You know what a hotel looks and feels like, but Salish Lodge is so much more than that. It's a self-contained resort, perched over glorious Snoqualmie Falls and loaded with amenities for getaway travelers. Military guests get more than they pay for, as they're rewarded with 15 percent discounts on any night but holidays or Saturdays. Valentine's Day is booked solid already, but Salish Lodge turns any stay into a relaxing romantic interlude.

Each room, for example, includes a fireplace, which keeps winter chill from tainting the hypnotic white noise of the Cascades. Beyond the standard hotel amenities, check out the luxurious bathrooms. Each boasts a two-person spa tub with body wash, onboard lights, and neck-to-toe massage jets. (This writer's wife insisted she was never leaving the tub. She may still be there.) Your night ends under 320-thread-count linens and goose down bedding. When you awaken, don your complimentary bathrobe and slippers, pop in a Keurig coffee, and primp in the heated bathroom mirror - no morning fog.

Photo courtesy of Salish Lodge
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Then it's time for one of the lodge's signature attractions. The Country Breakfast - named, apparently, for its ability to feed a small country - includes bread, juice, coffee, pancakes, fruit, steel-cut oats, three eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes and a perfect biscuit. We list the biscuit last only because it's the target of a century-old tradition, dubbed "Honey from Heaven." The grounds host 12 hives of docile Italian bees, making honey redolent of natural lavender. That honey gets drizzled onto biscuits like manna from on high, warmed by a fireplace that dates from the first incarnation of the lodge, which opened in 1919 as a welcome waystation for travelers through Snoqualmie Pass. The ground-level Dining Room and upstairs Attic are culinary standouts. Our Attic bartender and greeter, Tyson, showed off his habanero-melon firecracker of a cocktail, paired bracingly with a comforting chicken pot pie. Then came his apple-pie-like "Harvest Moon," garnished with a generous hunk of Beecher's Flagship Cheddar.

We advise you to arrive as early in the afternoon as possible. That allows time to stroll the grounds and nearby park, or to read the free paper with tea and biscotti in the library. (Also, it avoids a nerve-wracking drive up I-90 in the dark.) Valet parking is complimentary, but there's an ATM downstairs to provide cash for tips. Take a moment to savor the woodsy décor and evergreen fragrance of the hotel's reception lobby. Then, browse through the "Country Store," which offers items kissed by the lodge's homegrown honey. Signature coffee and mugs reference the lodge's featured role as the "Great Northern Hotel" in Twin Peaks.

If you're there for a special occasion, be sure to mention it when you book or check in. The Saturday we were there, for example, the hotel hosted a trio of wedding parties. The friendly, exemplary staff took great pains to keep all three brides from seeing one another. Tell us that's not exceptional management.

SALISH LODGE & SPA, 6501 Railroad Ave., Snoqualmie, room and dining packages $209-$1,419/night, 425.888.2556