It is worth it to jump up a price bracket. For not much more than a motel, you can stay comfortably at Gaylord House B&B (3301 Grand Ave., 425/339-9153 or 888/507-7177, www.gaylordhouse.com, $100–135 s or d), a 1910 Craftsman home in a quietly elegant neighborhood near downtown. The inn has five luxurious guest rooms with antiques, private baths, and gourmet breakfasts. Kids are accepted, and a four-course high tea ($15) is available to guests and the general public by reservation, as are dinners by special request.

At the scenic Everett Marina, The Inn at Port Gardner (1700 W. Marine View Dr., 425/252-6779 or 888/252-6779, www.innatportgardner.com, $109–189 d, $235 d for a deluxe suite) has the best hotel view in town. The cannery-style lodge is a good-looking specimen, though the furniture is a bit cheap for the image the exterior and lobby present. But the cleanliness of the rooms, the cheerfulness of the staff, and the dockside location make up for the shortcomings. If you are traveling on business, be sure to tell staffers as much—there is a generous mid-week discount to road warriors.

If you prefer the predictability of chain hotels, your top pick should be the Holiday Inn Downtown Everett (3105 Pine St., 877/863-4780, www.holidayinn.com, $126 d). Just a stone’s throw from the Everett Transit Center and downtown, and conveniently located right off the freeway, this airy tower hotel has clean and updated rooms, along with a pool, spa, and fitness center. Rooms face away from the freeway for a quiet night’s sleep, and morning brings a breakfast buffet smorgasbord that is the envy of other establishments’ measly continental offerings.