Hi: After much talk and discussion with this forum and my family, we have started finalizing our vacation plans for Washington and Oregon. I have now decided against staying in downtown Seattle because of the expensive hotel rates. I think that we would be much better off staying where we can just jump on the public transportation and go into the downtown area. Now, the question: Can anyone reccomend a nice hotel and good area for us to stay in? I would like to have access to public transportation. Hope everyone had a good holiday. Thanks. Kathy

We stayed in Kent at Days Inn but we had friends in the area to haul us around.Motel had p[retty good breakfast, usually=juice, coffee, fruit, cereal Another resturant down the block was good.May be some one else can comment on the public transportation.
I am told there are reasonable rates over by Lake Washington near the University and the buses are quite convenient to downtown.
Hope this helps--
PS We also stayed at Queen Ann Hill Inn (not sure exact name) north of Space Needle area and could walk lots of places.

Do not stay in the burbs--our public transportation is not very good. Ballard, The U. district, or Broadway are good--and Broadway area is lots of fun. Get on a Seattle internet site for prices...since we don't stay here in hotels much, can't be sure which to recommend. The Edgewater is a 'tried and true' hotel on the waterfront, but may be getting a little tired, altho I hear it is refurbished. It would be a good location.

We visited Seattle for 3-4 days in June, 1999. Found some decents rates on some downtown hotels by going through the King County Lodging website, but we chose to stay at an Embassy Suites (a family favorite) in Bellevue, and was very happy. We did have a car, and the driving was not difficult. I don't think Seattle has a really extensive public transportation system to the surburbs, though. ES offers reasonable weekend rates, but during the week, can be pretty pricey. You'll probably get the same rates for ES on their website vs a hotel discounters on the web.

Hi, Kathy,
A couple of suggestions:
The Edmond Meany Hotel, recently renamed the Best Western University Tower, is a nice art deco hotel close to the University of Washington, interesting walking area, umpteen buses at the door to downtown, etc. The "U District" is not everyone's cup of tea (lots of students and a fair number of street people) but the hotel is several blocks from the seediest stretches (which aren't very bad, anyway) and the rest of the area is a lot of fun - book stores, the beautiful UW campus, lots of cafes and shops. The hotel itself is very nice and quite the local landmark. http://www.meany.com/

A mile or so northeast of the Meany is a comfortable, if vanilla, Silver Cloud Inn, located near the University Village shopping center, a very upscale in-city development with lots of shops and restaurants (Pottery Barn et al). Again, instant bus connections to the rest of the city. There's another one on Lake Union, closer to downtown, which may offer some rooms with views of all the boat traffic on Lake Union. http://www.scinns.com/

I think I'd choose the lower Queen Anne/Seattle Center location, although prices may not be that much better than downtown. Check out the Marqueen or the Inn at Queen Anne (both under the same management; the Marqueen is the more upscale of the two). You'd be in a nice residential/business neighborhood but within (long) walking distance of downtown, or there are plenty of buses and/or the Monorail. There are also a number of less expensive chain motels like the Holiday Inn Express or Comfort Inn.

Hi Kathy, the Inn at the Market, at Pike's Market is ideal. We stayed there and didn't ever need to have a car! Walking into the market each morning for breakfast is a special treat. Either you can walk to attractions, take the monorail or the trolleys. It's a wonderful city. Enjoy.

Have you checked the Mayflower Park Hotel downtown? When I stayed there in '98 it was very nice and very reasonable.

I worked at the Sheraton for three years. I also worked at a hotel on Lake Washington for one year. Do not stay to far from downtown, public transportation is not the way to spend a vacation. The floating bridge can only hold so much traffic.

Do NOT stay at SeaTac. The hotels are awful and far away.

Also, do not stay at the Ramada in Downtown. I have only heard bad things about that property.

The Roosevelt is a little run down but in a great location.


By the Space Needle Travelodge
6th North And John, Seattle, WA 98101
Never stayed there but it is near the Space Needle, MOTEL.

Inn at Virginia Mason
1006 Spring Street, Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 583-6453
This is my secret hotel. They always had rooms available. It is part of a hospital and the rates are good and they are clean with a good location.

HI, my wife and I live in downtown Seattle a few blocks from Pike's Street Market. When are you coming and how long do you plan to stay. Downtown will put you in the heart of everything with the added bonus of free transportation. There are hotels everywhere, what is your price range? I'd be gald to reply. Good luck.

Inn at the Market is wonderful but $250 for bay view and $170 for city view is too expensive for my budget.(plus city view is VERY noisy. Mayflower would be my choice- middle of downtown,same building as Monorail station, three storied shopping mall with good food court AND lower level is access to rail system with convenient stops all the way to Pioneer Square(historical area) All transportation in downtown area is free within prescribed area.(one exception to this is the Trolly which goes from Pioneer Square, down along embarcadero and eventually turns around near the Edgewater Hotel) (rates average $200).This is a nice hotel but walking to interesting area as Pike's Market about 8 blocks
Good luck....

We stayed at the Hampton Inn near the Space Needle for About $100.00 per night that included a continental breakfast. We found the rooms to be very nice. We used the monorail to get downtown but there is also a bus stop near the Music Experience where you can catch a ride downtown.

I agree with Sarah. The wife & I stayed at a B&B in Kirkland. It was a very nice place but going through the suburbs to get into the city of Seattle was a nightmare. It's a lot easier to get around Seattle if you stay right IN Seattle city limits.