Downtown Seattle Hotels

ihttp://www.theacehotel.com/images/suite2.jpg
ihttp://www.theacehotel.com/images/deluxe2.jpg

I wish I could give you better info on hotels but I've only ever a) lived at my place or b) crashed with friends. Maybe the Summerfield Suites off Pike st. would be to your liking? it's right between downtown and Capitol Hill. They're pretty plain rooms though.

And that theacehotel.com link below brought me to some sort of hotel store link that involved an Alice Cooper CD cover in the flashing gif, so it's gotta be cool.. right? Tim Robbins says it's "funky".

no, unless you're there for biz and don't have a car or a lot of time for public trans

This will be at the end of the month.

And I will be around the end of the month.. I'll have just started working, and i have another visitor from the O.C. days coming that weekend as well (if it's the march 26th weekend).. but I would be totally down for a meet up, and I could come up with something. I'll check for shows happening around then, if you're interested. (Not sure if you're coming here alone or not.)

A place in Capitol Hill might cost just as much as a downtown place, possibly, but you're assured of a better view of downtown, the space needle, and -- during the day -- the Olympic Mtns if you find the right place.. somewhere north in Capitol Hill between Broadway and 15th.

By the way, you definitely want to check out the Seattle Public Library while you're in town, if you hadn't had a chance already. Admission is free, of course.

The 194 is an express bus that will take half an hour... The 174 is a non-express bus that takes you through Burien and less attractive south burbish areas that's a less attractive ride and takes longer..(around 45-50 minutes) however the 174 bus runs all day and night (except between 4 and 6am, or something like that). If you're arriving at 5am, you can grab a Grey Line bus for around $7 or so, which goes around the major hotels in downtown. Point being.. if you don't want to rent a car (and it sounds like you don't need to, unless you plan to visit Mt. Rainier or go east into the Cascades, which are almost snowless this year anyway), you do NOT need to pay $25 or so to taxi to Seattle, unless you're absolutely in a hurry.. nor the rip-off that is Shuttle-Express (same price roughly)

http://transit.metrokc.gov/

Enter "194" or "174" in the timetables section, and this will give you the details on getting from the airport to downtown, and the reverse... the cost and all that. There's also a trip planner utility that's kinda wack but gets the job done.

Lower Queen Anne has this: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/seattle/H26224.html -- in your price range and very well located, as per donut. When are you coming out? FAP!

I'd love to FAP; however, (like my last NYC trip in early December), this is like a super limited time I get to spend with someone who I am absolutely goo-goo-ga-ga over and we only get like 60-70 hours together every 4-6 weeks. This frustrating bicoastalism sucks but it's all I've got right now.

So it looks like the Ace Hotel and we'll do Belltown, Downtown, Queen Anne, and Capitol Hill on foot. Maybe take a 3 hour tour out to Snoqualmie Falls if time/weather permitting.

Thanks again!

scroll up and check out the pics of the rooms i was looking at.

we haven't actually stayed there, that's just what she read.

i expect you won't get an email for at least two weeks. until the party she's planning is over. i barely even get to talk to her anymore.

THREE emails dude!!! hahahahaha... :-D JXN, you need a hug.

GGX!

(please make sure your drunk aunt asks me for Word Up and No Parking on the DanceFloor)

Must do this on Wednesday.

Your plane lands. You may or may not need to collect checked bags. But head down to the Baggage Claim level at Sea-Tac airport (first level.). Once you get there and get your checked bags, if any, just GO RIGHT, basically... (in relation to getting off the down escalator.) Just keep going until you have to exit the airport... you should see signs that say "Public Transportation".. these are good signs.

Go outside and look for the bus bay (It was #2 as off two weeks ago, but these can change often) that says "194-Downtown Seattle"... The "Downtown Seattle" part is very important, because the 194 bus also goes south towards Tacoma as well. When the 194 bus arrives, make sure it says "Seattle" on it.

Here is the King County Metro page on the 194's bus schedule:
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s194_0_.html

Scroll down to the "To Downtown Seattle" part to see the schedule northbound to downtown. On your bus trip back, if applicable, look at the day, then go to the "To Sea Tac/Federal Way" portion, southbound.

It looks like the 194 bus runs from 5/6am to 9/10pm on weekdays (every 15 minutes between 8am to 6pm), 7am to 9/10pm on Saturdays, and 7am to 7pm on Sundays.

