Advice needed - travelling to Seattle

yellowled24

Hey all, no doubt this is the 50 millionth thread asking about this but I need some advice My husband and I are travelling over to America next year and we're staying in Seattle, and hopefully heading up to Vancouver aswell.

Ive been on 5 Horizons and sussing out as much as I can about the place but still have a couple of questions, and would really appreciate some inside info Plus, 5 Horizons only lists a couple of hotels and they dont really suit us.

First up, ive heard that "downtown" Seattle is a bit rougher than most, and can be pretty dangerous...is this accurate? We are hesitating about getting a hotel there as we've heard its got alot of "fisherman" places there???

And, this may sound hilarious, but i'm a foreigner so i'm excused, BUT - do most hotel rooms over there have an ensuite/bathroom? Because alot of the places i've looked at don't mention a bathroom...whats the standard for hotel rooms there? And what does "run of house" mean? Ive seen it mentioned on a couple of sites and was wondering if it meant it's a shared house?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but would LOVE to hear any info about this awesome place!

Thanks!

wolfbear

Hi! If you do travel up to Vancouver be sure and give me a call as you'll pass right by us.
All hotels here have bathrooms. I've never had a problem in Seattle or felt unsafe there. The hotels are fairly pricey there so if we're staying more than 1-2 nights we try to find a less expensive one. The ones by the Space Needle are a bit rundown but still ok if you just need a place to sleep. Here is a link to some hotels with reviews etc. We've stayed downtown and by Pike Place Market as well. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g6087 ... otels.html
I'm not quite sure what "run of house" means unless it's a Bed & Breakfast which is in someone's home. There you might not have your own bathroom. Feel free to pm me if I can help.
Here is another good site. http://www.visitseattle.org/visitors/

yellowled24

wolfbear wrote:

Hi! If you do travel up to Vancouver be sure and give me a call as you'll pass right by us.
All hotels here have bathrooms. I've never had a problem in Seattle or felt unsafe there. The hotels are fairly pricey there so if we're staying more than 1-2 nights we try to find a less expensive one. The ones by the Space Needle are a bit rundown but still ok if you just need a place to sleep. Here is a link to some hotels with reviews etc. We've stayed downtown and by Pike Place Market as well. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g6087 ... otels.html
I'm not quite sure what "run of house" means unless it's a Bed & Breakfast which is in someone's home. There you might not have your own bathroom. Feel free to pm me if I can help.
Here is another good site. http://www.visitseattle.org/visitors/

Ah thanks HEAPS Thats just what I was after, some info from a "local"

I was getting a bit worried when I read about "downtown" Seattle, because it was kind of limiting our options a bit in regards to hotels...we are thinking of spending about ten days over there, as we have two young kids and dont want to be away from them for too long.

I have noticed the accommodation there is a bit more expensive than I first thought, and they charge per person per night, even if there's two of you! Where as over here you just book the size room you want (like a room for two) and you pay a flat rate.

Are there many hotels near the water? Or is it better to be inland a bit more?

Thanks so much for those links, ill definitely go check em out! And we were thinking of going in April - is that the "off season" for you guys over there?

wolfbear

There really isn't any off season here. Winter is maybe off a bit, and summer a bit busier, but the weather is so mild here it's pretty much year-round. If you stay in any of the places I mentioned the water isn't far away. One question is will you have a car?

dawng

here's a good description of "run of the house":

"When a hotel offers many different styles of room, a run-of-the-house room simply means that the hotel will guarantee that you receive a room offering certain standard features. Bedding types, views, and smoking / non-smoking are not usually part of the run-of-the-house description, and are upon request only. All requests not part of the run-of-the-house standard for that hotel cannot be guaranteed until your arrival at the hotel."

I have found that some of the older hotels do not have in room bathrooms. All newer and chain hotels will, but some of the really old hotels in the Seattle and Vancouver area do not (they will say so in the description).

I've stayed in the Sheraton downtown for shows and it is extremely nice and within walking distance of the Showbox & Pike Place Market. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/ ... ertyID=460

We only paid $90 for the room because we used priceline.com, chose downtown hotels only with 4 stars or more and got the room for $90 (It rejected my 70 and 80 bids.) Of course, if you use priceline you don't have a choice as to what hotel you stay in, but if you choose more than 4 stars you'll get a nice place (with bathrooms .)

Or - if you have a car and don't care if you stay in the city, you can drive about 20 minutes north (non-rush hour traffic - up to an hour in rush hour) to Lynnwood and get great hotel rates.

