On A Budget? 10 Hotel, B&B Bargains
If you want to save your dollars for sightseeing, shopping, dining or entertaining, check out these rest stops when you're traveling out of town.
10. Pacific Palisades Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia
Although the prices for Pacific Palisades are not cheap, this hotel definitely gives the most bang for the buck of any comparable accommodation in the Northwest. Modern rooms at the Pacific Palisades (pacificpalisadeshotel.com) are palatial and have great views.
Other amenities include 24-hour room service, a concierge, dual dataports in each room, a fitness center and a large pool.
9. University Inn, Seattle
Located within a stone's throw of the University of Washington, with a handsome view of Lake Union, the University Inn (universityinnseattle.com) is one of Seattle's best bargains. The junior suites are a little pricier, but they're spacious and come with big windows, microwaves and mini-refrigerators.
The inn is offering a September special of $99 for a single or a double.
8. Olympic Lights Bed And Breakfast, San Juan Islands, Wash.
This light, airy guest retreat is a restored 1895 Victorian farmhouse. Your best deal is the Ra Room (named after the Egyptian sun god), where for under $100 (starting in November), you can catch glimpses of the sun and the moon rising through a large bay window. Even if the Northwest skies cloud up, the room offers a great view of Puget Sound the nearby mountains.
Olympic Lights (olympiclightsbnb.com) keeps its own flock of resident hens to lay eggs for your breakfast.
7. Riverside Inn Bed And Breakfast, Seaside, Ore.
Oregon coast accommodations can quickly dig a hole in your pocketbook. You can rest up in this charming collection of attached cottages and suites for as little as $60 a night. The inn (riversideinn.com) nestles right up to the Necanicum River, and the river view suites are the most expensive.
That's not saying much, considering that after Oct. 1, the most expensive costs $100. All the attached cottages have beamed ceilings and skylights.
6. Mallory Hotel, Portland, Ore.
Long a favorite of budget-minded visitors to Portland, this downtown classic hasn't lost its charm. The Mallory (malloryhotel.com) offers free parking (in downtown Portland, that's a nice perk) and free local calls.
The lobby is bright and spacious and reminiscent of the luxurious carpeted caverns of the Eisenhower era, and crystal chandeliers still grace the dining room.
5. Days Inn, Boulder, Colo.
Frommer's Travel Guides (frommers.com) raves about this Colorado motel as the best-managed chain establishment that they've seen. The service at the Boulder Days Inn (daysinn.com) is definitely not typical of a franchise, and the view of the nearby Continental Divide is truly stunning.Rocky Mountain National Park is just minutes away by car.
4. Luxor, Las Vegas
If you're looking for great location, a Vegas d?cor that actually looks tasteful, a friendly, attentive staff and spacious, comfortable rooms, this place has my vote for the Strip's best bargain. The fitness center is really impressive, and don't pass up a dip in one of the Luxor's (luxor.com) five swimming pools.
Rates in late November and early December run as low as $59 per night.
3. Marina Inn, San Francisco
Cozy, clean hotel rooms close to Fisherman's Wharf can run you close to a king's ransom. Rates as cheap as $65 a night are nearly unheard of, unless you've heard of the Marina Inn (marinainn.com). The rooms are small, but homey. The pine poster beds and the floral prints on the walls give a kind of B&B feel.
Don't miss out on the continental breakfast or the afternoon sherry offered free, following your sightseeing day.
2. Bath Street Inn, Santa Barbara, Calif.
This is one of the best B&Bs on the Pacific Coast. With room rates dropping to the $80-150 range for the fall and winter, it's also one of the best bargains in the region. The Victorian home that is now Bath Street bathstreetinn.com) was built a century ago, as a 50th anniversary present. All rooms at the inn have private baths, sitting rooms and telephones.
My favorite is the Wedgwood Room, where you can catch a glimpse of the Pacific from the corner window seat.
1. Ocean Park Inn, Pacific Beach, Calif.
You don't have to pay a small fortune to stay at the Ocean Park Inn (bestlodgings.com), right on Grand Avenue at San Diego's Pacific Beach.
The style is contemporary, the rooms are big, if a little impersonal, the service is courteous, and the location is superb.
