The Ace Hotel is a cool old brick building in the northern end of the Belltown district. Yes it is a bit outside the downtown core (a dozen blocks to get over the Macy's, Nordstrom, Westlake area).

Personally I don't share bathrooms, and I definitely don't share them for 100 bucks a night. I'd probably instead stay at the Moore, which is an old & bare-bones place but at least has private bathrooms and is in a much more central location.

Or cut my budget elsewhere and stay at either Mayflower Park or the Warwick hotel.

Thanks for your input. They just opened an Ace in NYC and its a real hot spot and has brought a lot of buzz. I've been there for drinks/coffee and its great... I didn't think the one in Seattle would be as "shady" as you guys put it.
I will look at some other options. Thanks