Affordable hotels around Seattle/SEA

[New Train Guy]

I was there last week after riding the CS to Seattle. I stayed at the Loyal Inn at 2301 8th Street and was pleased. Only $5.00 on Uber from station. Walking distance to Space Needle, rail, Pike Place.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Could be helpful to others in the future if you would list the name of the hotel....

Good thinking. It's the American Hotel Hostel, 520 South King Street, International District, Seattle, WA 98104. I opted for a single room (not shared) but with a shared bathroom. There is a coin-op laundry on the premises so I'll be doing laundry there too.

​Two nights cost a total of about $170, complete. I'm happy with that. I only need it for sleeping, showering, and doing laundry.

​It's walking distance to the station.

Once I've stayed there, I'll try to remember to report back here on how it is.

Yeah that's kind of how a forum works. Now when it gets indexed by google I imigine this thread will end up with thousands of views over the course of the next few years. Those people will be annoyed by the lack of the name being in the thread. While you might view this as a vehicle simply to have people answer your questions there will be thousands of others who while never post here, but will find this thread and need the same information.

I was especially glad to hear that folks in this particular forum have experience with this hostel.

Especially glad? Really?? So far only a single forum member has posted anything at all about the hostel at 520 S. King St. The other 7 posters have either talked about other hotels or hotels/hostels in general.

But 269 reviews of that specific hostel are posted on TripAdvisor. Even though all 270 folks are unknown strangers on the interweb, I'd give some credence to what the other 269 reviewers said even though they may not be members of this forum.

Thank you for your valuable input to this thread. I would trust the advice of that one forum member of the the 270 strangers on TA as in this case I have met the member in question and have communicated with him online for years. I'd trust his opinion over 1000 strangers...

 

[Austruck]

I was especially glad to hear that folks in this particular forum have experience with this hostel.

Especially glad? Really?? So far only a single forum member has posted anything at all about the hostel at 520 S. King St. The other 7 posters have either talked about other hotels or hotels/hostels in general.

But 269 reviews of that specific hostel are posted on TripAdvisor. Even though all 270 folks are unknown strangers on the interweb, I'd give some credence to what the other 269 reviewers said even though they may not be members of this forum.

Apologies for the misunderstanding. I didn't mean my reply at all the way you took it. I just meant that I've found this forum really helpful as I plan my upcoming trip, and I was relieved that the hostel I booked wasn't getting responses such as "Yuck! Don't stay THERE!"

I didn't mean in any way to imply anything against reviews on TripAdvisor or anywhere else. The most I was implying was that I was already booked, was satisfied with my choice, and probably wasn't going to go to another site to start looking up reviews at this point.

Again, apologies if my reply seemed anything other than cheerful. (Hard to always get that body language thing down in a forum, which is why I used a smiley at the end of my post.) I meant nothing untoward in my response. I'm happy folks take the time to answer any of my newbie questions here.

 

[anuenue]

@Austruck and others who might be interested: I contacted the Seattle at the American Hotel Hostel about bedding, and here was the response I just received.

“Hi There! We provide sheets and blankets on the beds and towels are available at the front desk if you need them. There is no need to bring your own bedding. Please let us know if you have any other questions and we'll see you soon.”

 

[Austruck]

Good job, anuenue! Thanks for passing that info along! Saves me the effort of having to ask them myself. However, as I reread your answer, I don't see any mention of pillows. :blink: I'll assume "bedding" includes pillows.

 

[anuenue]

Good job, anuenue! Thanks for passing that info along! Saves me the effort of having to ask them myself. However, as I reread your answer, I don't see any mention of pillows. :blink: I'll assume "bedding" includes pillows.

That's what I figured, too. I'll have my own pillow with me anyway to use on the train.

 

[caravanman]

Please be assured that pillows will be provided. Also, some regular contributors to this forum don't get out as much as normal folk, so don't take offence if they seem patronising.

(Sorry if I am being patronising)

Ed.

