My family (wife and 1 year old son) are traveling to Washington/Oregon in mid-July. We were thinking of staying at the Comfort Inn in Bothell, WA, which is 12 miles north of the center of Seattle. Has anybody stayed there before? We have had good experiences with Comfort Inns in San Diego and especially Palm Springs. What is Bothell like? Is it safe to stay there? Will it take long to get to/from Seattle each day?

Thanks.

Bothell is safe--it's a suburb across the lake from Seattle. It's a bit far away from main attractions though, but if you have a car, you should be ok. Might be better off at the Silver Cloud in Bellevue or the Embassy Suites in Bellevue as Belleuve is closer to Seattle and has some attractions of its own (beautiful botanical gardens and a new art museum).

Although Bothell is safe traveling in and out of Seattle is a pain from there! You must take I5 through the University area and the Northgate area which are always bumper to bumper. 20 minutes if you are lucky- more often then not it will be 30 to 40.

I think Paula's suggestion of staying in Bellevue if you must stay at a Comfort Inn is better. I also think there is a Comfort Inn on lower Queen Anne which is right by Seattle Center.

I agree with the previous posters. I live in the Bay Area but used to commute to Bothell on business. It is indeed a pain to get to Seattle, even though it's geographically close.

Thank you all for your guidance!

I live in Bothell, so I'll share with you my thoughts. If you're coming to visit someone in the Bothell area and want to stay close to them, then Bothell's a fine place to stay. There are number of eateries around Comfort Inn. There are also many other better accomodations near the inn (residence inn, holiday inn, courtyard by marriott, wyndham) This area is known as Canyon Park. Bothell is generally a residential town (with the exception of the large, high tech business centers located in Canyon Park) so it will not have the attractions/sites that might interest first time visitors. If you're coming to visit Seattle and do a lot of sightseeing, I'd agree with the other recommendation to stay somewhere else. Eastside (Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland) is a good location, right across the lake from Seattle. Or stay in Seattle. I've read post from people who used Priceline that they were able to get rooms at the brand new Hyatt Seattle for ~$40/night. This is what I would recommend.