These Downtown Spokane Hotels Let You Charge to Your Room — No Matter Which One You Book

Davenport Hotels comprises five luxury hotels in Spokane: The Davenport Hotel, The Davenport Grand, The Davenport Tower, The Centennial, and the latest addition to the group, The Louie. Four of those properties are located in the downtown area and belong to Marriott’s Autograph Collection — all but The Centennial — meaning that guests staying at any one of those four have access to the other hotels’ amenities and can charge to their room.

I was based at The Davenport Hotel, but a stay with Davenport Hotels isn’t your regular hotel experience — it’s part of an ecosystem of properties that serve as the foundation for an exciting weekend spent exploring a city full of dining, art, history, and outdoor experiences. All outlets (13 restaurants, the Davenport Spa, and all shops) are also open to the public.

Photos: Hayden Seder

At the heart of this group of hotels is Spokane’s most iconic hotel and the namesake of the hotel system: The Davenport Hotel. Walking through The Davenport feels like being transported to Europe’s lavish churches and castles, which was the intention when the hotel’s developer, Louie Davenport, enlisted local architect Kirtland Cutter to design the hotel in 1914. The first floor of the hotel is an ode to some of Europe’s most opulent architecture, with vaulted ceilings adorned with wood-like carvings, ornately designed with historic crests from across the world and images of animals, faces, and flowers.

To take in all the history, architectural details, and hidden Easter eggs, I took a tour led by resident historian Scott (tours are every Wednesday at 6 PM or by request) who in his waistcoat, page boy cap, and chained pocket watch fit the bill for a man about to divulge the hotel’s various secrets and ghost stories. Scott was a delight, playing a different queued up song for each of the hotel’s many geographically themed ballrooms (Spain, Italy, London, and France), showing us the embedded footprints in the first-floor marble floors from employees standing in the same spot for years, and pointing out how the bronze statue of Louie Davenport by the hotel’s entrance has had so many people stick their fingers in its eyeballs over the years that the eyes have widened and seem to follow you.

The 284-key hotel is a piece of living history, but it did switch hands in its 110 years, even getting boarded up from 1985 to 2000. Walt and Karen Worthy then bought and renovated it to bring it up to modern standards before they sold it to the current hotel group in December 2021. As such, many of the former amenities that guests loved in the early years (beauty parlor, watch repairman, rooftop tennis court) have made way for more modern amenities like a 24-hour fitness center, spa, and heated indoor pool.

The rooms — a mix of spacious suites, charming guestrooms, and apartments starting at $169 per night — are an extension of this, having also been renovated for the modern age, though detailing like gold brocade and frames and a large crest with a lion and a koi are a nod to its original architecture and history. My spacious room included a king bed, two TVs, a lounge area, a bathroom with both a bathtub and a shower, and a spacious double-sink vanity and closet. A kitchen counter with its own sink, Keurig, and mini fridge ensured I could store any snacks or leftovers (of which I had many).

Photos: Hayden Seder

The L’Occitane products in the bathroom were a nice touch (and are available for purchase in the hotel’s Emporium store). I also appreciated that the room’s trash can was divided into trash and recycling, which is but one of the many guest-facing sustainability efforts that the hotel group has implemented, along with low-flow showers and toilets, the use of compact fluorescents, composting food waste from restaurants and kitchens, and more.

Beyond their rooms, guests can get massages, facials, body wraps and scrubs, and manicures and pedicures at the hotel’s spa. I got to experience the signature massage, which included pre-massage relaxing and mimosas in the spa lounge before embarking on an hourlong aromatherapy-accented full-body massage. In-room spa treatments are also available, like the self-guided facial I received, giving me full privacy while enjoying the luxury of a spa treatment.

The hotel hosts monthly yoga June through September through a local fitness studio, The Union, on the Roof Garden Terrace, followed by complimentary healthy bites and wellness cocktails. Guests also have access to daily unlimited exercise classes at The Union.

Photos: Hayden Seder

Across the street from The Davenport is the brand-new hotel The Louie, which I toured in the days leading up to its opening (the hotel opened on May 5). While the hotels belonging to the Autograph Collection are all connected, The Louie and The Davenport are considered sister hotels, working symbiotically to provide whatever guests are looking for in one establishment or the other. Where The Davenport has the feeling of an opulent soiree, The Louie feels like the after-party at a friend’s house, where you’d cozy up in the living room and listen to some records.

This 48-key property is meant to have a more residential feel and was inspired by Louie Davenport’s residence in this former office building, where Davenport resided while building The Davenport Hotel. The design has a definitive 1950s feel, with the first-floor lounge area (meant to feel like Louie’s living room) featuring sage greens, velvet, warm rugs, wood accents, and a fireplace; a custom bar cart in the lobby tended by a burgundy-jacket-clad bartender; and a small Billiard Room. The Louie provides a bespoke experience for guests, with the city’s first butler service, creating a curated experience where every touchpoint has been tailored to the guest, starting from pre-arrival services like booking experiences and restaurants in advance.