Fare on weekdays one way: $2.00. On weekends one way: $1.25

(Failing that, there's the 174 bus, which runs all night, except 4 to 6am.. failing THAT, there's a Gray Line bus that runs all day and night, for around $7 or so, that goes between the airport and all the main hotels downtown)

...

The 194 takes I-5 to downtown, but gets right before on a bus-only street. It looks kinda industrial there (it's the SoDo district), but there's a lot of quizotic (and quixotic!) graffiti on the west side of the street. In particular, on one corner, there's a painting of half a large menacing grey tiger wearing a large pink party hat attacking an indie rock girl wearing a blue cashmere sweater raising her hand to fend away the beast. Get a picture of this, if you can. (I might have to go down there myself one day JUST FOR THE PURPOSE of photographing this, and the rest of that bus-only street's graffiti.. it sure ain't Oakland graffiti.. that's one thing I'll say.)

If you're arriving before 7pm on a weekday, or before 5pm on a Saturday, the bus will go UNDERGROUND! There is a network of underground bus tunnels in downtown (that's actually due to close for most of the remaining part of the year starting May/June, so, gyg, you are somewhat lucky to catch this for the last time in a while).

There will be the International District Stop, the Pioneer Square stop, the University Street stop (no relation to the U-district), and then -- the stop where you want to exit -- the Westlake Center stop.

Go up one floor to the mezzanine from the platform, via elevator or escalator, and follow the signs that say Pine and 3rd st. exit. You may have to walk through the Westlake Center Mall to get to that exit.

Take Pine st. and walk west towards 1st st... then walk north through Belltown (the waterfront being to your left) until you cross Battery St. The Ace hotel is between Battery and Wall on 1st st.

http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=the+ace+hotel&near=Seattle,+WA&sa=X&oi=locald&radius=0.0&latlng=47606388,-122330833,11045066142211395325

...

Will post more about cool things to do and eat later... but in brief..

TOURISTY THINGS THAT ARE TOURISTY FOR A REASON, CUZ THEY ROCK:
* Pike Place Market -- tons of things to look at, see, walk around, get lost.. Make sure to go to the cheese shop outside and get a little container of Chipotle spiced cheese curds. (entering the market is free, excepting whatever food & items you buy)

* Seattle Public Library (free, unless you steal books and are caught)
Just get lost in it. Explore every nook and cranny that you can. Look outside it, and most importantly, inside it.

* Fremont : a bias of mine, surely, since it's my hood. But Fremont deserves a good afternoon. Go to 36th st. and walk towards the Aurora Bridge (the really tall street bridge that towers over Fremont to the east.), and see a big surprise underneath where the bridge meets the ground. Also don't miss the Vladimir Lenin statue (to the west of Fremont Ave., where 35th st. merges into 36th. st.), and all the antique shops along the way.

ROCKIN THINGS THAT AREN'T AS TOURISTY BUT *SHOULD* BE TOURISTY AND ARE ESSENTIAL, ESPECIALLY ON A SUNNY/PARTLY CLOUDY DAY:
* Taking the ferry from downtown Seattle to Bremerton, then go back. (I think it's $5 per person, round trip)

* In very clear weather, going to the park north of Park Place market to look at Mt. Rainier, hovering above Qwest Field (formerly the Seahawks stadium)

TOURISTY THINGS TO STAY AWAY FROM, UNLESS YOU WANT TO REVEL IN THE DISNEY-ESQUE FACTOR:
* The Space Needle ($12? Just go to some tall building, like the slim black Columbia St. Tower, and just take an elevator way up, and look outside.. same thing, and it's free.)

* The EMP : Now, don't get me wrong. For folks who aren't as musically autistic as we tend to be here (I stress "tend"), the EMP museum/tour/workshop is a great place to visit... but if you know a lot about music already, you probably won't be wowed by the EMP museum. The people who help curate the EMP, though, are great folks.

FOOD:
* Thai Tom. ABSOLUTE MUST. Best Thai place on the planet (some in Thailand even say so.) Go on an early Saturday evening. It will be packed, but Tom will be the chef.. and seeing Tom work is like seeing Kid Koala & Cut Chemist in the same body doing twice the plate spinning, except the plates are delicious meals instead of delicious breakbeats. And there's often flares, literally. Also, seeing the super fast mechanical process of how the food is served, assembled, made, cleaned, is really amazing. It's also not expensive. And take the spice scale VERY seriously. On University Way (The Ave) just south of 47th St. NE in the U-district.

