Connoisseurs of Seattle hotels have been enjoying Inn at the Market since it opened in 1986. One of the best small hotels in the Pacific Northwest, this charming hotel overlooking the Pike Place Market is one of the most romantic small hotels in the city. Built on a steeply sloping street between First Avenue and the market, Inn at the Market is close to the buzz and bustle of Seattle’s number one tourist destination (the Pike Place Market) and the busy downtown core. But step into the hotel’s quiet inner courtyard and you’re in another world. The small lobby, with its cheery fireplace and quietly traditional decor, is what comfort is all about. There are several different room categories, but basically there are two room types: those with a city view (facing First Avenue) and those with a water view (facing Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains). Whatever the view, the rooms are large and uncluttered with a nod to relaxed comfort rather than fussy formality. Colors are muted and calm, furnishings sturdily modern, bathrooms roomy, and the amenities include Gilchrist & Soames toiletries. If your room doesn’t have a water view, you can still enjoy one from the roof deck overlooking Elliott Bay and the market, a perfect spot for enjoying a morning coffee or a Seattle sunset. In the rooms, you can open the windows for a breath of fresh air, but be advised that this can be a noisy area, with street life and, in the water-facing rooms, the hum of traffic on the elevated Alaskan Way highway (which will hopefully be gone by 2019). When they’re closed, the hotel’s double-paned windows and doors block out all the noise.  All the rooms and bathrooms in this personable, five-story hotel were refurbished in 2013 and 2014. If you want to spring for something really special, book Beecher’s Loft, a second-floor open-plan apartment in the building next door. A former architect’s studio, it’s been completely redone in a Seattle-chic way with a wrap-around balcony that’s right above the Pike Place Market.