ronb

I'm planning a one week family trip with wife and daughter (18 yrs old) to Seattle the end of July, first part of August. We are considering the following choices for hotels in the Lake Union area: Silver Cloud, Marriott Residence Inn, Marriott Courtyard

All three are somewhat comparable in price ($135-$160) which is within our budget. They all said that they have lake view rooms available. We will have a car and this is our first trip to Seattle.

Thanks for the help!

Gardyloo

The south and east bank of Lake Union is a rapidly developing area with lots of high-tech, medical research and other activities springing up.

Any of the three would be fine, all are pretty new and should give good value.

IMO the Residence Inn is the best located of the three, plus they have free hot breakfasts and all-suite accommodations. The Silver Cloud is the newest, also a couple of blocks farther from downtown (all about a mile and a half to the city center - don't know if they offer shuttles but bus at the door.) The Silver Cloud offers things like a hot breakfast, free washers and dryers, free parking (vs. $20+ downtown) and other goodies.

The hotels are across the street from the lakefront; the actual shore is occupied by a number of restaurants, some excellent, so there's no shortage of calories in the area.

You might have a look at Priceline - all of them have come up in the $45-$60 range; at that rate how wrong can you go? Check out www.biddingfortravel.com to see results, reviews, and how-tos on Priceline bidding. I would definitely give it a flutter if it meant saving a hundred bucks a night.

jimshep

As Gardyloo suggests, the lake views from these hotels would not be impressive--commercial buildings on the lake shore and a rather busy road separate the lake from the hotels. In addition, the good views of Lake Union are from the nearby hills and bridges. If non-view rooms are cheaper than view rooms, you might want to save money by booking one without a "view."

repete

have a little fun -- stay on the tugboat challenger ... and you'll be right on Lake Union

dwoodliff

I just returned from a week's stay (with my 17 and 19-yr. old teens) at the Silver Cloud Inn on Lake Union, and I cannot say enough good about this hotel. After checking prices online ($129-139 for a lakeview room), I called the hotel, and they offered us a lakeview room for $109 a night (ask for the weekly rate)! With tax included, it came to $126 a night. We were on the 7th (top) floor, and the view of Lake Union was fantastic. We could also see the Space Needle off to the left.

The hotel has both an indoor and outdoor pool, and free hot breakfast. They advertise a free shuttle to downtown, but they will actually take you ANYWHERE in Seattle, if they're not already booked to go elsewhere. They took us to King Street (train) Station one morning at 7, and picked us up at 10:30 the next night. There are also 2 levels of free covered parking under the hotel.

The Marriott Residence Inn is about a block closer to the highway (I-5), but you take the same exit to get to both hotels (167).

I would definitely recommend the Silver Cloud. For a mid-range priced hotel, I'd rate it a 10 out of 10.

Donna

ronb

We decided to stay at the Silver Cloud. Thank you all for the replys, they were very helpful.