* Salumi : mainly for carnivores. It's the deli that's open for limited hours surrounding lunch from Tues-Fri in Pioneer Square. Yes, the place run by Mario bataglia's dad. Deli meat lovers swear by this place. I love the cheese plate. In Pioneer Square in the south end of downtown.. don't know the address off hand

I have a LOT more to say about food options later... but, gygax!, go by your friend's instincts on the sushi restaurant recommendations in Seattle. Blue C Sushi in Fremont will absolutely offend every sensibility of a "traditional" sushi restaurant you hold dear, but has decent sushi, and you can have a fast meal there. You might have to walk by there when/if you're in Fremont to understand why I say this (and warn you.)

anyway.. back to work. What time/day are you leaving Seattle, gygax?

Your plane lands. You may or may not need to collect checked bags. But head down to the Baggage Claim level at Sea-Tac airport (first level.). Once you get there and get your checked bags, if any, just GO RIGHT, basically... (in relation to getting off the down escalator.) Just keep going until you have to exit the airport... you should see signs that say "Public Transportation".. these are good signs.

Go outside and look for the bus bay (It was #2 as of two weeks ago, but these can change often) that says "194-Downtown Seattle"... The "Downtown Seattle" part is very important, because the 194 bus also goes south towards Tacoma as well. When the 194 bus arrives, make sure it says "Seattle" on it.

Here is the King County Metro page on the 194's bus schedule:
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s194_0_.html

Scroll down to the "To Downtown Seattle" part to see the schedule northbound to downtown. On your bus trip back, if applicable, look at the day, then go to the "To Sea Tac/Federal Way" portion, southbound.
The timetable will also be there at the bus stop.

It looks like the 194 bus runs from 5/6am to 9/10pm on weekdays (every 15 minutes between 8am to 6pm), 7am to 9/10pm on Saturdays, and 7am to 7pm on Sundays.

Fare on weekdays one way: $2.00 (in which case, tell the bus driver, you're going to Seattle when you enter the two bucks, and you'll get a 2-zone transfer, which you can choose to use later or not.)

On weekends one way: $1.25 (same deal with the transfer)

(Failing that, there's the 174 bus, which runs all night, except 4 to 6am.. failing THAT, there's a Gray Line bus that runs all day and night, for around $7 or so, that goes between the airport and all the main hotels downtown)

...

The 194 takes I-5 to downtown, but gets off right before on a bus-only street. It looks kinda industrial there (it's the SoDo district), but there's a lot of quizotic (and quixotic!) graffiti on the west side of the street. In particular, on one corner, there's a painting of half a large menacing grey tiger wearing a large pink party hat attacking an indie rock girl wearing a blue cashmere sweater raising her hand to fend away the beast. Get a picture of this, if you can. (I might have to go down there myself one day JUST FOR THE PURPOSE of photographing this, and the rest of that bus-only street's graffiti.. it sure ain't Oakland graffiti.. that's one thing I'll say.)

If you're arriving before 7pm on a weekday, or before 5pm on a Saturday, the bus will go UNDERGROUND! There is a network of underground bus tunnels in downtown (that's actually due to close for most of the remaining part of the year starting May/June, so, gyg, you are somewhat lucky to catch this for the last time in a while).

If you arrive late enough AFTER the bus tunnel closes, you'll just default to streets in downtown -- no tunnel for you. Get off on the Pine and 3rd st. bus stop.

There will be the International District Stop, the Pioneer Square stop, the University Street stop (no relation to the U-district), and then -- the stop where you want to exit -- the Westlake Center stop.

Go up one floor to the mezzanine from the platform, via elevator or escalator, and follow the signs that say Pine and 3rd st. exit. You may have to walk through the Westlake Center Mall to get to that exit.

Take Pine st. and walk west towards 1st st... then walk north through Belltown (the waterfront being to your left) until you cross Battery St. The Ace hotel is between Battery and Wall on 1st st.

http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=the+ace+hotel&near=Seattle,+WA&sa=X&oi=locald&radius=0.0&latlng=47606388,-122330833,11045066142211395325

...

Will post more about cool things to do and eat later... but in brief..

