We'll be visiting Seattle in mid-June.

Downtown Seattle is a bit pricey for our family of six.
Any suggestions on safe cities about 20 minutes from downtown? Maybe between Seattle and Sea-tac airport?

Bellview right across the lake is about exactly 20 min away. Bellview mall is surrounded by some nice modest priced hotels including the Silver cloud. Many middle range restaurants right on the lake front. We like the area a lot.

I love the town of Edmonds- but its north of the city, not by Sea Tac. Its a very cute little town, there are several good restaurants and boutiques for shopping.
Its on the water, nice paths for walking, small beach and you could take the ferry over to Kingston from Edmonds and spend some time there.
I know there is a hotel right down on the waterfront area so you can walk to the downtown area and the beach from there- and also to the ferry.
Its one of my favorite spots

If you go to Bellevue you will be at the mercy of floating bridge traffic. Try Kent or Renton. There is a clutch of motels on Central Avenue/84th Street (name changes as you go)...we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express during the snow-related blackout in December. Jump on the freeway for about 20 minutes and you are downtown.

sunbum--Are you talking about the Edmonds Harbor Inn? If so, we made the huge mistake of staying there last year. Didn't want to intrude on the inlaws, so stayed there. Awful!!! If we were not stuck because of the cancellation policy, we would have left. But otherwise, I love Edmonds, lol!

Avoid Seatac. There are some cities where staying by the airport is a valid option, but not here. Seatac is crack motels, prostitutes and parking lots with a few decent hotels and a Denny's or two thrown in. There isn't anything in the way of hotels between downtown Seattle and Seatac.

The cities people are suggestion-Bellevue, Edmonds, Renton, etc, are only 20 minutes away if there is zero traffic. Since the metro area experiences rush hour for about 6 hours per day, and an accident or stall on one of the floating bridges can stop traffic any time of day, don't count on any suburb being only 20 minutes away. Also, if you stay outside the city you will either spend a lot of time on the bus, or pay $$ for all day parking if you drive into downtown for sightseeing.

Your best bet is to do Priceline or Hotwire. This works well for a lot of people since hotels in Seattle can be quite pricey. If you're not familiar with how Priceline works look at biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com. Hotwire is easier because you don't have to bid. I plugged in a random mid June date and Hotwire gave some good sounding downtown options for less than $100.

mms- I was talking about the Harbor Inn- well that is too bad its so awful- its in a great location.
I dont know if there are any other hotels down in that area - do you?

Also the Silver Cloud Inns (scinns.com) at Lake Union, Capital Hill, or University Village are very comfortable, likewise the Residence Inn and Courtyard (Marriott) at Lake Union. In the University district, you can try the University Tower, University Inn, or Watertown Hotel, all typically considerably less than downtown.

Staying in the burbs is fine if you're going to be spending time in the burbs. If you're coming downtown, I'd agree Priceline or some such is preferable to staying in the commuter belt.

Can't believe I mis-spelled Capitol Hill. Oy.

sunbum--Yeah, they've got the ideal location, and I think that is the only reason they are surviving. There were so many things wrong with our stay, and we were literally only there to sleep so not real picky. The worst was the smell. To top it off, I left a negative review on TA, and right after that someone came and said my review was wrong, BUT they cited things that only an employee would have known...so I knew it was from the hotel. I contacted TA about it and they removed it. But reading the other reviews on there, and how management defends everything, quite often...it is obvious that they are very defensive. I never paid attention to any other hotels in the area since we lived there. I only visited the inlaws, went to the dentist, etc in Edmonds so had no reason to stay over. At least we know now, lol!

christy1-I can appreciate your comment about only being 20 minutes away but much more when it comes to all the traffic (I live in Los Angeles so I know how true that is!)

So, if I look at hotels in the downtown area...where are the SAFE areas? They make all the hotels sound so nice but who cares if it's a nice hotel if you can't walk down the street after dark? Recommendations on safe downtown areas would be so appreciated!

There are no areas downtown (really, anywhere in Seattle) that are unsafe after dark (as a woman, I have no issues walking anywhere by myself). We have a very low rate of violent crime here compared to other US cities. You will be fine in any of the Priceline or Hotwire zones, if that is what you are thinking about.

Much of this discussion rests on semantics...hotel vs motel. There are scads of hotels downtown, but they are pricey. IMHO the rest can be referred to as motels...if all you want is a good place to sleep/eat (as I do), motels will be just fine.

In my earlier post about Kent/Renton I neglected to mention a clutch of motels east of the Southcenter mall (but far enough away to be unaffected by mall traffic). Spend a minute or two with google.maps, select "look for businesses," put "hotel/motel" in the type box and Renton, WA in the location box. Each site shown will have a map of its location available so that you can orient yourself in relation to downtown.

The Hampton Inn in Bremerton might be the place for you. It's an hour ferry ride to Seattle, and it drops you right in the middle of the city's waterfront.

Bremerton gives you great access to the rest of the peninsula and the Hood Canal, too. The drive from Bremerton through Poulsbo to the ferry on Bainbridge Island will give you another great angle to this trip that you would miss in the areas immediately around Seattle.

There are loads of good suggestions here, but, if you are visiting Seattle, you will get much more from your visit if you stay in Seattle unless you and your family are uneasy in big cities.

If you don't want to be in downtown Seattle, consider staying in one of the Silver Cloud properties or one of the hotels near Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is located) or in Lower Queen Anne--a neighborhood about one mail from downtown.

I agree with Gardyloo's idea about Priceline. I live in BELLEVUE (note spelling if you decide to stay here) and you can get some really great deals on Priceline in Bellevue too (I've heard of people gettting the Hyatt for $36 a night!) and the bus service to downtown Seattle is good from the nearby transit center, but if you want to be in Seattle, you would be better off not having to deal with the commute and using Priceline or staying at a Silver Cloud.

Good luck!

Seattle is plenty safe downtown; there are people on the streets at night which might surprise some, depending your home town.

I would consider the Sixth Avenue Inn right downtown or the Mediterranean on lower Queen Anne. Maybe Silver Cloud on Lake Union or Captiol Hill.

I would not stay down by the airport, or in-between. It's industrial and I'll just say it, kind of ugly. Also it is not walk-able around outside your hotel, like it would be in other (more central) locations.

Bellevue is fine but not really convenient for touring. You need a car and the commute (because it is across Lake Washington) can easily be 25-45 mins.

You might try www.hotwire.com. I have never used it for Seattle, as I live here, but I have used it for Vancouver, BC, and have stayed in 5 star hotels for 3 star prices. You don't get to pick your specific hotel, but you do get to choose location and star.