Don't give up!

I know the original poster wanted something different for the last night, possibly. Pike Street Suites is close enough to Capitol Hill to make access easy, but also close enough to downtown if that is what they want.

Hope that is clearer.

There is also The Marqueen Hotel and Mediterranean Inn in Queen Anne. The Med Inn being more affordable but it's not far off First Ave. downtown and that gives you a chance to putz around The Space Needle, Queen Anne and take a bus to Fremont. Many places to eat and drink--just a thought.

www.pioneersquare.org

Welcome! You've found the cultural heartbeat of the Pacific Northwest. Pioneer Square features over 20 city blocks of Victorian Romanesque architecture, more than 30 fine art galleries, over 200 unique and independently-owned shops, and the entertainment epicenter of Seattle's nightlife. Hungry? Your tastebuds will thank you for exploring the rich flavors of the District's many restaurants and coffee houses.

Whether you're searching for Seattle's history, a neighborhood business directory, a map of the Square, or information about our special events. You'll find it all on PioneerSquare.org

While I was out of town for a few decades, the area that I knew as "Skid Road" as a child was renamed "The City of Seattle Pioneer Square Preservation District" in 1970.

Those promoting the area around Pioneer Square have shortened "The City of Seattle Pioneer Square Preservation District" to "Pioneer Square." Nonetheless, Pioneer Square remains a specific piece of land within "The City of Seattle Pioneer Square Preservation District."

Actually, King Street Station is right on the border between the Pioneer Square/Skid Road National Historic District and the International District/Chinatown National Historic District. Union Station, which isn't used by Amtrak, is across the street from the King Street Station and is within the IDCNHD.

The station itself is on the National Register, so the federal preservation guidelines on the particular building outrank any controls placed on it by the City or State historic registers. (Thought I'd mention that even though nobody asked.)

And while we're splitting hairs, for criminently's sake, it's not <b>Pike's</b> Market, it's the <b>Pike Place</b> Market. Which is, by the way, also a national historic district, but not one connected to Pioneer Squareland.

I think the suggestion of the Queen Anne neighborhood is also good, as that's an interesting neighborhood. I've been to several theatrical performances in Capitol Hill and it's fun from that point of view also.

Among other things you can do, I recommend checking out the (fairly) new library, which is not far from the Mayflower. It has a unique design.

DS lives in Queen Anne, and all I could find by way of lodging (if I don't want to sleep on his roommates' funky couch) was the Inn of Twin Gables -- lovely B&amp;B but not near another thing. Otherwise, the south part of Queen Anne is around the Needle and goes from sketchy to OK and back pretty quickly. There are a couple of places on Lake Union (Silver Cloud and Residence) that aren't bad for convenience.

We ended up staying in the &quot;U&quot; district, in the Watertown, which is right on a bus route to downtown but more reasonable than most downtown hotels, and the &quot;U&quot; district has its own attractions and college-y charm.