Be sure to check out the Victoria Clipper that runs from Seattle to Victoria and Vancouver - nice way to spend the day (or a few days.) http://www.clippervacations.com/

have fun

dawng

one other thing - I always forget to tell people about this! If you are going to be here for a couple weeks, you may want to check out the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway. It shows you a lot of Washington - mountains, the plateau in eastern WA, the columbia river valley (the gorge is here), etc.
http://www.cascadeloop.com/

Or you could go to the rainforest in the Olympic mountains which includes the Hoh rainforest, hotsprings, hiking trails, etc. as well as get you over towards the ocean and Highway 101.
http://www.nps.gov/olym/

yellowled24

Thanks heaps Dawn

Ill definitely take a look at those links and the Sheraton too.....really appreciate all the help guys

Fifthelement

*Dawn*
Be sure to check out the Victoria Clipper that runs from Seattle to Victoria and Vancouver - nice way to spend the day (or a few days.) http://www.clippervacations.com/

If your going to be in Victoria be sure to pm me. It'd be cool to meet a fellow fan.

http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

mensane

i work for a hotel management company that owns 5 hotels downtown. send me a pm and i will see if i can get you hooked up with a deal.

(in the past, i have been able to get pretty good rates for friends coming into town)

dcfaithful

mensane wrote:

i work for a hotel management company that owns 5 hotels downtown. send me a pm and i will see if i can get you hooked up with a deal.

(in the past, i have been able to get pretty good rates for friends coming into town)

I'm going to Seattle and then backpacking for 3 days in Olympic National Park in May...can I get in on that too lol

soulsinging

Add me to the info list here... I'm flying out to Seattle in mid-August for vacation. I'm celebrating finishing the bar exam with an Alaskan cruise before my job starts and my life is over. But we're going to fly in a few days early. Is it impossible to navigate Seattle without a car? I was hoping to fly in and catch a shuttle or something to our hotel downtown and then have a day to wander the city a bit before boarding our ship (no idea where we'll do that, but I figure I'll spring for a taxi then).

I vacationed in Seattle as a kid, but don't remember much about the city geography. What must I do for one afternoon in Seattle? I remember the park by the Space Needle being cool, obviously Pike Place... any cd stores or indie bookshops I should hit? Will I be able to get places without a car?

Gary Carter

http://www.fivehorizons.com/feature/seattle/index.shtml

iamsam_pj

soulsinging wrote:

Add me to the info list here... I'm flying out to Seattle in mid-August for vacation. I'm celebrating finishing the bar exam with an Alaskan cruise before my job starts and my life is over. But we're going to fly in a few days early. Is it impossible to navigate Seattle without a car? I was hoping to fly in and catch a shuttle or something to our hotel downtown and then have a day to wander the city a bit before boarding our ship (no idea where we'll do that, but I figure I'll spring for a taxi then).

I vacationed in Seattle as a kid, but don't remember much about the city geography. What must I do for one afternoon in Seattle? I remember the park by the Space Needle being cool, obviously Pike Place... any cd stores or indie bookshops I should hit? Will I be able to get places without a car?

i've used the gray line airport express (www.graylineofseattle.com) before, which stops at a bunch of different hotels downtown. i guess depending on where you are staying, this is a pretty inexpensive bet...it's only about $21 round trip.

an obvious choice for a cd store would be easy street...there's one in queen anne, which isn't too far from the space needle. but, i'm not sure if it's walkable??! not sure about bookstores...i've only seen one that's up in capitol hill on broadway. i can't remember the name, but it's right across the street from urban outfitters (of course that would be my reference point for everything ). i found that they have a decent selection of art books...it's not a very big store though.


walking, you should be able to explore lower queen anne and capitol hill pretty easily. though capitol hill will be a pretty steep walk uphill!! i'm a bit scared of it thus far, so i haven't tried it from downtown. but, there's lots to explore in capitol hill...it's my new hood there are a lot of restaurants and shops along pine and pike, as well as along broadway.

i'm still quite new to the area, so others may be able to help you out a bit more. if you have any questions, just let me know...if i don't know the answers, i have tons of coworkers who are really familiar with the area.

Jennytree

I guess there'll be a few of us looking for info now with the shows announced!

I plan to be there for a week. Where would be the best area to stay that'll be handy for the shows but also close to loads of shops and the likes (I like Sephora :roll: )? From what I can gather, Key Arena isn't too far from Downtown? Also, do you have multi-trip bus tickets or ones that last for 5-7 days?