Travel Hotels marga@lacabe.com

Stay: November 2009 We visit my in-laws in Vancouver, WA, every year, but in the past we've stayed at the Shilo Inn, close to their house. While the Shilo Inn is not too expensive (about $80 a night), we weren't thrilled with our bed last time and I figured I'd try to save money and see what was available through priceline. After checking biddingfortravel.com and tripadvisor I decided to go ahead and I got a room at the Residence Inn Portland/North Vancouver for $35 a night for Wednesday & Thursday nights and $40 for Friday and Saturday nights (plus about $10 a night in fees & taxes). After a stay there I have to say that this is one of the best deals I've gotten in my life (and I've been doing quite well at the flea market lately). The Residence Inn is one of those hotels intended for longer stays; rooms feature fully appointed kitchens and sitting areas. They have suites with bedrooms but ours was a basic studio. The room features a king size bed with matching night tables, a sofa and chair, each with its own floor lamp, a fireplace that burns compost logs (available for purchase at the office) and a two-drawer chest with a CRT TV. It offers quite a few cable channels but not Bravo (I wanted to watch Top Chef ). The one thing the room is missing is a dresser; there is a closet (with very few hangers) but only the two drawers under the TV to store things you don't want to hang. I think this would be a problem if you had clothing for more than a few days or there were several of you. There is a little table/desk (large enough for two people) separating the sitting area from the kitchen. There are two chairs (one office style), dual outlets but one internet hook up. There is also free wireless, so that's not a problem. The kitchen is fully appointed with a large enough fridge and everything else you need to cook and eat. Our suite has a king size bed which I found pretty comfortable. There were plenty of comfy pillows as well. The thermostat worked well. The kids were able to sleep on the foldout couch with no problems. Stays at the Residence Inn come with a free breakfast buffet which included a plethora of items: doughnuts, English muffins, bagels, sliced bread, cereal, hot oatmeal, yogurt, hot oatmeal, make-your-own waffles, scrambled eggs, sausages and potatoes. Everything is pretty good. They have copies of the local newspaper and USA Today for the taking. They also offer several services, including a free grocery shopping service! You give them your grocery list, and they do the shopping for you. The only problem we had was that after the room was cleaned, it smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. I'm not sure if the people next door were smoking and it filtered in, if it was the cleaning crew or just the lingering tobacco smell of past residents, but we were not happy. The hotel sent someone later to deodorize the room, however. In all, it's a very nice place to stay and a great deal for the priceline price. Residence Inn Portland/North Vancouver 8005 NE Parkway Drive Vancouver, Washington 360-253-4800 http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/vanwa-residence-inn-portland-north-vancouver/