Take some advice from celebrated B&Bs and welcome holiday guests like a pro (bake like one too)

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To make overnight guests feel at home, borrow the trade secrets of innkeepers who know how to make visits feel so personal. Suggestions from some of California’s most regarded inns:

Arrival (or departure) gifts: At the Simpson House Inn in Santa Barbara, return guests receive the miniature sherry cake that has become the inn’s signature. (We’ve posted the recipe after the jump.) At departure, guests may receive a pack of notecards featuring watercolor portraits of the inn. A distinctive gift of may make visits memorable.

All the senses: The Milliken Creek Inn & Spa in Napa creates a homey atmosphere by engaging the senses, says general manager Connie Gore. The inn plays music, lights candles and offers a small but elegant snack during a twilight “magic hour.” “We set up a display of cheese, olives, tapenade and crackers and a vintner pairs local wines with the cheeses,” Gore says. “It’s a great social hour during early evening.” Throughout the holiday season, guests are drawn to the spicy aroma of the Milliken’s signature mulled wine, made from area vintages and kept warm in a crockpot.

Welcome pets: At the Carmel Country Inn in Carmel, everyone agrees that pets are people too. The relaxed 12-guestroom inn on the Central Coast keeps a bowl of dog treats, and for owners, a basket of menus from dog-friendly restaurants, lists of veterinarians and groomers, and guidebooks to the area’s best dog-friendly hiking trails. “It makes people feel at home when they are able to bring their pets,” says innkeeper Amy Johnson.

Play concierge: Hillcrest House Bed & Breakfast innkeeper Ann Callahan says many travelers at her San Diego property appreciate being kept up to date on the events and noteworthy destinations in the area. “My friends call me the neighborhood concierge. Even people who live here ask me what’s going on,” she says. She stocks information on festivals and farmers markets, maps of city neighborhoods, business cards of recommended restaurants and even trolley tickets. Home hosts should point guests to spots with local flavor, not the usual tourist destinations.

Make trips out easier: Though the 23-room Gaige House in Glen Ellen doesn’t have a restaurant, the proprietors make food easily available. Travelers to the Sonoma Valley inn can request a picnic basket packed with sandwiches, general manager Catherine Nelson says. And to ease the walk to dinner at the neighborhood restaurants, the inn provides flashlights and, if necessary, umbrellas. Home hosts could do the same, lighting the way with flashlights and keeping ample sandwich ingredients and a picnic basket handy.

Stock the kitchen: “A lot of our guests come into the kitchen and help themselves to goodies in the fridge,” says Lucy Royse, inn directress at Chateau de Sureau in Oakhurst. “Having access to the kitchen makes them feel at home.” She stocks the refrigerator with beer, wine, soda and water, and she keeps fresh cookies and snacks stashed around the inn’s common areas.

Turn the bedroom into a retreat: At Churchill Manor Bed & Breakfast in Napa, creating a homey atmosphere means setting the proper mood, says Joanna Guidotti, innkeeper of the 1889 mansion that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Have guests arrive to a room with soft music playing, an adjustable lamp beside a reading chair, and a bed made up with a down comforter and good sheets. A featherbed can soften an old mattress. “If you want to do something really nice, buy a little box of truffles to have for them in their room,” she says. “It’s also nice to have water available in the room with glassware, or maybe an ice bucket with Pellegrino. They can close the door and they’re set.”

-- Valli Herman

Click to the jump for the recipe to the Simpson House Inn’s celebrated sherry bundt cake.

Simpson House Inn sherry cake

This recipe can be used to make one large 9-inch cake instead of the two smaller cakes.