Need a Hotel in Seattle for Pre-Cruise
 

We are looking for a reasonalbe priced hotel in the Downtown/Pikes Place Market area for 2 night pre-cruise for Sept. 8 and 9, 2011. I have looked and searched, but there is just too much overwhelming information and most of the hotels are expensive. The areas are confusing also. Would like to stay around or below $100 per night. The hotel doesn't have to be fancy just clean and in a good neighborhood. Not looking for extra amenities. I looked on Hotwire and the least expensive hotel option was a 3* or 4* for $139. Looking for hotels or booking sites that have promos codes or discounts. I used Hotwire for the last cruise we took for a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale and got a 3* Holiday Inn in a very iffy neighborhood. We are taking this cruise with my elderly parents and want to ensure a safe area. Also needs to be conveneint to resturants and attractions that we can easily walk to or inexpensive cab ride. We are leaving out of Pier 91 on the Golden Princess. Thanks.

The Green Tortoise Hostel is at the foot of Post Alley below the Pike Place Market. About $35/pp/day for a dorm room. The place was once a HI Hostel that I stayed at. The new HI Hostel is now 3 blocks east of the Amtrak station on King St.
There is a free bus zone from near the Amtrak station north past the Pike Place Market. If you have a lot of baggage, a taxi might work better.

KVR~ There just aren't hotels in downtown Seattle with a regular room rate under $100 unless you bid the hotel sights (and I have read of people getting the Sheraton or the Westin this was for under $100).

Any hotel in the downtown core will be safe, convenient, easy walking to restaurants and attractions. Pier 91 is a bit outside town to the north, so you'll need a taxi for that piece.

My personal favorite midpriced hotels are the Mayflower Park hotel or the Warwick.

Suze, I really like the Warwick. It's coming in at $154 per night though. I didn't think I could find what I wanted for the price I was looking for, but was hoping to find a special. I forgot that you lived in that area until you replied. :)

Do you know of any sites with on-line maps to look at of the area. That might help get my bearings. I tried google maps.

http://deckard.engr.washington.edu/e...d/downtown.pdf

http://www.downtownseattle.com/conte...itors/Maps.cfm

Here's a couple I found that are good. As you'll notice in the downtown core the street running north/south are numbered (1st, 2nd, 3rd, going up as you go inland away from the water) so it's pretty easy to orient yourself.

I'm not saying Seattle is exactly New York or San Francisco prices, but it's pretty much up there. Other than bidding, there's just not $100 rooms here.

I had an idea, Sixth Avenue Inn, which is the very most basic motel downtown, but even it showed a rate for $154 in September. And the Warwick is MUCH nicer!

Suze, what do you think about the Best Western Loyal Inn? I still have my notes from 2005 when we were planning this trip and didn't go. For 3 nights it's coming up $323.00 ($107.00 a night) That's about the best I have found.

Also we were looking at doing a happy Hour cruise. How would I get to The Southport Pier in Renton? How far is that from Downtown?

Thank you so much for you help. The maps were great.

Sure BW Loyal Inn would be OK. That's a good price. It's not the most convenient hotel as it sits a bit to the northern edge of the downtown core. Would a bit of extra time walking on everything, like if you wanted to go to Pike Place Market. But is closer to the Space Needle. Not in an area with many restaurants or anything, it kind of sits just at a busy intersection where a number of major arterial streets converge.

Renton is south down by Tacoma. Not sure exactly the distance to get to a pier there, but guessing it'd be 30+ mins driving. I don't know how you'd get there other than a fairly expensive taxi ride or rental car.

suze...Renton is down by Tacoma? You need to get out more. It is at the south end of Lake Washington. I've never been to the Southport Pier but I think it is adjacent to Gene Coulon Park...not easy to reach by public transportation but easy by car. KVR should Google it to get a map.

Renton is ten miles from downtown; Tacoma is 30 miles from downtown.

KMR, I followed my own advice and Googled Southport Pier. I was right about it being adjacent to Gene Coulon Park on Lake Washington, and I realized that I had driven past its entry road every time we went to the park. It is not near anything...not even the beach...and I would not recommend it based on location alone. Maybe it is price-competitive, but there are surely places to stay that offer more for the same price.

Thanks Bobmrg~ I did Google and the map came up saying "near Tacoma". Sorry, obviously was not correct. Thanks for the correction. Really on 10 mins? That's an easy taxi ride then.

Bobmrg, thanks for the info. We don't want to stay in that area. We are going to do a cruise on Lake Washington and just wanted to know how far it was from Downtown. I didn't want to end up with a huge taxi bill getting there and back. Glad to know it's only 10 minutes.

I should stick to giving advice on what I know... downtown Seattle and Capitol Hill only!!

KVR, It's ten MILES, not ten minutes.

I'm really not trying to confuse things here :-)

How many minutes drive time would you guesstimate then? I realize it depends somewhat on traffic/time of day.

How much to you think a taxi bill would be from the Best Western Loyal Inn to the Southport Pier in Renton? Just a guesstimate.

Our TA went ahead and booked us at the Best Western Loyal Inn for $107 per night x 3 nights. Her mother stayed there when she did her Alaska cruise and said for the money it was a decent hotel in a decent area and a good location to get to a lot of things. Now that I know exactly where we are staying, I can use the maps and figure out where the things we want to see and do are located in conjuntion with the hotel.

We're not going anywhere else this year as this cruise has wiped out our travel funds. No return Mexico trip in December either. It's going to be a long wait to September.

Actually I don't think the Loyal Inn is that bad a location at all. I go to the PATH headquarters on Westlake pretty often, and the BW Loyal is right opposite it; you're around a block's walk from the Lake Union trolley on Westlake, the big new Whole Foods shopping center (with Tutta Bella Pizza and other great restaurants) is right there, and it's not a hard walk at all to Seattle Center (Space Needle, monorail etc.) It's true the Loyal Inn isn't going to win any beauty contests, but for that price I think it's an okay deal.

Regarding the Southport Pier, I'd be guessing but I'd imagine a taxi fare from the BW Loyal Inn would be in the $50 - $60 range. If I were the OP I'd be looking at dinner cruises or simple excursions on Argosy cruises from downtown, rather than something from Far Renton. http://www.argosycruises.com/

I would allow 30 minutes minimum. Gardyloo hit the nail on the head when she suggested a cruise leaving from the waterfront on Elliot Bay, not a cruise on Lake Washington. Of course, a Lake Washington cruise will point out the houseboat from Sleepless in Seattle (so will a Duck tour) and Bill Gates's mansion...

I have a Y chromosome.

Is that $50-$60 one way or round trip. Since there is 4 of us if that's round trip we could split it. We are looking at this cruise:
http://www.waterwayscruises.com/page...ktail_cruises/

I did look at the Argosy cruises, but they didn't have what we are looking for. We didn't want like a full dinner cruise. Either a happy hour like the one we found or a sunset with snacks and cocktails.

Well sheez that's what I said guys :-) 30+mins. driving (I should have never mentioned Tacoma, that was my only mistake -lol).