The Louie has 16 room types, starting at $220 per night, all of which have the feel of a cozy, high-end apartment. The mix of rich textures, fabrics, patterns, and colors differentiates these rooms from your typical stark-white hotel room. Rooms all have king beds, as well as cozy custom furniture and fun design details like framed florals, old postcards, and various nods to Louie throughout. The hotel doesn’t have amenities like a gym or restaurant, which makes it the perfect oasis for those looking to have a distraction-free stay (though, of course, all those amenities and more are available either across the street at The Davenport or at one of the other hotels in the Autograph Collection).

Photos: Davenport Hotels

There are many restaurants to enjoy across the Davenport Hotels, starting with the award-winning Palm Court Grill in The Davenport, located in the first-floor atrium. Offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this American menu has a touch of Pacific Northwest flair alongside timeless favorites, like the renowned Crab Louie salad, which the hotel claims to have invented. Afternoon tea is served on Saturdays and Sundays and includes a large selection of teas alongside various sweet and savory finger sandwiches and housemade pastries served on tiered trays. The grill also serves a monthly signature Sunday buffet-style brunch.

Across from the Palm Court Grill in the atrium is the newly renovated Lobby Bar, where guests can sidle up to velvet green stools and get served Prohibition-era–inspired cocktails by bartenders in white button-ups and red suspenders. If the Lobby Bar isn’t your scene, try the Peacock Room Lounge, a Jazz Age–inspired cocktail bar with a 5,000-piece stained-glass ceiling featuring (you guessed it) a peacock in an ode to Kirtland Cutter (it was his favorite animal). I’d highly recommend ordering the bar’s signature cocktail, which comes in a ceramic peacock (though, sadly, the bar was sold out of peacocks when I ordered due to the drink’s popularity) or one of the award-winning double martinis.

Other notable dining options to try within Davenport Hotels are the Safari Room Fresh Grill and Bar at The Davenport Tower, if for nothing else than to take in the safari-inspired design, and the Grand Terrace Bar at The Davenport Grand, which gives great views of Riverfront Park while having a cocktail in the sun.

The Davenport Hotel is also home to the Emporium, a charming coffee bar and retail shop serving coffee, pastries, grab-and-go food items and beverages, retail and home items, and the hotel’s signature peanut brittle. Select Bonvoy guests (those who are part of the Marriott’s Bonvoy loyalty program) receive a daily $10 food & beverage credit and access to a daily peanut brittle demonstration and sampling.

Photo: Hayden Seder

No matter which of the Davenport Hotels’ Autograph Collection properties you stay in, you’ll be located in the highly walkable downtown area of Spokane, with easy access to great eats, drinks, shops, and excursions.

No trip could be complete without a venture into Riverfront Park, considered the jewel of downtown. Start with a trip in the Numerica SkyRide along the Spokane River and Spokane Falls, the largest urban waterfall in the US at 146 feet. Follow that up with a ride on the Looff Carousel, one of the nation’s oldest carousels (and one that Disney has reportedly tried to purchase several times). Behind the carousel is Garbage Goat, a metal goat sculpture created for the 1974 World’s Fair that has a vacuum inside that lets the goat “eat” small pieces of garbage, which I brought my own trash to feed it. The park is also home to several playgrounds, skateparks, a cafe, a concert pavilion, and numerous walks and hikes for all varieties of outdoor enthusiasts.

For those who want to experience more remote outdoor ventures, Spokane is a short drive from Washington’s two largest state parks, Mount Spokane and Riverside, as well as the beautiful Hayden Lake located just on the other side of the Washington-Idaho border. All Davenport Hotels guests receive 20 percent off of boat rentals at Hayden Lake Marina.

Dining options abound in downtown, including several restaurants incorporating Indigenous cuisine, like Indigenous Eats, which was recently voted the fourth-best new restaurant in the country by USA Today. After dining at Davenport Hotels’ restaurants for my first few days, I had a nice change of pace by taking a cooking class at Wanderlust Delicato, where my group and I made an assortment of French dishes and then dined on them while sampling some of the attached wine and charcuterie shop’s goods. On my last night, I sampled the delightful Italian dishes at Sorella (order the meatballs — they’re delicious and the size of baseballs!) before heading to Durkin’s Liquor Bar, where the speakeasy-style downstairs nook served as the perfect backdrop to drink my whiskey.

Photo: Davenport Hotels

Spokane plays host to an international airport (GEG) with direct flights to and from dozens of US cities operated by major and low-cost carriers. Spokane is also a stop on Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which travels between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.

The Davenport is about 10 minutes by car from GEG. Once you’re downtown, Spokane is a highly walkable (and bikable) city, but buses and rideshares are also available to get around. Because all of the Davenport Hotels belonging to the Autograph Collection are centrally located, you can easily move between them on foot.

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