Skyrim is a medieval fantasy game that is highly known for its immersive world, as there are many kinds of quests, characters, features, and overall a fantastic design within Skyrim that almost any gamer would fall in love with. A part of Skyrim’s immersive world comes from its populated cities and towns, or locations in general.
These locations always have unique characters for the Dragonborn to encounter, as well as unique shops, buildings, and holds; best of all, there are inns everywhere in the game! With about 20 inns found in Skyrim, there are plenty of places for the Dragonborn to hang up their sword and kick their feet up near a warm fire while sipping on a nice ale. By definition, an inn is a place where the Dragonborn can rent a bed for the night, rather than a tavern which doesn’t offer a place to rest.
10/10 Candlehearth Hall
Candlehearth Hall isn’t one of the most favored inns in all of Skyrim, but it definitely is one of the most unique. This inn resides in the middle of Windhelm. This inn is frequented by the Stormcloaks, and they will give any elves, argonians, or khajit a threatening welcome if the Dragonborn is one of those races.
Besides the people, the Dragonborn will have a curious time roaming around Candlehearth Hall and admiring all of its unique architectural features. The rooms aren’t too bad, though the player may prefer a common Nord room.
9/10 Windpeak Inn
Windpeak Inn is most likely the first building that players will encounter upon entering the city of Dawnstar, which is within the Pale region. Windpeak Inn isn’t too different from a classic Nord inn, but there are encounters here that the player may enjoy much more.
Upon first entering, the player can encounter a conversation about nightmares that have been plaguing Dawnstar, and acting curiously about the conversation will send the player on a new quest to lift the curse over Dawnstar.
8/10 Moorside Inn
This inn is the only inn that players will find residing in the slow environment that is Morthal. Upon entering, the player may notice a very confident and unique orc bard that may be playing a song for what seems to be no audience. This bard is also the victim of an assassination by the Dark Brotherhood.
Moorside Inn doesn’t receive much business, so it is a nice place for the Dragonborn to go in search of a more relaxed place to rest. Jonna, the innkeeper, is fairly friendly and can inform the player of the Laid to Rest quest.
7/10 Four Shields Tavern
The Four Shields Tavern can be found by players who are traveling through or to the Dragon Bridge Village. The village is fairly nice in nature, and the inn is a wonderful spot for any adventurer looking to find a spot to rest.
Mainly, the Four Shields Tavern is one of the best inns in Skyrim because it is one of the few that really provide a sense of warmth and home to the player. Faida is the innkeeper; her and Julienne are both very nice characters who will provide the Dragonborn with food, lodging, and drink.
6/10 Sleeping Giant Inn
The Sleeping Giant Inn is commonly the very first inn that beginners would encounter when playing through Skyrim. This is because this inn resides in Riverwood, which is the first location the Dragonborn is brought into. This inn is a standard Nord inn, but with major features.
After attempting to retrieve an item for the Greybeards, the Dragonborn will find that Delphine, the innkeeper, is actually a Blades member and owns a secret lair inside of Sleeping Giant Inn! It even has an enchantment table for players to make use of.
5/10 Old Hroldan Inn
The Old Hroldan Inn is one of the few inns that aren’t constructed within a city. This inn can be found in the Reach region. Players will notice that this inn is yet another common Nord inn, but it is the only inn where players can find a ghost haunting the building.
Old Hroldan, the inn’s namesake, can be found as a ghost in the building, and the player will start a mission to help put an “ancient ghost to rest.” Tiber Septim is also famously known for resting in Old Hroldan Inn. The place isn’t quite a player-owned home, but it’s still a nice place to rest.
4/10 Silver-Blood Inn
The Silver-Blood Inn is one of the most unique inns in all of Skyrim, mainly due to the fact that it actually has a different design than most inns. This inn can be found in Markarth and is known to be owned by the city’s Silver-Blood clan.
Kleppr is the innkeeper, along with his wife, Frabbi, provide the player with any food and drink they may need. This inn is also found to be much larger than inns usually are, providing a lot more space for the player to wander around curiously. There are even multiple levels to the building.
3/10 The Winking Skeever
The Winking Skeever inn is yet another one of Skyrim’s unique inns, and this wonderful place of lodging is found in the imperial city of Solitude. This inn is seemingly one of the most in-game famous inns in Skyrim, as almost every character in Solitude will be advising the player to stop by the Winking Skeever.
Players will also be sent to this inn by Delphine to start the Diplomatic Immunity quest, which is one of the best storyline quests in the game. This inn will definitely allow the Dragonborn to sleep comfortably and drink wonderful ale.
2/10 The Bee And Barb
The Bee and Barb is an inn that is located just about in the middle of Riften, located in the Rift region. This inn isn’t too large, but it is fairly compact with character. The inn has a unique design, and players can encounter their quest to marry an NPC here.
Also frequenting the inn is Sapphire, a member of the Thieves Guild, and Marcurio, a sellsword who the players can hire — he’s one of the best. Keerava and Talen-Jei offer a warm place for the Dragonborn to rest, though the player will be forced to collect a debt from Talen-Jei while doing the Thieves Guild quest.
1/10 The Bannered Mare
The Bannered Mare is easily the best inn in Skyrim, found within the best city of Skyrim: Whiterun. The Bannered Mare is coincidentally the second inn that players are most likely to walk into, so they’ll be experiencing the best inn in the game early on! Any player replaying Skyrim will always rest here at least once, if only for the lovely inn.
This inn offers great service, as seating anywhere in the inn will have a server come to offer food or drink to the player. The room for rent is a very nice room as well, debatably the best out of all of the inns. There is also a cooking pit for the player to use if they wish to cook some of their game caught on their travels.