TOURISTY THINGS THAT ARE TOURISTY FOR A REASON, CUZ THEY ROCK:
* Pike Place Market -- tons of things to look at, see, walk around, get lost.. Make sure to go to the cheese shop outside and get a little container of Chipotle spiced cheese curds. (entering the market is free, excepting whatever food & items you buy)

* Seattle Public Library (free, unless you steal books and are caught)
Just get lost in it. Explore every nook and cranny that you can. Look outside it, and most importantly, inside it.

* Fremont : a bias of mine, surely, since it's my hood. But Fremont deserves a good afternoon. Go to 36th st. and walk towards the Aurora Bridge (the really tall street bridge that towers over Fremont to the east.), and see a big surprise underneath where the bridge meets the ground. Also don't miss the Vladimir Lenin statue (to the west of Fremont Ave., where 35th st. merges into 36th. st.), and all the antique shops along the way.

ROCKIN THINGS THAT AREN'T AS TOURISTY BUT *SHOULD* BE TOURISTY AND ARE ESSENTIAL, ESPECIALLY ON A SUNNY/PARTLY CLOUDY DAY:
* Taking the ferry from downtown Seattle to Bremerton, then go back. (I think it's $5 per person, round trip)

* In very clear weather, going to the park north of Park Place market to look at Mt. Rainier, hovering above Qwest Field (formerly the Seahawks stadium)

TOURISTY THINGS TO STAY AWAY FROM, UNLESS YOU WANT TO REVEL IN THE DISNEY-ESQUE FACTOR:
* The Space Needle ($12? Just go to some tall building, like the slim black Columbia St. Tower, and just take an elevator way up, and look outside.. same thing, and it's free.)

* The EMP : Now, don't get me wrong. For folks who aren't as musically autistic as we tend to be here (I stress "tend"), the EMP museum/tour/workshop is a great place to visit... but if you know a lot about music already, you probably won't be wowed by the EMP museum. The people who help curate the EMP, though, are great folks.

FOOD:
* Thai Tom. ABSOLUTE MUST. Best Thai place on the planet (some in Thailand even say so.) Go on an early Saturday evening. It will be packed, but Tom will be the chef.. and seeing Tom work is like seeing Kid Koala & Cut Chemist in the same body doing twice the plate spinning, except the plates are delicious meals instead of delicious breakbeats. And there's often flares, literally. Also, seeing the super fast mechanical process of how the food is served, assembled, made, cleaned, is really amazing. It's also not expensive. And take the spice scale VERY seriously. On University Way (The Ave) just south of 47th St. NE in the U-district.

* Salumi : mainly for carnivores. It's the deli that's open for limited hours surrounding lunch from Tues-Fri in Pioneer Square. Yes, the place run by Mario bataglia's dad. Deli meat lovers swear by this place. I love the cheese plate. In Pioneer Square in the south end of downtown.. don't know the address off hand

I have a LOT more to say about food options later... but, gygax!, go by your friend's instincts on the sushi restaurant recommendations in Seattle. Blue C Sushi in Fremont will absolutely offend every sensibility of a "traditional" sushi restaurant you hold dear, but has decent sushi, and you can have a fast meal there. You might have to walk by there when/if you're in Fremont to understand why I say this (and warn you.)

Also, general bus riding warning: There's a lot of confusion around the "Pay As You Leave"/"Pay As You Enter Shit"... See, downtown Seattle buses are all FREE between 7am and 7pm every day (which is a convenient thing if you're only too tired to walk in downtown.) So any downtown-bound bus is "Pay as your ENTER".. any downtown-leaving bus is "Pay as you LEAVE" (at the front of the bus).. except after 7pm, ALL buses go "Pay as you Enter". It's really confusing and fucked up.. it takes years for even locals to not be thrown for a spin occasionally.

anyway.. back to work. What time/day are you leaving Seattle, gygax?

BRUCE NAFTALY

LE GOURMAND

($$$, except he opened some cheap place next door)

ugh the ace hotel is booked on the days im there. i guess i'll stay at the hostel then. at least that leaves more money for fooooood. is thai tom still good?

Looking for a nice hotel in Seattle for mid-Feb. I never been so I don't know what a good area is, but won't have a car and not looking to spend much more than, say $130 a night. Any new suggestions?

hey! I have this question too... am coming to Seattle for July 4th weekend (flying w/my wife and my 5yo and 3mo old) Any recommendations as to where to stay? And how easy is it to get around on public transpo...?