 

[Skyline]

You're likely going to wind up taking public transit or a quick cab/Uber ride from hotel to King Street anyway, so why limit yourself to hotels within easy walking distance? If you can find something that will cost $200 +/- a 10 or 15 minute ride away, why pay $300 or more to be close to the station?

Seattle is a very pricey city.

 

[jebr]

I'm guessing that the hostel is cheaper than most, if not all, other options in the area (or those that have decent reviews.)

Plus, some people prefer to be close to the station so that, no matter what, they can walk to the hotel if they have to. (Plus, I'll often walk 10-15 minutes with luggage, and it is convenient to be within walking distance of where you want to be.)

 

[anuenue]

You're likely going to wind up taking public transit or a quick cab/Uber ride from hotel to King Street anyway, so why limit yourself to hotels within easy walking distance? If you can find something that will cost $200 +/- a 10 or 15 minute ride away, why pay $300 or more to be close to the station?

Seattle is a very pricey city.

I've got the hostel on King Street booked at $85.49 for one night. Depending on how I'm feeling, I'll either take uber or walk it. I can take uber or a taxi to whatever I want to do the day I arrive. My train leaves at around 9:30 a.m. so I don't want to be all the way across town when I wake up. I have no idea what rush hour traffic is like in Seattle, but being so close it won't be a concern.

 

[Austruck]

Same as you, anuenue. I paid about $170 for two nights, total. I'm totally happy with that, and it did seem like the cheapest place around anyway. The fact that it's in walking distance is a plus. I too would rather walk a bit and save the stress for something else.

I'm curious about how you're managing a pillow. I tried to space-bag a fluffy bed pillow here but so far I haven't mastered the technique. Ha!

EDIT: I'm pretty sure I'm just going to take someone's advice from this forum when they suggested bringing a small inflatable beach ball to put under any pillow that doesn't do the trick. I can then inflate it a little or a lot as necessary, and it won't take up much room while packing when it's deflated.

 

[anuenue]

Same as you, anuenue. I paid about $170 for two nights, total. I'm totally happy with that, and it did seem like the cheapest place around anyway. The fact that it's in walking distance is a plus. I too would rather walk a bit and save the stress for something else.

I'm curious about how you're managing a pillow. I tried to space-bag a fluffy bed pillow here but so far I haven't mastered the technique. Ha!

EDIT: I'm pretty sure I'm just going to take someone's advice from this forum when they suggested bringing a small inflatable beach ball to put under any pillow that doesn't do the trick. I can then inflate it a little or a lot as necessary, and it won't take up much room while packing when it's deflated.

I haven't tried squishing a pillow into my backpack yet (still actually deciding in which pack to get - but the one you mentioned is in my amazon wish-list for now). I use squishy pillows, so hopefully I can make one packable. If not, I'll probably either buy a smaller one or make one. I read the beach ball tip also, and have that on my list of things to purchase. I figure that'll be good for sitting up, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable sleeping with my face that close to what is essentially a large plastic bag.

 

[Austruck]

I plan to use the ball only if needed under the pillows provided at various places along the way. I'm a side sleeper and like the pillow at a specific height. Semi-inflated ball under a too-soft pillow will work wonders, I think.

Try those roll-able compression space-bag things for a pillow. They work pretty well -- my issue with the pillow was that the pillow is a tad too big for the bag and I can't get it properly sealed in order to then roll the air out.

Bedding provided in the hostel = happy me. One less thing, as Forrest Gump would say...

 

[BCL]

If you need some pillows, there's a pretty good line of compressible pillows with the Therm-A-Rest brand from Cascade Designs. They specialize in camping and hiking equipment (like the MSR, Platypus, etc.) but this is pretty good for general travel. The foam they use in these pillows comes from the pieces they cut out of their self-inflating sleeping pads for backpacking.

Their pillows pack into about a quarter the full size.

 

[Austruck]

You guys have thought of everything!