vagabond inn seattle
 

hi there. i am wondering if anyone has stayed at this hotel or knows anything about this hotel? or can anyone suggest a reasonable hotel there (less than $100 canadian)? thanks

I don't remember if Canadian folks can use Priceline or not, but if so you can probably get something slightly nicer than a Vagabond - perhaps a 2.5 - 3-star hotel - for right around $100 Canadian, perhaps a tad less. See BiddingForTravel.com to learn how to do it - go to the Seattle hotels section to see which Seattle hotels you are likely to get. If you get lucky you might get a place with cheap/free parking, but look at the hotel list on BFT and and understand what parking might cost you if you have a car. Otherwise, study the FAQ's on BFT and understand it and you can really save some money.

Andrew


Andrew

The location isn't very desirable. It's near the Holiday Inn Express and Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is).

thanks for the info. jimshep, what do you mean by a not very desirable location? ie. scuzzy/unsafe or out of the way?

I think I know this location - I've stayed at both a Best Western and a Holiday Inn there (as I recall, the Holiday Inn Express is adjacent to the Holiday Inn). "Unsafe" depends on your perspective. If you are from a small town and not used to the city, you might find it a little uncomfortable walking around at night. The streets are a tad dirty and there aren't tourists walking around in the evening as you would find right downtown, but I doubt you'll get mugged,either. If you know cities well and feel comfortable in them, this area will seem very safe to you. As always, use common sense when walking in an area you don't know.

This location just isn't right near anything cool. You'll have to walk across Denny(?) to get into the downtown core or walk down to Denny to walk over Aurora to get to Seattle Center. I stayed at the Holiday Inn last time I was there without a car and managed fine walking, but I am used to walking distances. If you have a car, it shouldn't be an issue at all.

Andrew

The Vagabond is on Aurora Avenue, which is Highway 99--an arterial with lots of traffic. I don't think it's unsafe, and it is about a one-mile walk to the heart of downtown--father to the waterfront of Pioneer Square. I think you might be able to get a motel for the same price a little closer to downtown. (It is not near the Best Western.)

Andrew, I think it may be impossible to find a room for $100 Canadian in or near downtown Seattle especially considering parking and taxes. When do you plan to visit Seattle? That would be useful to know.

I'd definitely use Priceline and I'd bid for the Seattle downtown zone. You may get a hotel in the same area, but you won't do worse. See http://www.betterbidding.com and http://www.biddingfortravel.com .
We got an excellent deal last month by bidding $46 US for a 2* hotel and getting the Marriott Springhill Suites which included complimentary breakfast. In past bids, I've gotten the Inn at Queen Anne for $26 on a 2* bid, the Sixth Avenue Inn for $45 on a 1* bid, and the Summerfield Suites for $52 on a 2* bid (but was upgraded to 2.5*).

If you want to be outside of the Seattle downtown area, you can get cheaper deals in Bellevue or other nearby areas.

If you don't want to use Priceline, take a look at http://www.roomsaver.com .

Hi Andrew, I've done some checking and if Priceline doesn't work out for you, I think the downtown motels with the cheapest rates are Day's Inn (2205 7th Ave) and Kings Inn (2106 5th Ave). They are both older motels, and Kings Inn may be the most marginal. But both have good locations and rates may include parking. It's worth checking out: www.daysinn.com and www.kingsinnseattle.com

thanks everyone for all the feedback. i'll be visiting seattle during labour day weekend (sept.3-6). i'll be going between two main areas of town: soccer games just north of the university (is there more than one uni?) and social events in the capitol hill area. does the vagabond work or any of the other forementioned places?

thanks

Everything around Seattle Center over Labor Day weekend will be congested to the max owing to the Bumbershoot arts festival at the Center which draws upwards of 300,000 people over the weekend. Personally I would definitely look somewhere besides the north end of downtown for accommodations in that time frame.

Yes there is more than one university - University of Washington, north of downtown, Seattle University (east of downtown but still in the middle of the city) and Seattle Pacific University, located on the northern slopes of Queen Anne Hill northwest of downtown.

If your fitba tournament is at the U of W (probably) then you might look at the University District TraveLodge on 25th Avenue NE, or the Silver Cloud Inn, also on 25th more or less across the street. Both have bus service at the door to the Capitol Hill area, also downtown. One advantage is that both are adjacent to the very upscale University Village shopping center (big Barnes and Noble, Gap, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, restaurants, etc.)

Otherwise I would absolutely suggest going for one of the Lake Union zone hotels at the 2 1/2 star level on Priceline. Even if you have to pay $60 or $70 a night (usually they go for less) you'll have a better located, nicer, more attractive place than the Vagabond or other Aurora Ave. joints.