Please comment!

We'll be taking the 10:30am coho ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, will have lunch, then drive to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic Nat'l Park near Seattle, which will put us at about 4:00pm. We thought we'd go see Port Townsend, as it is a big sailing town, have dinner, and are looking for an inexpensive, clean place to stay. We researched Port Angeles and couldn't find anything available there for less than $150/nt. Does anyone know of a place to stay in Port Townsend, Sequim, or west of Port Angeles? Much appreciated!

We had a wonderful time in the Olympic National Park a few years ago. The beaches were so georgous!It was one of our most memorablde trips! We LOVED the Kalaloch area (the clam chowder was amazing at the lodge! I never expected the food to be good at the national Park, but go hooked on the clam chowder! Can't remember having any other meal) We wanted to stay in Kalaloch but they were booked. We actually ended up staying at the Lake Quinault Lodge. It was nice. The rooms were very basic a a bit outdated but the lodge was great & the lake was beautiful. The only downside was the fact that it is in a rain forest and after a day or so we had to search out the sun so we found our selves in the car driving to Kalaloch which is a good 45 minute drive. I cannot make any recommendation on places to stay in the towns on the way to the forrest. I do remember that it all took a lot longer that I expected to drive to Quinault. Gas & supplies got more expensive as we drove further so make sure you gas up early.

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to look up the Kalaloch area as I haven't heard of it. I've seen many rainforests, so I'm not as crazy about going to Lake Quinault. With that in mind, do you still think we should visit it?

Where are you headed the next day?

There was a recent post on TripAdvisor about the Sundowner Motel in Sequim, with a favorable review and a report that it was less expensive than other places in the area. I don't know it at all however so can't comment.

Have you looked at the Dungeness Bay Motel? It's a cute mom & pop type place right near the Juan de Fuca Cottages (which I love but I think are above your price range) but less expensive.

Recently I spent a long lunch at Lake Quinalt Lodge (7.5 hours waiting for a new rental car to be delivered when the lock system failed on the one they gave me that morning). It's really a lovely place, but that's quite a drive after what you plan to do, and then involves heading back the southern route (assuming you are headed to Seattle?

I also then spent that night at Lake Crescent Lodge, which is very close to Port Angeles and a lovely spot. I had one of the cheapest and plainest rooms -- as requested -- but some of their rooms are nicer and the lodge dining room on the lake is really quite nice. I loved doing a half hour or so rainforest hike right there in the morning. Now if only a school bus hadn't backed into my new rental car that morning and crumpled the front end it would have been a lovely stay. The first two days of my trip were clearly "rental car hell".

If you're not crazy about rainforests, I don't think Kalaloch area would really appeal to you then.

wow NeoPatrick, too bad about the rental car accident! yikes!!

Thanks everyone.
Been at the city swim meet all day with kids so just returned here! Last night many places were booked at the rate I was looking for, but I found the Aladdin Inn on the water in Port Townsend has had very good reviews on tripadvisor, so I booked that.
The next day, we'll do a driving tour, drive west around the park, as we'll have seen Hurricane Ridge, will stop all along the way, in Forks, La Push, and Ruby Beach, and then shoot all the way down to Seaside. This plan -roughly- follows Fodor's "ONP in a day". We are on a driving tour, and that is the most ground we'll cover in a day on the whole trip.
In the meantime I will look into the hotels you mentioned, as I'd seen some of them listed, to see if any work better.

Wow, never had rental car problems like that before - not fun!

Appreciate your responses, and leaving early tomorrow morning! We'll continue to pick up messages if you comment, and happy travelling -

Port Townsend is a great town but it is a bit backwards to go there from Hurricane Ridge and then head west.

From Seaside, I hope you are going to go south. The Oregon Coast starts getting beautiful just south of Seaside, at Canon Beach. It is pretty flat from Seaside up.

The Washington coast is, for the most part, inaccessible. You don't actually drive along the beautiful parts. You are inland. You can go to them in some spots by car and you can walk in from various spots. But the Oregon Coast is something really special, like Rt 1 in California, but heavily forested.