I meant to say...thank you as well for all the amazing suggestions on dining. I will look at them and send them over to my husband and daughter and let them decide :-)

Momdd, I'm late seeing this post. But I hope she decides to come to school here, so you can come visit my fair city / home town.

Suze, in Seattle

Suze - :)

Right now it remains her #1 choice.... I am sure they will know more in a few weeks.

Yeah!! (I love Seattle, I moved here 30 years ago to "try it out for a year" and never left!)

A very cute, old-fashioned hotel in Queen Anne is the Marqueen. But it might be that for this trip, somewhere like the Homewood Suites would work out well. I've stayed at Springhill Suites many times, and I really liked it when I did (been several years), but it's a deserted area for walking back to at night, although I had no problems.

The main focus of the trip is to spend time at the University - they will be on campus all day on Thursday and 1/2 day on Friday - and to get a feel for the city - the budget is around a springhills suite ... :)

We prefer to stay within the Marriott brand due to points... (they trap us! ha!)


right now it is between SPU and a school in San Diego (PLNU) .... so either way Suze two cities you love! :-)

As you probably know, the SPU campus isn't especially big, so I assume the day and a half will largely be spent in formal activities rather than wandering around - not that far to wander.

To get a real feel for the university's setting in the city, I'd <i>highly</i> recommend taking a "locks" tour with Argosy cruises - http://www.argosycruises.com/sightse.../locks-cruise/ - which will take you right past the SPU bookstore and sports facilities on the bank of the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

Oooh tough choice. But hey I'd probably go with San Diego!

Seriously while I love Seattle for the vibrant city that it is, the weather... well... you get the idea :-(

I ended up reserving the Silver Cloud as it was at least 30.00 less expensive per night and parking is free - the marriotts wants 24.-25 dollars a night for parking...even at the lower end brands (Spring Hill Suites/Courtyard)

So thank you so much!! It is over 300.00 less total when you add it all up!

Thanks for the report. Enjoy. Silver Cloud has a good reputation.

HTtY

I will let you know how it goes... glad that they have a good reputation. The trip is costing a little more then we had wanted but I am sure they will have a great time!

Seattle is just out-of-control expensive these days imo. That might be another thing to compare to San Diego for the school decision. If she might want to rent an apartment off-campus or anything like that. It's gotten crazy expensive lately here.

Suze--That is so true! When DD was moving apt's last year, I went with her to look at a couple on Nickerson (Dawn, that is where a lot of SPU students live), and they were around $1400 for 1 bedrooms and total dumps. I told DD there was no way in h*ll she was living there.

That is good insight Suze & Mms - last night at dinner dd said she was leaning towards San Diego for a number of reasons - I did not think of the cost factor for when she is wanting to live off campus.

Dawn--You are welcome:) Another thing to think about for living off campus is the proximity to grocery stores, etc. The area where many of the SPU students live is not within walking distance of anything except a minimart. The bus system there is great, but she wouldn't be able to do a lot of shopping at once without a car. So yet another expense.

I have stayed at the Lake Union Silver Cloud a couple of years ago when I brought my son to school -Seattle U - which was across town, but the Silver Cloud rates, including free continental breakfast (at least at that time) and free parking made it worth the few miles drive!

I love visiting Seattle and will be sad that the every few months visits will coming to an end with graduation this spring.

One thing my son has loved to do with his dad on weekend visits is a foodie tour: www.savorseattletours.com

I agree that the Chilulay museum is amazing!

I'm not as familiar with the restaurants in that area of town, more familiar with Capitol Hill and Downtown. For downtown, I love some of the Tom Douglas restaurants, especially Dahlia and Palace Kitchen, and for a casual lunch I like Seatown (near Pikes Market).

As far as San Diego goes, PLNU is in an absolutely beautiful location in San Diego (where I grew up) - in Point Loma on the ocean. She will definitely need a car there, though.

ellenbw--The Savor Seattle tours are fantastic!!! If you haven't been yet, do it:)

Ellen - I grew up in San Diego too :-).

She has a car and would be brining it to PLNU. I will share the foodie tour - she might like to do that - they have all day on a Sat that is open (the other two days are choppy as there are SPU activities.) I am glad to read about the breakfast and will verify - all those little things add up - esp. the parking! It would be over 75.00 for the time they are there!

MMS - minimart - ugh. She has whole foods taste ;-).... I was thinking she would not bring a car to SPU at least at first.... decisions decisions. She is leaning towards Point Loma now... the money came in around the same - so thankfully that is not a deciding factor. She loves the beach, and frankly her time overseas this year made her appreciate good ole southern California.

Dawn--Yes, there are so many factors that play into their decision. With the money being the same, you will still save a lot if she opts for CA since there won't be the transportation costs for coming home for breaks.

Much as I love Seattle, I'd pick San Diego in a heartbeat!