Which of These Seattle Hotels are Within Walking Distance of All the Action?

[Roz]

I'm cruising from Seattle next September (4-day Pacific Northwest), and have never visited the city. I want to stay somewhere pre and possibly post cruise that's within walking distance of Nordstrom's, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, etc. I'm a Hilton Honors members, so I want to stay in one of their family of hotels. Which of the following do you recommend?

 

1. Hilton at 1301 6th Avenue

 

2. Doubletree Arctic Club at 700 3rd Ave.

 

3. Homewood Suites at 1011 Pike Street (near Convention Center)

 

4. Hampton Inn at 700 Fifth Avenue North

 

5. Homewood Suites at 206 Western Avenue West

 

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Roz

[Gardyloo]

I'm cruising from Seattle next September (4-day Pacific Northwest), and have never visited the city. I want to stay somewhere pre and possibly post cruise that's within walking distance of Nordstrom's, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, etc. I'm a Hilton Honors members, so I want to stay in one of their family of hotels. Which of the following do you recommend?

 

1. Hilton at 1301 6th Avenue

 

2. Doubletree Arctic Club at 700 3rd Ave.

 

3. Homewood Suites at 1011 Pike Street (near Convention Center)

 

4. Hampton Inn at 700 Fifth Avenue North

 

5. Homewood Suites at 206 Western Avenue West

 

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Roz

1. Hilton - reasonable access to Pike Market, Nordstrom; a bit of a schlep from Pioneer Square. Beware of freeway noise in some rooms; a rather dated property IMO.

 

2. Doubletree Arctic - closest to Pioneer Square, easy access (via bus tunnel) to Nordstrom/Westlake, also airport light rail. In more an office district than retail; maybe 15 min. walk to Pike Market. Very cool historic office building recently converted to hotel.

 

3. Homewood/Pike - short walk (downhill going, uphill returning) from retail core; probably the closest to Nordstrom. Schlep to Pioneer Square.

 

4. Hampton Inn - near Seattle Center, not downtown. Will require bus to access any downtown sights/attractions.

 

5. Homewood/Western - way north, rather isolated from most downtown activities; walkable but l o n g walks. Would be my last choice.

 

Note that the bus service in the downtown core is free (1/2 block from Homewood/Pike to the edge of the free zone) but nos. 4 & 5 are way outside the free zone.

 

My recommendation would be between the Homewood on Pike and the Arctic Club. Maybe one before the cruise and the other after?

 

Note that Labor Day weekend can be very busy in Seattle, owing to the Bumbershoot festival at Seattle Center. Great fun if you're there, can be a pain if you're trying to move around the district (e.g. Hampton Inn.)

[Roz]

Gardyloo,

 

Thanks for the very detailed response. It's interesting that I was leaning towards either the Homewood Suites on Pike or the Doubletree Arctic, and it looks like either one would work.

 

The ship sails on Sept. 20, so I won't be bothered by any Labor Day festivities.

 

Roz

[crzndeb]

Here's a map I attached to another post...Nordstrom is across the street from Westlake Center (east side)...the dotted blue line is the bus free zone on the map.

 

http://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/regionalcsd/downtown.pdf

[Roz]

Thanks Crzndeb! Everyone's been very helpful.

 

Roz

[CharlotteNCCouple]

Hey Roz,

 

Was surfing on here and saw this post. I have stayed at the Hampton North and Homewood Western, both were decent hotels, but definitely a hike from the center city. Be aware that in most of the center city, all travel from Alaskan Way/Western Ave near the bay up to 5th avenue will be a fairly steep uphill climb. Some of the towers have entrances on for example 2nd avenue and 3rd avenue and may have escalators or elevators to reduce some of the climbing. The slopes are a little more forgiving when traveling along the avenues than the numbered streets. The other aspect to think about with your hotel selection may involve how you are going to get from the airport to your hotel. Check out http://www.soundtransit.org it is the new light rail link from sea-tac airport to downtown seattle and the one-way fare is something like $2.50 The one thing about Seattle is it has an excellent public transit sytem, I would use it when out there on business trips if my clients locations were close to it. I think the Doubletree would be the quietest location. The Hilton is not new and the Homewood Pike Street used to be a Summerfield Suites and both of those are very close to I-5 but definitely the closer hotels to Pike Place, Nordstroms and the Westlake and Pacific Place complexes. If I can answer any other questions, drop me an email.

