Seattle hotels - Sticker Shock - please Help

[orchid76]

Aloha,

 

I can't believe the prices for hotels in the downtown Seattle area. My son and I are cruising on the Pearl in mid-September and we're looking to stay 3 days post-cruise. He wants to see the Space Needle, the aquarium, the science center and the Pike Place Market.

 

How do you get a good rate for a decent hotel? We're not 5 star kinda people but it seems even the 2 star hotels are going for $150 and up. :eek: What's the secret???

 

Thanks for any and all advise.

 

Lisa

[farmerjohn]

I wish I had a good answer for this. Summer rates in Seattle have always been on the high side and it seems to be getting worse. Unfortunately you must be finding that the summer rates are extending into September.

Sometimes rates are a little lower around the Seattle Center—Space Needle area. There is a nice Hampton Inn located nearby. If you stayed in this area you could see the Space Needle and Science Center and then take the Monorail to get to downtown and the Pike Place Market.

If you rent a car, you can find better rates near the Airport, in Renton to the south, and in Lynwood to the north.

[RNSANE]

We sailed on the Mercury last fall - and stayed one night in the suburbs

because hotels in the city were so high...we did splurge and spend one

night at the Edgewater...it was delightful - and they took our bags

directly to the Mercury the morning of sailing. How nice not to have to fuss with all that!

[orchid76]

Thank you both for your replies. I'm still trying to hash out all the details. I appreciate your responses.

 

Lisa

[ioanab]

I know what you mean about Seattle. We stayed at the Warwick for a land vacation and it was reasonable and close to everything. See what you can find: http://www.warwickwa.com/s49487/offers_04.html . Good luck! :)

[love2cruiseseattle]

Try some of these hotels:

 

Marriott Springhill Suites on Yale Street

Silver Cloud on Lake Union

Marriott Courtyard on Lake Union

Best Western Executive Inn (Seattle Center)

Red Lion Inn on 4th Avenue

 

If you want to see any reviews check out tripadvisor.com

[SoFloDeb]

Or give priceline a try. First readup on what hotels are being given out by Priceline and how to bid, etc. at www.biddingfortravel.net

 

We got the 4-star Westin downtown for $129 on Priceline and the lowest I could find it was $279. We thought this was a pretty good deal.

 

The Sleep Inn at the airport gets good reviews for a "budget" hotel - although $98 per night doesn't sound too "budget" to me.

 

Hope this helps!

[Cruisin' Chick]

In 2004, we stayed post-cruise at the Holiday Inn Express. It was walking distance to the Space Needle, the Science Museum (very recommended), and some inexpensive eating places -- we got some Chinese or Thai takeout, went to a local hangout diner, and found a food court at a mall by the Needle (no stores, just the food court, along with some music).

 

We had a room overlooking Aurora which is a mini highway, but we didn't find it noisy at all. Self-service laundries, which come in handy. A microwave and a tiny fridge in the room. And there was a continental breakfast in the lobby.

 

The downsides were the tiny parking spaces in the lot (we had prereserved a regular sized car, but Enterprise only had SUVs left), a swimming pool with cold water, slow elevators.

[starshine]

Don't forget to check quikbook.com and AAA if you are a member for better rates.

 

FYI, the Silver Cloud Lake Union is not in downtown area but they have a courtesy shuttle to any of the downtown attractions. My sister stayed there recently and they shuttled her and picked her up to wherever she wanted to go.

[momthecruisedirector]

Yeah - as a lifetime resident of Seattle - it stinks! Everyone warned us last year when we went to New York how expensive it would be. We didn't think it was any worse then Seattle - but NY is a place you'd actually enjoy visiting and touring!

 

We live in West Seattle - right across the bay from the downtown area. For weekend getaways we stay at the Seatac Marriot. It has a nice indoor pool, reasonable prices, Yukon Landing restaurant is good - free airport shuttle if you need it. If you are staying a day or two pre/post cruise you can either arrange tours through the front desk or just get a cab to take you downtown to 'do Seattle', i.e. Pike Place Market, the Waterfront, Duck Tours to take you to Lake Union to see the Houseboats, International District......

[BLONDIE35]

I am having the same problem for May4!! the two stars look ok to an extent but they are $120!!! Yikes!

[jazzlvr57]

A nice option for a hotel in a historic building near the Seattle Center is www.innatqueenanne.com. They offer a shuttle to downtown as well. Their prices start at $69 per night depending on the room type and availability. It's not deluxe, but has a lot of charm.

