Historic Hotels & Inns in Port Townsend

The neighborhoods

Where to stay, by area

Downtown

Water Street and Washington Street, at the foot of the bluff, were rebuilt with three- and four-story brick and sandstone blocks in the 1889–90 railroad boom, as the population rose from about 2,500 in 1887 to 6,500. Building stopped once it became clear the town would not be a railroad terminus, and by the depression of 1893 the population had fallen by nearly two-thirds, leaving many upper floors unfinished; the blocks survive as the commercial core of the Port Townsend Historic District, a National Historic Landmark since 1977. The Palace Hotel is in the 1889 Captain Tibbals Building on Water Street and The Bishop Hotel in the Bishop Block, a block up on Washington Street. Downtown is flat and walkable from the Coupeville ferry stop to the Northwest Maritime Center, though many entries have steps and two blocks of Water Street are brick cobbles.

Uptown

Uptown is the residential plateau above the bluff, where boom-era Victorian houses went up beside a small commercial district on Lawrence and Tyler Streets, built, the district nomination says, as a shopping area for ladies away from the waterfront. The Old Consulate Inn faces the 1892 Jefferson County Courthouse and its clock tower, The Starrett House is on Clay Street, and Manresa Castle stands on Castle Hill. Getting down to Water Street means the long, steep Terrace Steps behind Haller Fountain, the Monroe Street sidewalk or the free 11 Shuttle.

Fort Worden

Fort Worden, the Army’s coastal artillery post on the bluffs at Point Wilson, finished its barracks and officers’ quarters in 1904, was dedicated as a state park in 1973 and is a National Historic Landmark in its own right (1976). Washington State Parks rents the Officers’ Row houses facing the parade ground as whole houses; the 2026 lodging season ran April 1 to October 31, and 2027 dates aren’t posted yet. The fort is 1.5 miles from downtown on the free Route 2 bus, and at low tide you can walk the beach into town.

Before you book

Planning your stay

Getting around

Enjoy Port Townsend says the drive from Seattle generally takes about two hours, using the Seattle–Bainbridge ferry (about 35 minutes) or the Edmonds–Kingston ferry (about 30 minutes) and then the Hood Canal Bridge, where openings for marine traffic stop cars for about 10 to 45 minutes. From Whidbey Island, the Port Townsend–Coupeville ferry crosses in about 35 minutes; WSF recommends reservations for all vehicles on that route, and tides can cancel sailings. Jefferson Transit is zero-fare on every route: the 11 Shuttle loops through downtown, past the Coupeville ferry stop, and Uptown, Route 2 runs to Fort Worden and Route 14 meets the Kingston ferry.

Parking

The Jefferson County Historical Society lists free two-hour street parking on Water, Madison and Washington Streets, and Enjoy Port Townsend warns of a handful of private paid lots; it suggests parking at the free Haines Place Park & Ride (440 12th St., next to Safeway) and riding the zero-fare buses. The Bishop rents guests a reserved space beside the hotel for $10 a night, one per suite, and the Palace has a small free first-come lot behind the hotel. At Fort Worden, each vacation house includes parking for one vehicle (extra vehicles are $10 a night), and overnight guests don’t need a Discover Pass.

When to go

Summer is high season: State Parks’ peak rates run May 15 to September 15, and Fort Worden’s houses price May 1 to September 30 as high season. The Rhododendron Festival runs May 12–16, 2027, with its Grand Parade on the Saturday, and the Wooden Boat Festival at Northwest Maritime and Point Hudson Marina, held September 11–13 in 2026, reaches its 50th edition in 2027 (dates not yet published). Winter is quiet: Fort Worden’s 2026 lodging season ended October 31, and WSF opens Coupeville vehicle reservations for December 27 to March 20, 2027 on October 27, 2026.

Accessibility

Port Townsend’s Victorian core is hard going in a wheelchair: DASH’s accessibility map notes that most downtown buildings have stepped entries and few have elevators, two blocks of Water Street are brick cobbles, the Terrace Steps to Uptown are long and steep, and Uptown has few sidewalks, so it recommends the lift-equipped shuttle. The Palace has no elevator and no ground-floor rooms, the Old Consulate says it is not ADA accessible, and The Starrett House cites steep staircases and takes no children under 12. Manresa had an elevator installed in 1928, but ask whether guests can use it today.

Before you book

Book festival weekends early and read the cancellation terms: the Old Consulate Inn requires two nights (longer on festival weekends), the Bishop needs 30 days’ notice to cancel festival or event bookings (72 hours otherwise), and the Palace 48 hours. Fort Worden’s houses book through Washington State Parks up to nine months ahead, with a two-night minimum all year, an $8 online reservation fee plus $15 for non-residents and cancellation fees of 5 to 50 percent; in summer 2026 the Officers’ Row houses ran $550 to $1,200 a night. The Starrett House’s nonprofit owner says it aims to turn the house into affordable housing, so confirm your stay as the date nears.