Getting around town is easy, as is getting to/from the airport/downtown. If you want a more residential type place, the Homewood Suites off Western/Elliott in lower Queen Anne is pretty convenient to stuff, though north of downtown. If you are okay staying way south (still with easy public transit), this is in my neck of the woods - there's three total rooms from what I remember.

For transit, I've got a couple of spare Orca cards I'd be glad to loan you for the duration.

turns out we're renting a car so I guess transit isn't so critical

thx for the recs!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/nyregion/alex-calderwood-creator-and-face-of-the-unconventional-ace-hotel-chain-dies-at-47.html?ref=obituaries

Howdy, figured this was a good thread to ask:

My wife and I are going to a wedding on Mercer Island in 8 weeks. We'd prefer to stay in Seattle proper rather than Bellevue.

Anyone have any advice on neighborhoods or recommended hotels or is it all pretty convenient?

Limited experience here but I almost always stay at the Moore Hotel. It's not modern and doesn't have many of the amenities that some people would want, I guess - like a gym or whatever. And seems to be thinly staffed. But the location is great - very close to Pike Place etc. If you are on a really tight budget you can get a room with a shared bathroom. A cross between slumming it and going old-school.

However, the last couple of times I was there I stayed at the Mediterranean Inn just on the other side of the Space Needle and it was great. Modern and comfortable and all that. Rooftop patio. It's about $200/night iirc.

Downtown, Pioneer Square, and Sodo (near the stadiums) are most convenient hotel locations for jumping on I-90 to get to Mercer Island (whether you're driving or catching a bus). If you're looking at AirBnB, north Beacon Hill, Mt. Baker, International District, and south end of the Central District would be good (hotel-less) neighborhoods as a base.

The Moore is the sort of hotel I'd stay in if I were visiting here instead of living here, and is pretty conveniently located for touristy stuff and for getting on pretty much every bus (the most useful buses in Seattle are pretty to-from downtown oriented). Staying north of the water (Ballard/Fremont/Wallingford or points north) via Airbnb or something will probably not be convenient. My advice isn't super useful since the one time I went to Bellevue it was to adopt my cat and I had to walk on the shoulder along the highway from the park and ride to get to the humane society, pretty dumb.

Thanks y'all. Will starting price shopping momentarily.

moore seconded, good location and price

The Moore was booked (popular weekend I guess?) so we settled on a pretty airbnb in Capitol Hill.

Thanks again, I may go to a Seattle threads for some niche recommendations.

> The Moore was booked (popular weekend I guess?) so we settled on a pretty airbnb in Capitol Hill.

haha, this airbnb owner ended up going into politics a couple years later... don't want to dox him but he's tall, former baseball player, and in his home state ran against one of the most openly racist members of congress in 2018 and lost by a thin margin. Good guy, plus his airbnb review of us was something like "I'm not even sure they stayed here... the house might be cleaner than I left it!"

That said, heading up to NORTHERN SEATTLE (sorry not downtown) in a couple months and deciding to take the family with for 5-6 days. My idea is to fly into Everett, rent a car then drive down to University District for hotel. I'll need to drive 20 mins north to the suburbs for 2.5 days of work but like the idea of the family being centrally located between the zoo, the Burke museum, Unity museum (any other recs?) but also having access to a quick train into downtown for sightseeing.

Any recommendations in/near University District? Currently looking at Marriott Residence Inn or Silver Cloud. Or if you think my idea is unsound, please steer me in a better direction.

Ha I stayed at that Silver Cloud like ten years ago and it was totally fine but the area was kinda boring if i recall.

Which was actually perfect because I was traveling with my parents and the rest of the BIG CITY was freaking them out enough already.

Yeah sorry, the location preference is more for convenience (midpoint between commute/attractions) than for maximum CHAZ edge-sharpening. We get plenty BIG CITY in our day-to-day routine :)

If you can find somewhere at Northgate that might suit the car / work / north parts of your stay even better than the UD — it’s only 4-5 minutes extra on the train for any city / Capitol Hill based shenags, ie 4-5 to the UD.

Thank you! Are there things to do in the vicinity of Northgate? Last time I was in that neighborhood a million years ago was for some weird Sun City Girls/Sublime Frequencies absolute weirdo event 🙃 Looking for slightly more normie activities this time haha.

No things at all, but that's the value of the train!

The Kraken training facility is there and open for public skating but not much else.

