Shore House at Lake Tahoe is a California B&B that sits on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, with many balconies and decks featuring panoramic views of the lake and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It has nine guest rooms total, with one of those being a standalone lakefront Honeymoon Cottage. They also have a lakefront hot tub and private pier. Innkeepers Barbara and Marty Cohen kindly took a few moments to answer the following questions for us about their lovely Tahoe Vista, California B&B.
1. What was your inspiration for creating your inn? Did you have a certain vision for it?
We were lucky enough to buy a beautiful lakefront property 17 years ago, and since we had previously enjoyed a few B&B stays, we decided to open our own! We thought that bed and breakfasts had to be decorated in antiques and lace, but soon decided that we weren’t comfortable with that style. We were mountain folk, had already at that time lived at Tahoe for 20 years, so we looked at various types of furnishings, and found that log furniture was just right for us!
We love our hand-made log furniture, all crafted by a woodsman in Idaho, who cut the logs, cured and sanded them, and made our beautiful beds, night tables, lamps, and dining room tables and chairs. Then, he personally delivered the whole order to us in his huge old truck! If you look at all the finely sanded knots in the wood, you will see the personality of the guy, Jeff, who crafted every step of the process. Thank you, Jeff. Seventeen years later, each piece still looks new.
2. Why did you choose this inn and this city?
We were already living at Tahoe for 20 years before we started our inn. We could not believe that we were able to buy our lakefront property, with beautiful lakefront gardens, a 40-foot pier and 6 buoys. Tahoe is definitely home to us–we never get tired of looking at the sparkling blue lake, and the snow covered mountains. Each day, the sun, wind, rain and snow present a different scene. The pinks and purples of the sunrises and sunsets inspire us each day, with Mother Nature’s variations on a theme.
3. What sets your B&B apart from others?
I think we are the only lakefront bed and breakfast at Lake Tahoe, so that makes us unique in itself. Adding our lakeview massage studio specializing in couples massage has set a relaxing and romantic theme. We do small intimate weddings on our pier or lawns and gardens with the lake and snow covered mountains as the backdrop.
We have special packages for anniversaries and honeymoons, with our lakefront Honeymoon Cottage popular for couples of any age or number of years together. In the spring, summer and fall, our guests love to take a single or double kayak out to the Crystal Bay point, where the boulders lie under the surface, and offer their colors and shapes to make a magical scene. Seeing Lake Tahoe from the water is a totally different experience than from land. And that is why Marty bought a 36-foot Uniflite cabin cruiser to entertain our guests with gourmet lunch cruises and tours of the shoreline, especially the East shore and the famous Thunderbird Lodge with its 50 foot stainless steel and mahogany boat, the Thunderbird, built in the 1940s.
4. Does your B&B have any special history?
The Shore House building was originally built as lodging for the 1960 Olympics at Squaw Valley.
5. What makes your town worth visiting--are there any interesting local attractions or activities?
Lake Tahoe is one of the premier ski areas in the world, with 20 separate ski resorts around the 72-mile perimeter of the lake. In the winter, guests can downhill ski or snowboard at a different resort each day, and only drive 10 to 20 minutes to each one. Winter sports also include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, snowmobiling, dog sledding, and sleigh rides.
Summer sports include jet skiing, hiking to pristine mountain lakes and waterfalls, biking on challenging single tracks or on paved lakefront trails, kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing, waterskiing, and every other watersport you can imagine. Spring and fall are beautiful with flowers and changing colors. Lake Tahoe is a premier recreation destination no matter what season of the year!
6. Do you have any food specialties (for breakfast or otherwise)?
Barb won the American Bed and Breakfast Association breakfast cookoff contest with her Sweet and Spicy Breakfast Monte Christo sandwich, but she is also known for her incredibly tasty peach pancakes, eggs benedict, delightful scones served with a chili egg puff. People are known to rush back to their rooms each afternoon, just to taste the different freshly baked cookies that are put in the rooms each day, as well as specialty chocolates. Guests love the chocolate covered strawberries and champagne for a romantic touch, and everyone shows up right at 5:00 each afternoon to sample the California wines and unique appetizers served until 6:00.
7. Do you have any special offers coming up?
We are offering a Winter and Spring Special, which takes $40 off the rate of each room, any day of the week, when guests book two nights or more.