Royal Victorian Motel

A good compromise for a weekend getaway.

Reasonably priced rooms in Pt. Angeles (less than $200) for four were hard to find the weekend we wanted. The Royal Victorian is a mom-n-pop property, originally from the golden days of road travel and the motor hotel. It is trying very hard to make a good comeback. The freshly painted exterior in yellow and purple with flower boxes is cheerful and welcoming. The super nice staff were a highlight. We were both greeted and sent off at check out with a bottle of water for each member of our party (4) and a few road snacks at check out, too (pretzel bags and granola bars). Desk staff took time to highlight the ferry schedule for us and recommended local beaches when I asked. The motel was walking distance from the pier, restaurants, and the water. The municipal indoor swimming pool is nearby as well and is a nice and inexpensive facility for a family to use. Our 2-room suite was reasonably clean, with a working microwave and mini-fridge, and had been recently painted. It was fine for what we needed, a crash-pad overnight as we had a weekend away from Seattle. I knew not to expect more, so the Royal Victorian was exactly what I thought it would be.

As I said, the hotel is making a comeback. While the completed improvements and effort are obvious, there are still projects to be done, and fixtures and furniture to be replaced/updated to finish the refurb. Even with updated wall covering and shower/tub surround, the bathroom really showed its age, as did the little efficiency kitchen. Our room was on the road side of the motel with windows facing the highway, and the road noise was audible, even with the windows closed. We coincidentally arrived on the hottest weekend of the summer, and the AC unit was not adequate to cool the room before sundown -- it was also blocked by a dresser and TV. The second room had no fan or cooling unit at all. After sundown, we were able to get a bit of a breeze with open windows and the room was then comfortable enough to close for the night to mitigate the road noise. Wi-Fi was spotty and an unsecured network. Not bad for a quick overnight, but I'm not sure I'd use it for a longer stay where I expected to be in the room a lot.