If we do end up switching hotels mid-trip to a more touristy area, would y'all recommend we stay near Pike Place, Uptown, Belltown, Downtown or ... ? We are city smart, avid walkers, public transit friendly. Not desensitized to the struggle (e.g., the parts of 3rd Ave I remember being rough around the edges) but don't mind staying in the tourist corridors if that makes the most sense.

Belltown is a good bet in that case - quietish, but quick walk to the waterfront / Pike Place and Space Needle (or walk to Pike, monorail to Needle, walk back to hotel). Longer walk or quick bus to an underground tour.

The newly renovated Arctic Club recently reopened on 3rd Ave & Cherry (😬) and is offering some enticing deals but I feel like that's a bit too south/fringe for where we would like to be.

Definitely will take Belltown/Waterfront into consideration then! Thanks as always sic.

If the weather is nice, rent canoes / kayaks at UW aquatic center and paddle around the Union Bay Nature Area. Rent bikes and cycle through the Arboretum. Carkeek Park, Discovery Park, Ballard Locks - the parks are the best places in the city.

Downtown is a shithole and even if you found a cheap hotel, you'd be better off staying in the U Dist or Capitol Hill / aka on the light rail line. I wouldn't go to Belltown if you gave me $500 to spend anywhere I wanted.

there might finally be some real spring weather happening by then too

the Arctic Club is in a great geographical spot - a block from the library (tourist-worthy, honestly!), three blocks from ferries, a few blocks from the underground tours and International District, I can wave at your window every morning or afternoon or whenever I'm heading to work that day -- but yeah, if you have kids, it's not going to be putting the best face on the city. the street across the other side of 3rd is likely to be crowded with under-resourced citizens, and the train station across the road is the least-maintained and unsalubrious one on the line.

If you can find a place to stay in Fremont, that's probably a handy place to be. It's a good neighborhood for food and cafes, and it's fun to poke around in; it's got a used bookstore, record store, vintage mall etc. all in the same area. Not all that close to the light rail, but next to Lake Union and very close to downtown by bus or bike - there's a bike trail that runs along Lake Union that will take you directly from Fremont to the south end of Lake Union which is the start of downtown, and in the opposite direction you can bike along the canal to Ballard and see the Ballard Locks. Go uphill from Fremont and you're in Wallingford, which is a nice little neighborhood in itself and connects to Green Lake and the University district.

I stayed at the Hotel Sorrento a few months ago, on First Hill near Capitol Hill and walkable to downtown if you’re good to walk. Old hotel, restored in fun ways and left alone in fun ways.

the Sorrento (is rad and it)'s coolest feature is the monthly Silent Reading Club

This is all good info for if I come later in the year, thx

I ended up booking Residence Inn in University District for 2 nights and then the The Sound in Belltown for 2 nights.

Sincere thanks to everyone for your opinions.

It's funny to have started this thread 18 years ago and then think about how this will be my 4th visit over those past 18 years at various stages of my life, but even before that... starting with my first visit as a college freshman to visit my roommate on our spring break and we caught a ton of amazing shows a couple of years before grunge broke. But, yeah I really should visit more often!

Y'all, lol you can see how unhinged my booking tastes are... we ended up staying at the Andra (4th & Virginia) which unbeknownst to me was right across from the Sub Pop world HQ--unmarked, you wouldn't even know it was there unless you peeked at the tiny print on the bldg directory.

As for safety... the Belltown/Downtown/International District/Waterfront were absolutely mellow and chill. Sure on 3rd you see some street action but the city was incredibly welcoming and beautiful. In fact I'm sunburnt. Aside from work stuff, I got to see my friend play on Saturday at KEXP, did a bunch of tourist stuff with the fam, ate some amazing local delicacies (fresh geoduck for breakfast almost everyday), it was really quite nice.

We ended up only taking public transit once, opting to walk everywhere instead, that's how incredibly central the Belltown location was.

My wife's friend lives in Woodinville which was a pastoral escape from the concrete jungle for the day. Auto traffic was just about as I remembered (dreadful) but that's on me, in the end staying close to downtown made the most sense.

this guy knows what's up

:)

One astonishing thing to me was the sheer amount of development going on in downtown/city center.
That was the single, immediate, most shocking difference between Seattle and SF. I'm talking cranes as far as the eyes can see.

Then coming home to learn that our mayor vetoed a neighborhood high-density development that's been an empty lot for going on 5 years now...