My family at the Best Western Plus Airport Peppertree Inn.

Every great hotel has a great lobby, a comfortable, inviting space where you can relax in an overstuffed chair and take in the bustling energy of the travelers coming and going. The staff behind the check-in counter wear warm smiles and quickly learn the names of guests. They remember that you’re in town for a wedding or a graduation and ask you how the ceremony went.

My 11-year-old daughter will be the first to tell you this. We recently stayed in a grand, luxurious hotel with a lobby fit for a queen. Oriental rugs the size of small swimming pools were spread across the gleaming hardwood floors and chandeliers dripping with hundreds of sparkling crystals hung from the ceiling. The only problem: Nobody was there and the woman who checked us in looked tired and worn. Her smile was weak. My daughter declared the place depressing.

Watching TV in the lobby of the Best Western Peppertree.

The lobby at the Best Western Plus Peppertree Airport Inn immediately won my daughter’s approval. When we walked through the door late in the evening, the assistant manager Megan Morgan greeted us with the sort of smile you expect from a long-lost friend. We carried our luggage and bagsful of mini cheeseburgers from a well-loved burger stand called Dick’s. Megan invited us to sit at one of the tables in the lobby as if she were welcoming us into our own home. At 10 pm, my kids slurped up vanilla malts in front of a giant TV showing Disney channel. Meanwhile Megan filled me in on all there was to do in Spokane. Even late at night, a few guests trickled in and Megan made sure to say hello to them all. Life was good at the Peppertree.

Hot buffet breakfast is included with your room at the Best Western Plus Peppertree.

The next morning the lobby buzzed with activity. Aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends from afar were in town for college graduations and many carried overflowing bouquets of fragrant flowers. In a dining room off the lobby, my kids and I enjoyed the hot buffet breakfast as we waited for the “dads” (my husband and father) to arrive. The Peppertree breakfast is generous with a full spread of typical breakfast items such as bacon and eggs, a yogurt parfait bar and fresh waffles that you make yourself.

Soon the Dads arrived via the hotel’s free airport shuttle. I’d specifically picked the Peppertree because my husband and father would be flying in and out at separate times. I didn’t want to spend half my vacation driving to and from the airport.

Watching a World Cup game in the lobby of the Best Western Plus Airport Peppertree Inn.

We visited Spokane in the middle of World Cup season and the kids wanted to watch a soccer game. My family plopped down on one of the lobby couches to watch England play Italy while I took the baby up to the room for a nap.

Baby Julia gets comfortable at the Best Western Plus Aiport Peppertree Inn.

The rooms at the Peppertree are clean and tidy and the decor is fresh. My kids got a kick out of the decorative pillows on the beds that looked as if they were covered in green grass. Wi-fi is included with the room; a perk at all Best Western properties.

Indoor swimming pool at the Best Western Plus Airport Peppertree Inn.

After a nap and a World Cup game, the kids were ready for a swim.  The hotel’s indoor pool is heated and there’s also a hot tub. Let’s face it, on vacation all my kids really want to do is swim, especially with their dad and grandpa. Cannon balls!