[frchteaze]

I've been to Seattle twice. The first time was just a week-long vacation, and we had a rental car. We stayed at the Red Lion in Bellevue, and this was the best experience in my opinion. The hotel was OK, nothing fancy. But staying in Bellevue turned out to be great. We hopped on one of the crossover freeways that take you into Seattle and avoided a lot of the traffic downtown. It was also very convenient for seeing things outside of the main tourist locations.

 

Last year we were back in Seattle for a pre- and post-cruise stay of 1 night each. We stayed at the La Quinta (did not like this one, but it was OK) and then stayed at the Westin (loved it!). The La Quinta was about $100 in May and the La Quinta was $179 on hotwire the first weekend of June. In my opinion, the extra $80 was worth it if you don't have a rental car or don't want to stay outside of the downtown area.

 

Now for sticker shock, let's talk about San Diego hotels. I'm planning a post-cruise stay for next year, $100 looks like a scary, rent-by-the-hour motel.

[SoFloDeb]

Changed oru minds about staying at the airport. Just got the Seattle Sheraton downtown - 4 star - for $110 per night on priceline. Still if you go to www.tripadvisor.com, you can read reviews of the hotel you are considering before booking. There's a Holiday Inn Express for around $118, you can get the Sleep Inn for $98 (new and gets great reviews from travelers). 99% of the hotels at the airport will shuttle you to your hotel if its near the airport. The hotels downtown do not have shuttles. There is a greyline shuttle service that goes to the 8 major downtown hotels, Shearaton included, for $17 roundtrip or $10.50 person. Then you've got a $10 cab ride to the port.

[Splinter]

That is a good deal on the Sheraton. I have stayed there often as it is contiguous with the Seattle Convention Center. It is pretty easy to walk or take the bus from there to shops and restaurants or down to Pike Place Market, and it is easy to get there on the Gray Line bus from the airport.

[SoFloDeb]

I was very happy when I got this hotel. Thanks for the info on Greyline also - we were considering doing this since it is rather inexpensive - $17 per person roundtrip. Have you ever used it? Do you know if they run pretty often? We are leaving Fort Laud at 1:00 and arrive in Seattle at 6:30 (10:30 Florida time) and I'm a little concerned about having to wait long for the shuttle. Flipflopping between doing a private car or cab, or using the Greyline. I would prefer to use the Greyline if its not a really long wait at the airport.

[vjblk]

SoFloDeb,

Here's a link to the Grayline Website. Shows their schedule.

 

http://www.graylineseattle.com/airportexpress1.cfm

 

Looks like they run every half hour.

 

Hope that helps you.

 

Are you staying in Seattle after your cruise? If you buy the roundtrip, wouldn't you need to take a cab back to one of their hotel pick up points? Seems like a hassle. You might check into one way to your hotel and then Grayline also does a shuttle service for Princess from pier 30 on the day of disembarkation. Check out the Cruise Express in the same above link.

[SoFloDeb]

Valerie, thanks for the link - it does look like it will work.

 

Actually, we are staying one night before the cruise and one night after. Sheraton before and Westin after - got that on Priceline too. I think I am as excited about visiting Seattle, as I am the cruise. Plus DH and I are going to meet up with my very first boyfriend from high school! I haven't seen him since 1970 when he was in the Coast Guard stationed in Vancouver. He has been living in Seattle for many, many years. I've seen his sister and his Mom last June, so this will be fun. Of course, now I've got to lose 20 lbs. 'cause I can't see an old boyfriend with me looking chubby!

 

Thanks again for the link on Greyline!

[kruisecat]

Changed oru minds about staying at the airport. Just got the Seattle Sheraton downtown - 4 star - for $110 per night on priceline. Still if you go to www.tripadvisor.com, you can read reviews of the hotel you are considering before booking. There's a Holiday Inn Express for around $118, you can get the Sleep Inn for $98 (new and gets great reviews from travelers). 99% of the hotels at the airport will shuttle you to your hotel if its near the airport. The hotels downtown do not have shuttles. There is a greyline shuttle service that goes to the 8 major downtown hotels, Shearaton included, for $17 roundtrip or $10.50 person. Then you've got a $10 cab ride to the port.

 

 

I thought we did good at $125 for the Sheraton :p , I guess I should have gone in between $100 and $125. But I'm still happy. We had booked the Westin at $277 and the savings will pay for the cab fare and dinner!

[flowerchild]

We pricelined a 2 star in the downtown area and got a room for $50 a night at the Best Western Loyal Inn a while back...we were surprised. Checked out reviews on Tripadvisor and everything looked ok...

 

Gotta love Priceline.