Seattle Travel Forum

Hi!!

I will be arriving from Vancouver with luggage on a Sunday ( Family of four, children: 11 and 17 ) at about midday so we would like to see the city. We have two options:
1. Find a place to leave our luggage ( Is it possible ? )in Seattle, and in the evening go to a hotel near the airport because I have to decide where to stay, I have seen that hotels near the airport are cheaper than the ones in Downtown. I have also got a very good price for the 4 of us ( family with children, 11 and 17 ) for only $68.41 with taxes included , it is a three star hotel but it is in Redmond. So what do you think ? Is it worth it to book that one or is it better to book one three stars at the airport for $106.70. or one in the city for $229.68 I really want to be in the afternoon and evening downtown to have a meal and see the city.

Thank a lot

Try Travelodge by The Space Needle: 200 6th Avenue North; Seattle, WA, 98109; tel.: (206) 441-7878; fax: (206) 448-4825; Travelodge: www.travelodge.com; it's in the centre, at the feet of the Space Needle. The motels near the airport normally have free shuttle motel-airport-motel, but you have to to the centre and pay for a txi (I don't know about buses). Check motels/prices. I paid 128 USD, double room Aug'06, complementary breakfast.

I think it would be worth it to stay in downtown Seattle if you can. Seattle boasts the best transit system in the nation. You don't need a car rental (that should save you some money). If you stay by the airport or in Redmond, you'll find yourself wanting to be in downtown Seattle anyway. A family of 4? So, are you all getting a single room with a couple of beds or a suite? If you make your reservations in advance and you arrive prior to check in, you should be able to check your luggage with the hotel. There are lots of options for hotels in Seattle. You should be able to find something in your price range. You can use expedia.com, tripadvisor.com or hotels.com to use as a search engine but I wouldn't use those sites to book the reservations. They tend to charge your credit card in advance. I always go to the hotel's official site to make my reservations.
You and your family will love Seattle. It's a fantastic place to visit!

Besides, the urban transportation in downtown Seattle is free (as far as I know I didn't use it).

You definitely DON'T want to be in Redmond. It's far from the airport and far from downtown.

I personally would chose downtown so you can go back and forth to the room as needed. There is bus service from the Airport to downtown if you want to do it on the extreme cheap (but it will take some time), or there are airport shuttles and taxis. With a family of 4, believe it or not, your best bet (aside from the bus) may be a limo from the airport. There is a set rate (maybe $35 or $40 - it's been a while) between the airport and "the hotel zone" downtown.

I would definitely try to stay close to downtown. Redmond is miles and miles away, across a lake, and with heavy traffic it can take an hour or more to arrive downtown. You will waste too much time in transport. The airport hotels can sometimes be sleazy, and others are just convention-type hotels (example: Red Lion, Doubletree). There are buses to downtown, but again, you will waste a lot of time in transport (and I wouldn't want to be on those buses late at night to the cheap airport hotels, with a family). Maybe try that Travelodge near the Seattle Center, or google Marriott hotels (there are several), the Ace Hotel, Edgewater, or Vintage Park. There are many fine downtown hotels, but again, they are pricey -- $200 up. The downtown area is very walkable, and most of the downtown is covered by free walk-on-walk-off buses.

You can also look for hotels in these areas where you could easily get to downtown on a bus within 30 minutes: Queen Anne Hill, Capitol Hill. You might find something a little less than downtown proper, and both these areas are lively and fun themselves, too.