Plan to be in Seattle for 1 1/2 days in May and would like suggestions for lodging. Would prefer to stay around the $100/day range - have been checking Fodors and see most of the hotels are more than that.

I was in Seattle last June and found very few hotels in Seattle for less than $100. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Bellevue and it was @140 during the week and about $120. on the weekend. We felt that was our best option since we had a car 7 3 adults. However, before going, I had located a decent hotel in Seattle through the King County Visitors & the Seattle website. I believe it was the Seattle Inn, near the Space Needle..

the website for the visitors bureau is see.seattle.com. Downtown hotels in the less expensive range that are recommendable include: Pacific Plaza, West Coast Vance, Roosevelt; near downtown are Inn at Queen Anne and Inn at Virginia Mason. In May, particularly on the weekend you might be able to get a rate close to what you are seeking.

I would second the recommendation of the Pacific Plaza downtown in your price range. The rooms at the Vance are breathtakingly tiny. If the Roosevelt does have rooms in your price range, then it would be a decent choice--it's nothing special, but the location is prime. However, their rates are usually a bit higher than $100/night.

If you don't mind a shared bath, try the Pensione Nichols (right at the Pike Place Market) or the Ace Hotel in trendy Belltown (just north of the Market). Rates for those places should be in the $70-80/night range.

I'm not sure I would recommend the Seattle Inn--it's a motel on a very busy highway, in a not-very-charming part of town. But the price might be right.

Do try the visitor's bureau hotel hotline, which will help you compare rates and availability for your dates without calling each hotel. Once you get it narrowed down, it's always a good idea to call the hotels you are considering directly to see if they have any better rates available.

Sheri Doyle
Pacific Northwest Journeys
Seattle WA

We stayed at the Roosevelt in March and found it to be an excellent location, clean, and though the rooms were a bit on the smallish side they were still very manageable for two people.

We paid $85 a night and thought that was a good rate for the location. There is a restarant adjacent and you are within walking distance of Pike marketplace and loads of shopping. The monorail to the Space needle is only a few blocks away.

If you want economy, there's a Travel Lodge on Mercer Island and one in downtown Seattle -- these run $60-70/night.

I stayed at the Mayflower Park on my last two visits to Seattle. Good location adjacent to a large shopping center and most downtown retail areas, and a few blocks from the waterfront. The hotel was not pretentious but was pretty, clean, and friendly. I think it was about $100-125 a night back in 1997, but this may be higher now.

There is a place called the "Kings Inn" which is a small MOOOOOtel that is a "no frills" affair... the good news is that it's on 5th avenue right downtown just about 3 blocks from Westlake center and roughly 4 more from the Pike Place Market... location is primo and I know the off-season rates are about $60 per... surely less than $100 in May... accomodations are nothing special but location is primo for the price.

Stayed in Seattle Labor Day weekend. The Triple-A Tourbook had a number of good leads, but we ended up at a motel called the Crown Inn in an, er, unpretentious (but nonthreatening) section about 5 minutes north of downtown. The place was brand new and clean. Run by an asian gentlemant with no interest in the amenities (directed us to his mini-mart for a cup of coffee), but did I say it was brand new and clean? The room directly over the office is HUGE. We could have parked the car between the queen size beds if we could only have driven up the steps.