Week long trip to Seattle-April
 

We just returned yesterday from a week trip to Seattle. We stayed at the Hotel Andra. It is really not in Belltown, but close- in the southeast corner near Belltown. near the Warwick and Westin. We liked the hotel. The staff was efficient, not particularly friendly. When there were problems we got great polite service.We requested a room on a higher floor facing the "courtyard". It was quiet- always good in a city. We needed bedboards for the beds and one morning our toilet did not work. The staff went out of their way to help quickly and even gave us a gift for the "inconvenience". I would stay again. Belltown- though hip and has good bars and restuarants is somewhat marginal with homeless- as is downtown- speaking from the perspective of Berkeley and SF- the homeless are a bit more agressive. It was not a deal breaker and I love Seattle. The Inn at the Market is so pricey and the Inn at Harbor Steps- although he room tax is cheaper there and they have breakfast- it is right near the Museum construction. I would still stay where we did. You have to go to the new downtown library. It is amazing-an architectural wonder. There are general and architectural tours of the building. We took the bus all over- helpful and cheap- even took it to and from the hotel -the airport $1.25 each!!! We ate at some very good restaurants- I love food and used to be a pastry person. Many were small and neighborhood places- some high- end too. Matt's was one of my favorites. Good food- especially the fish. Any more info about the restuarants please write a request via this post. We also rented a car one day and drove up to see the tulips in the Skagit Valley- tail end, but pretty. Drove north of there along the Chuckinutt Drive- beautiful scenery. The Rhododendron cafe in Bow was not open so we stopped at the Oyster BAR- not Grill. Pretty view as we ate lunch. Aso did a bit of hiking in Larabee State Park and visited the tidepools.Took a long walk one day at the UW Arboretum- all in bloom. Encourage everyone with time to walk the beautiful neighborhoods. In May there will be walking tours of the neighborhoods sponsored by the Architectural Group- google it. We have been to Seattle many times and love it. Any other help, please request. Diane

Glad you enjoyed your trip! I have kindof a dumb question, what is a bedboard?

I got the same question from the French staff person! When the mattress is too soft often housekeeping has boards they fit under the mattress- between the mattress and boxspring to make the bed more firm. It worked great.

The homeless problem IS very bad in Seattle. And the Belltown area has a concentration of various social agencies that serve this population, so in turns seems to attract more homeless folks hanging around, panhandling, living in the alleys.

Yes, that is why- because of the agencies. Being from SF I did not think that the problem was as obvious in other cities. They definitely are more agressive- panhandling and other things I won't go into here.It is sad. NYC seems to have done a better job with help etc than other cities.