We are looking to spend a couple of weeks in August visiting Seattle and Vancouver. We plan to start in Seattle (stay about 3 days) and we want to see Olympic Park and the coastline outside Seattle as well. Any ideas on hotels? Should we stay in Seattle or outside? What else should we see outside of the center of Seattle?
Thanks.

We stayed at the Warwick Hotel in Seattle a few years ago. It was very nice and central to everything. They have a complementary shuttle that will take you to and pick you up at places within a certain area. Bring your sneakers or comfortable shoes as Seattle is hilly.

I've been asking questions about Seattle lately as we'll be there in June.
Do a search on Seattle or my screenname and the other posts will come up for you.

We enjoy staying at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront location. We can sightsee during the day and then return to enjoy dinnerat Anthony's and the sunset on ElliotBay (and sometimes you can also see Ranier in the distance depending on weather).

We stayed at the Best Western Pioneer square.Great location.Outside of Seattle you should visit Mount Rainier N.Park.Paul

What's your budget and what type of hotels do you prefer? Seattle has a number of good hotels but it's hard to recommend one without knowing more about what you're looking for.

I would stay downtown if I were visiting--I like being able to walk to most things and to good restaurants.

I'm assuming you're visiting the Olympic Peninsula after Seattle (as opposed to trying to fit it into the 3 days you have here?).

As someone else suggested Mt. Rainier makes a good day trip. Snoqualmie Falls and the Woodinville wineries are some other possibilities.

"The park remains closed due to damage from flooding in early November 2006. The closure is in effect until further notice. SRs 410 & 123, Carbon River Road and the Paul Peak/Mowich Lake area are open to non-motorized use."

This is from the Mount Rainier NP web site. I suggest you monitor it as the time for your trip gets closer.

Good point, Bob. I've gotten the sense from the newspaper articles I've read about the closure that the park service expects to have the park re-opened in time for spring/summer, but it's a good idea to keep on top of it.

Hi there! We enjoyed a very nice stay at the Edgewater Hotel. It is located right over the water and has gorgeous views of Elliott Bay. We had a room with a fireplace, panoramic view and breakfast was included each morning at Six Seven, the hotel restaurant which is excellent. Enjoy Seattle! ***kim***

Good reminder, Bob. My husband was climbing on it right before everything got shut down. He is anxiously waiting for everything to reopen. He got out on the last road that was open, and he said even that was in bad shape.

We were looking to spend a about $200 a night. We have got via a contact a good rate at the Hilton in Seattle - I assume that is a good hotel?
Thinking some more we will probably spend a couple of nights in Seattle and then drive up to Vancouver and then drive back to Seattle and stay outside the center for a night (so a couple of days say looking around the outskirts of Seattle).

If you can get the Hilton for $200 or less in August then that's probably as good a choice as any. It's a little corporate for my taste but the price is right, since it's hard to find a nice hotel downtown for less than $200 in the summer months these days.

I'm still not clear on what your itinerary is (are you just planning to stay in Seattle and Vancouver even though you have a couple weeks?), but if you really want to see much of the Olympic Peninsula and the coast, then you should stay out there for at least a night or two, IMO, rather than trying to do it as a daytrip from Seattle.

We plan 3 nights in Seattle, 8 nights in Vancouver/Whistler/Vancouver Island and then 2 nights outside Seattle....approximately.

Ok, in that case if you want to see much of the peninsula and the coast, you should spend those last 2 nights out there (possibly at Lk Crescent Lodge if you can get in and assuming you like national park lodges). You could take the ferry from Victoria to Pt Angeles (be sure to make reservations), and you can drive from the PA area directly to the airport in about 2.5-3 hours so you wouldn't have to be back in Seattle the last night unless your flight is first thing in the morning (but you'd want to drive around through Tacoma rather than take the ferry--and that means checking the traffic situation with the Tacoma Narrows bridge construction closer to your trip).

I guess you can do Mt. Rainer as a day trip, but IMO it would be much more fun if you stayed overnight at Paradise Lodge (assuming it's open). It's good that you're planning this far in advance, as things fill up. I would suggest you add that and maybe plan on taking a day away from Vancouver because even though it's a great city, it isn't all that different from Seattle and IMO Mt. Rainer is worth more time.

And yes, bring comfortable shoes for Seattle.

It would be helpful too if we knew more about what your priorities are for this vacation--city culture or natural beauty and hiking.

I am a fan of The Mayflower Park Hotel, perfectly central and the longest continually operating hotel in Seattle (rumor has it).

You can do Mt Rainier or even Mt St Helen as a day-trip, but it's a long one!

I too am a fan of Mayflower Park Hotel.

Paradise Inn is closed for renovation and anticipated to reopen in May 2008.

To Author: rmmeli
We are planning same trip bu in September. We are taking train from Seattle to VC. Where are you planning on staying in Vancouver?

We are thinking of staying at the Rosellen Suites as someone I know has stayed there in the past and thought it was good. Any comments anyone?