Theme Dreams New Pullman Stop Offers Variety Of Suites
When visiting Pullman recently, I slept with Rueben Mayes, Mark Rypien, Drew Bledsoe, Mel Hein and other Washington State University greats.
No, I’m not a football groupie. These famous players were sewn onto a quilt I snuggled under in the Cougar Suite at the brand new Best Western.
This motel sits on a scenic bluff on the west edge of town, in the spot once home to The Hilltop Motel. The Hilltop restaurant remains, but the old motel was razed to make way for the spiffy new accommodations.
Rooms range from the standard bed-bath-cable-TV stuff to executive suites with large desks and dataports. There’s also an indoor pool with a spa and sauna that’s open 24 hours a day. A deluxe continental breakfast - which includes dry cereal, oatmeal, English muffins and fresh fruit - is served daily in the open, airy lobby.
But, it’s the theme suites that set this place apart from the typical motel.
There are five of them, all designed by Joann Richey, director of marketing for Hospitality Associates, a Spokane-based company that owns and manages the Pullman property.
One is the pretty Victorian Suite, done up in lace and floral prints. It features a canopy bed and a forest green fainting couch. Cherubs sitting on the shelves smile down angelically.
The Jazz Suite strikes the right chord with contrasting black and white furnishings and linens. Vintage sheet music hangs on the walls and wrought-iron chairs and end tables are embedded with musical notes. Antique instruments are enshrined in a shadow box.
A waterbed is fashioned with colorful bumpers to resemble a raft in the Canyon Suite. Kid-sized life jackets double as accent pillows. The walls in that room are textured with rough rock-like material and are strewn with stuffed wildlife, silk plants and vines. A “waterfall” trickles out of the wall into the two-person Jacuzzi tub.
The Wheatland Suite is pure Palouse with its flat log furniture and vintage farm equipment decor, including a hay knife and saws. Wheat weavings hang on the walls, and an old cream can contains an arrangement of the golden grain.
It’s unlikely that any Huskey could get a restful night’s sleep in the Cougar Suite. It’s impossible to walk into those crimson and gray quarters without humming the fight song: “… Best in the West, we know you’ll all do your best… .”
Along with the player-emblazoned quilt on the canopy bed, the room exudes Coug charm with old photos of the college, pennants, pompoms and various athletic gear. The school-color lamps have faux textbook bases. A tame, cuddly version of Butch the mascot sits on the bed.
It seems fitting that the room has a fine view of Pullman and the campus beyond.
All suites have mini-bars with microwaves and coffee makers, as well as Jacuzzi tubs built for two.
Rates for standard rooms range from $59-$69, while the suites are between $100 and $150 a night. For reservations, call (509) 332-0928.
(Note: The motel is already booked for all Cougar home football games this fall.)
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo