Spouse and I are planning on staying in Seattle on a 1.5 day pre-cruise visit in late May. We will arrive mid-afternoon on a Wednesday and leave after breakfast Friday.
Dear Wife definitely wants to go up the Space Needle, so that’s a must-do. Pike’s Market and similar places would also be nice.
From looking at Google Maps, I am considering hotels close to Seattle Center where the Needle lives, which also has other attractions such as museums, planetarium, and so forth. From there we could Lyft to the Pikes/Aquarium area pretty cheaply, I’m guessing.
I’m thinking The Maxwell Hotel just north of Seattle Center, but I would certainly consider others. I did consider Marriott Waterfront but its price is $100+ more than The Maxwell (for example), without having a clear advantage (other than a view IF you get lucky).
Just a tip: calling it that will instantly label you an out-of-state rube. It’s “Pike Place Market”, because it’s on Pike Place, which is perpendicular to Pike Street.
Sadly, I have no idea where to stay. But unlike a lot of locals, I love Pike Place Market, despite (or because of) its touristy trappings. Be sure to check out the lower levels and the shops in the buildings on the east side of Pike Place.
While you’re in town, remember the mnemonic “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest”. It’s the names of the downtown streets, south to north, 2 streets per letter. Jefferson James Cherry Columbia Madison Marion (or vice versa) University Union Pike Pine.
I knew it felt wrong as I was typing it, but I was lucky just to get the whole post sounding vaguely like English. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit proofreading. And thanks for the mnemonic!
@Smapti has mentioned staying at the MarQueen Hotel, north of Seattle Center, which has the historical value of Ted Bundy once living there, per Smapti and the clerk at the hotel.
He probably has much more to offer for recommendations, as he posts about traveling here from Olympia often.
I overnight in Seattle a few times a year and the Marqueen is one of my favorites. It’s about two blocks from Seattle Center and has a colorful history - it opened during WWI as a school and dorm for auto mechanics, then apartments for several decades (during which time Bundy lived there and it got a reputation for being haunted). The rooms are spacious and have full (albeit tiny) kitchens with full-size fridges, an electric range, and an oven in some of the units. The lobby is done up in a retro '20s theme and they have an attached lounge that has live jazz on certain nights. The downside is that there’s no elevator, but it’s only a three-story building so if you can climb two flights of stairs you’re good. There’s no onsite parking but they have a valet service.
Mediterranean Inn, which is two blocks south of there on Queen Anne Blvd, is a more modern hotel that’s similarly priced and has all the typical conveniences you’d expect, with an underground garage and an attached Starbucks. If you don’t want to bother with driving, from Seattle Center you can take the monorail to Westlake, where it connects with the subway (officially called the Link) which can get you around town without too much hassle and connects to plenty of bus lines. There’s a Safeway right there for your grocery needs, a Dick’s for cheap eats, and a pretty good historic diner (Mecca Cafe, est. 1927) that’s open late.
There’s also an airbnb in Pioneer Square that I like - it’s located above the historic Merchants Cafe (est 1889) and was at one time a brothel. They have six units up there (two studios and four suites, each with a kitchenette) that are very cozy and well-furnished, but that part of town can be sketchy at night and there’s not really any good places to park, which may or may not be an issue for you. There’s a subway station right across the street, though. They also don’t have an elevator.
I’m told that the Edgewater is the place to stay if you want a great view of the water and a taste of history (the Beatles stayed there in '64, and Led Zeppelin had a much more infamous stay in '69), but too pricey for my wallet.
Thanks for all the tips!
I did research the Edgewater; it’s at the high-end ($263) of our budget but doable; good 4.4 Google reviewer rating, but some complain about noise (thin walls), lots of “surprise fees”, aging infrastructure, and sometimes diesel smell from the nearby wharf, and those gave me pause.
The others (MarQueen and Med) I will research more and compare to The Maxwell.
I wouldn’t do this. It’s been many years since I left Seattle, but at the time traffic was awful and I’ve heard it’s only gotten worse.
A much more efficient and unique-to-Seattle option is to take the Monorail. It connects from the Seattle Center to the downtown core. It’s a silly artifact from the 1962 World’s Fair, and you won’t see any locals riding with you; it’s strictly a tourist thing. But considering your agenda, it should serve you pretty well. It runs every 10 minutes and tickets are less than five bucks for an adult. From the downtown terminus, you can easily walk a few blocks east to the waterfront.
I was trying to remember the name of the place we stayed last time we were in Seattle, around ten years ago. Looking at a map, I believe it was the Hotel Theodore at the corner of 7th and Pine. It’s a smaller “boutique” hotel but I don’t remember it being terribly expensive, and it was within walking distance* of lots of stuff in the downtown area.
* “Walking distance” being a relative term for me when it comes to Seattle. I have a friend who lives on Bainbridge Island who, on one of my first visits after he moved there, thought we could walk from the ferry dock to the Ballard locks. A walk which we now jokingly refer to as the “Ballard Death March”.
Ummmm…Doesn’t every building in Seattle have a Starbucks attached?
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(Sorry, mods. But somebody had to say it. And we’re already 10 posts into the thread, so I think I’m legal.)
I’ve only been there once, 20 years ago. But I finally understood why Jay Leno was always joking about so many Starbucks in Seattle.
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Thank you for all the tips! I like the detailed reviews by @Smapti and I’ve researched a couple of them (comments below); also thank you @Cervaise for the tip about the Monorail (monorail! monorail! monorail! goes through my head; was it the inspiration for the Simpsons episode?).
From Google/TripAdvisor recent reviews, it seems the MarQueen is currently undergoing renovation. The potential Good is that I noted quite a few reviewers complained about the musty smell, poor lighting, and poor water pressure, so this reno may fix those issues. The Bad is that they are removing the kitchenettes.
The reviews for the Mediterranean Inn, which is also older but modernized, seemed to fit us a bit better (I don’t mind an older place at all, even one with creaky floors, but smell and poor lighting are problematic). I’m leaning towards the Med now.
I came in here all hot to recommend the new Hyatt House literally right across the street from the base of the Space Needle. I flew up right after Christmas to catch a couple hockey games and see some friends from my days when I lived in Seattle. Very nice, very clean, brand new. and I got a screaming deal. So good in fact that it’s double in May from what it was for me.
Before Covid, I used to fly back to Seattle for work about once a month. I had a roster of regular Airbnb places but I also looked into the Marqueen, being in the heart of my old neighborhood. I didn’t care for it. There are a bunch of older apartment buildings in LQA, Belltown and Capitol Hill that have been converted into pseudo-hotels run in an Airbnb-like fashion. Uniformly I found them to all be kind of funky, musty and old feeling.
My first day in Seattle (1993) I went to the Marqueen to check out a studio apartment that was advertised as being updated, with views of the Space Needle. Updated: to the finest standards of the mid-70s. View: sure, if you stood in one corner and looked obliquely through the single window.
If you like art, go to the Chihuly Garden and Glass, which has a lot of the master’s blown glass art. There are a couple of good jazz clubs in Seattle, but it’s been too many years. Ditto for restaurants.
That was the first one that stood out to me on Google Maps. It is currently showing as $279, which is almost $100 more than the Mediterranean Inn. But, it’s technically within budget, so I’ve not ruled it out.
We’ve only stayed in Seattle about 40 times (relatives live there, in tiny houses that don’t work for a group), and the last few times we’ve found AirB&B’s in funky little neighborhoods NOT close to touristy stuff, but with cool little shops and restaurants within walking distance.
Last time, we were in West Seattle (a peninsula sticking out into Puget Sound with a great beach (with a long stretch of typical beachfront eateries and Salty’s, a gourmet steak & seafood place) … and a beautiful view of the downtown skyline.
We did drive downtown to “The Market” (shoud’ve taken the bus, parking was a pain), then walked down that new project to the spectacular aquarium.
But most of the time, we were exploring West Seattle…
Easy Street… a record store with a bar that serves breakfasts! Luna Park Café, super quirky, been on the news because someone stole their eggs. And Endolyne Joe’s, the restaurant that musicians hang out at… (brother was happy to see Eddie Vedder).
Thanks for that, @digs . It is our first non-breeze-through visit to Seattle, and I’m obligated to take the spousal unit to touristy things, this time. We only have an evening plus one whole day before we debark on the third day for our cruise, so we’ll be cramming in a lot of stuff, along with visiting with my sister and her two adult daughters.
We ended up booking at the Mediterranean Inn. WOW, those Seattle taxes and fees really add up, effectively adding 22% to each night’s cost.
That’s what not having an income tax gets you. Do yourself a favor and don’t buy any liquor while you’re in town - there’s a 20.5% sales tax on the stuff.
