Spokane stay - near the airport or downtown?
 

What is nice and safe for a late arrival ?

Safe? Anyplace here is safe.

I just moved to Spokane and most areas are safe. There are a few areas I wouldn't be in late at night by myself, but that goes for anywhere. before we moved here, my DH came in very late one night and stayed real close to the airport, I believe it was a Holiday Inn. It is brand new, clean and safe. There are also some great hotels right downtown that are clean and safe, Red Lion at the Park, Doubletree and Davenport.

There is a very nice Ramada Inn right at the airport out the door by luggage area. I've stayed there a number of times after getting in real late. Not your typical ramada: much better!!
www.spokaneairportramada.com/

The above are right. This is a very safe town unless you are looking to buy some meth, in which case....

I always recommend the Davenport, an old hotel downtown that was renovated to the tune of $30,000,000, and is very beautiful.

It's a 15-20 minute taxi ride into town.

I checked Davenport prices. Most expensive in town. $240 for two queen beds, but very nice hotel. Worth a splurge.

If you would rather have something less expensive, there are very nice hotels downtown abutting on the park. Lovely walks along the river, great ambiance.

A downtown hotel we stayed at, the Montvale, is horrible. I posted a full review on Trip Advisor (it was getting excellent reviews at the time).

I also like the Davenport. It's beautiful and the rooms are very nice.