 

Bruce

[crzndeb]

Somebody did post a separate thread, but just an FYI...the walk from the light rail stop at the airport to the actual terminal is about 1/4 mile. But at least it is all covered.

[Roz]

Bruce (and Cindy),

 

Hello, and thanks for responding. Did you get any of the snow?

 

That's good information to have about the walking distances and the uphills/downhills; also the transit system. Is it the Sounder system you're referring to? I did some research and saw where Gray Line has a bus/shuttle service that's cheaper than a cab, but definitely more than $2.50. Too bad they weren't able to run the light rail right into the terminal, as they have at Cleveland Hopkins.

 

Since this is only a 4-day cruise, I can probably navigate the 1/4 mile even while wheeling a suitcase. Can you or Crzndeb tell me if the rail stop is easy to find when you're in the terminal - are there signs to direct you?

 

For only a few hundred more dollars than I'm used to paying for an inside or outside by myself on HAL, I was able to book an SB suite for my sister and I on the Amsterdam. She's never been to Seattle either, and has never sailed HAL, so this should be a good introduction for her. I'm trying to work in another cruise (7 or 10 day) in 2010. 4 days is just not going to be enough.

 

Roz

[CharlotteNCCouple]

Roz,

 

We missed the snow entirely, got a little sleet but mostly rain.

 

The light rail I am referring to is known as the "Link" as a part of Sound Transit, the Sounder I believe is the train that runs between Portland and Seattle. The service literally just began yesterday and is accessed through the north end, 4th floor of the parking garage. I would suspect there are plenty of signs to direct you and it appears they may have bus service from the terminal to the train station. See http://www.soundtransit.org/Rid

ing-Sound-Transit/Schedules-and-Facilities/Central-Link-Light-Rail.xml

 

I hope you enjoy that suite!

 

I am glad to be done with work travel for this year. Back out on the road again come January. Probably coming that way before long.

 

Bruce

[Gardyloo]

Roz,

 

We missed the snow entirely, got a little sleet but mostly rain.

 

The light rail I am referring to is known as the "Link" as a part of Sound Transit, the Sounder I believe is the train that runs between Portland and Seattle. The service literally just began yesterday and is accessed through the north end, 4th floor of the parking garage. I would suspect there are plenty of signs to direct you and it appears they may have bus service from the terminal to the train station. See http://www.soundtransit.org/Rid

ing-Sound-Transit/Schedules-and-Facilities/Central-Link-Light-Rail.xml

 

I hope you enjoy that suite!

 

I am glad to be done with work travel for this year. Back out on the road again come January. Probably coming that way before long.

 

Bruce

What opened yesterday was the light rail station at the airport itself. Prior to yesterday there was a shuttle bus to the nearest open station, around a mile from the airport. That shuttle has been discontinued now that the airport station is open.

 

The airport station is around 1/5 mile from the ticket concourse, through the parking garage. There are (fee) bag trolleys at the station, but they can't be taken on the trains. There are no bag trolleys at any of the light rail stations, so pax with bags will need to negotiate elevators/escalators up to the street level.

[dobiemom]

Last October I stayed at the Homewood Suites on Pike, and one of the best things about them was the shuttle service they provided to some downtown areas. The other 2 hotels (I was at a conference) did not have that. Just FYI.

[Roz]

Dobiemom,

 

Thanks for that helpful tidbit of information. Definitely a plus. Based on all the information everyone's provided, I'm probably going to book the Homewood Suites on Pike.

 

Roz

[hellokittyluver]

I am also a Hilton Honors member and since we will be leaving from Pier 91 in June, I am booking the Homewood Suites on Western Ave. It's fairly close to the Seattle Center and the Seattle Monorail and you can walk to Pike's Place and vicinity. (Stayed there in 2007):)