Anyone stayed here? Nice place? Your alternate suggestions in this area?

Thanks!
Jean

If your referring to the Hyatt in Bellevue WA. this is a great location if you plan on just staying on the Eastside. It is right across from Bellevue Square Mall, walking distance to movies and the musuem.

How long will it take to get to downtown Seattle from this location?

Thanks again!
Jean

Depends on when you're going - could be 15 minutes - could be an hour! Traffic can be a nightmare around here.

There's an Embassy Suites near I-90 that is nice, with easy frwy access and you can avoid traveling I-405. But if you're trying to commute to Seattle in the morning, or back in the evening, you'll be awhile. Get on the frwy <7am >9:30am and >6:30pm during the week.

Jean, the rush hour traffic is pretty bad here so as others said it depends on the time of day you are going downtown. If it's morning or evening I would give an hour to be safe. If you are planning on commuting every day I would change your plans and stay in Seattle.

Then my next question would be - where would you recommend we stay in Seattle, keeping in mind that we want to feel safe and we like the kind of accomodations a Hyatt or Hilton offers.
Thanks again!

Jean

Jean, I'd recommend you consider using Priceline if you want a good price on a 3* or 4* hotel in downtown Seattle.

For info, see http://www.BiddingForTravel.com. Check out the Washington-Seattle hotel thread for specifics on winning bids. Nobody reports paying more than $80/night (plus taxes and Priceline $5.95 fee) for a 4* hotel in downtown recently. Some 3* hotels have gone for prices in the $40 range.

Here's a list of the hotels that have been reported as coming up on Priceline:

4 Star
Sheraton Hotel and Towers
Westin Hotel
W Hotel
Hotel Vintage Park
Hotel Monaco

3 Star
West Coast Vance Hotel
Summerfield Suites
Crowne Plaza

Be sure to read the Hotel FAQs on that site if you decide to try Priceline. Be sure to understand the concept of free rebids to maximize your chances of making a successful bid without overpaying.

Usual disclaimers--no vested interest in your using Priceline or the Web site mentioned above, you can't pick a specific hotel (just a star-level and Priceline zone (in your case, you'd probably want to stick with downtown Seattle)), no guarantee you'll be able to match previous winning bids (although it's possible you could match or beat them), yadda, yadda.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your time in Seattle!

Jean downtown Seattle is very safe, I really wouldn't worry about that. Depending on what you are here for would kind of help you to narrow down the areas of downtown. Are you here for business or fun- then you can choose to stay in the more business area of DT or closer to Westlake for shopping or Pike Place Market for tourism- you get my drift!