Lake Coeur d'Alene, Sherman Avenue
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers doing Coeur d'Alene who'd rather a small inn than a marquee resort
• Couples on a long weekend who want a real dinner downstairs
• Architecture readers who'll appreciate the 1908 Queen Anne detailing
• Anyone for whom "family-owned" is part of the appeal

Who it's not for

• Travelers needing a pool, gym, or full lakeside resort program
• Light sleepers near the dining room on weekends
• Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)

Nearby

Sherman Avenue's restaurants are three blocks south. Lake Coeur d'Alene's Tubbs Hill park, with its lakeshore loop trail, is a five-minute walk. The Coeur d'Alene Resort's marina and lakefront are five minutes by car. Silverwood Theme Park is 30 minutes north for families. Schweitzer ski area is an hour and a half north. For dinner outside the inn: Crafted Tap House and Kitchen, Beverly's at the resort, and the Cedars Floating Restaurant are the picks.