Orcas

We are taking our daughter to WSU in August to start school and find we are a bit late at reserving a room. I've checked hotels that look okay in Pullman, Moscow ID, and Colfax and there are no vacancies. We are looking for alternatives. As far as I can tell, Moses Lake is the closest place with hotels en route to Seattle and it is 100 miles from Pullman. Is there some place closer? Does anyone have a recommendation for lodging in Moses Lake?

happytrailstoyou

Hallmark (the people with hotels in Cannon Beach and Newport) have a place in Moses Lake. It should be OK. If I were in your shoes, I would book a room I could cancel the day of arrival and keep trying for a room closer to WSU.

Have you tired calling motels directly? I sometimes find I can get a room that way when the web site claims everything is booked.

I see there is a new Best Western in Ritzville. That's a lot closer. Don't stay at the La Quinta in Ritzville, which, when we stayed there, was overrun with local families making noise in the pool area long after the pool was supposed to be closed. When I complained that the noise was disturbing my sleep, I was told that I was a spoilsport.

Tennischick

When our children were in college there, we stayed in Lewiston, Idaho once when we couldn't find anything in the Moscow-Pullman area. While it's not en route to Seattle, it's only about 35 miles away. We also stayed in a B&B once in Moscow which was nice but I can't remember the name of it.

We learned that for Parents Weekend, Homecoming, and graduation, we had to make reservations a year in advance because of the limited hotels in that area!

kureiff

I'd also recommend Lewiston/Clarkston or Spokane which is about 45 minutes from Pullman.

Good luck! My cousin will be a freshman at WSU too!

Orcas

Thanks for your good suggestions. I imagine I will have the chance to try all of them out over the next four (or five, I hear) years. I decided to give Lewiston ID a shot, as it is so nearby, and have booked reservations there for the night. Maybe we'll have time to explore Hell's Canyon and some Lewis and Clark sites. There is so much to see and this area of the NW is unfamiliar to me. The Palouse is amazingly beautiful. Hope my daughter likes it, and your cousin, too, kureiff. It looks like a great place to explore!

kureiff

It is a beautiful area. I did my first year of undergrad in Moscow. I loved it! I'm sure your daughter will too!

Orcas

Found a book called "Off the Beaten Path" and a listing of B&B's near Pullman. I've changed our reservations from Lewiston ID to a B&B in a huge working ranch north of Pullman. It even has a fish pond. One of the B&B's in the book is a converted convent; another an alpaca farm. I feel like our daughter is going to college in the new wild west. Cool!