Seattle Baggage

[Todd]

I am arriving on the #7 at 10:25am from Chicago. I'm staying at the Embassy Suites right next door. I won't be able to check in that early and want to explore Seattle during the day (Pike Market, Smith Tower, etc.). Is there a metropolitan lounge at King Street Station where I can store my luggage during the day or can I drop off the luggage at Embassy Suites before I check in?

 

[pennyk]

In the past, I have paid $10 per bag to store my luggage in the Seattle station. There is no lounge in which to store your luggage. Hotels will usually store your luggage for you until you check in. I would go to the Embassy Suites next door to store your luggage. BTW, I stayed there the last time I was in town and loved the place. Enjoy your trip.

 

[trainman74]

Also, it doesn't hurt to ask at the front desk if you can check into the hotel that early -- they may have a room available for you already (or they may be able to get one cleaned ASAP).

 

[Todd]

Thanks folks...My first Amtrak trip...should be easy to just walk for 2 minutes to the hotel and see if I can check in or store luggage until I can check in...

 

[PVD]

You could call them before you leave as well.....it is something most hotels have no problem with

 

[Cal]

BTW, I stayed there the last time I was in town and loved the place.

Me too.

 

[Todd]

Seems like there is almost universal love for Embassy Suites...easy call...convenient and well loved...also walkable to many of the big attractions there (needle, market, ferris wheel, smith tower, etc.)...also the 13 coins restaurant at the hotel seems to be well recommended...hopefully they hold luggage before checking in...

 

[GAT]

.also the 13 coins restaurant at the hotel seems to be well recommended..

If that's the same quality restaurant that used to live in its own premises in the '70s/80s, it is indeed highly recommended.

 

[Chris I]

Every hotel I've used in Seattle has offered an option to hold bags if the room is not ready for early check-in. I haven't tried it at the Embassy because they have always had a room for us at noon, but I would expect them to do it. You should call the hotel.

It's unlikely that you will get in right at 10:30am as it is. The Empire Builder is usually late.

 

[Todd]

I know, I've been watching the live Amtrak tracking...a lot of trains are late...which is why I'm staying two nights in Seattle, LA, and New Orleans on my big loop from Buffalo...the only potential issue is the 4 hour layover between LSL from Buffalo to Chicago and then catching the Empire Builder...but it seems that it is almost never 4 hours late...the biggest thing I'm worried about is the extension past March of 5 days a week on the big western routes...that would be a big problem...getting a bit off topic here, sorry...

 

[BlackDiamond]

Sounds like a cool trip. Hope everything works out for you.

 

[TinCan782]

Me too.

Me three!

 

[SubwayNut]

Free left luggage at a hotel is standard especially at a level like the Embassy Suites, I've done this many times, including at plenty of Youth Hostels. It's one reason that I don't like AirBNB type house rentals for short stays without a car. They don't give you the front desk to leave your luggage.

Only time I've been questioned and they still came up with a solution for me was at motels that assume you've driven (and we hadn't) like once at an Econolodge or when we paid cash for what was really a timeshare apartment near a ski area (we didn't have a car) both times they still found a solution, it just took the staff a minute to think through where they could store our stuff.

 

[BCL]

It may not be a full service hotel with bellhops and a concierge, but almost any hotel in that class will hold bags in a back room.

 

[BCL]

Only time I've been questioned and they still came up with a solution for me was at motels that assume you've driven (and we hadn't) like once at an Econolodge or when we paid cash for what was really a timeshare apartment near a ski area (we didn't have a car) both times they still found a solution, it just took the staff a minute to think through where they could store our stuff.

Sure when it's a motel (or sometimes technically a hotel with hallways) in the class of Motel 6 or Super 8 it gets kind of tricky asking for them to hold onto bags when they often don't have any kind of suitable storage area. How did you manage at an Econolodge? Every one I've been to barely had an office. It seemed like it was part of why it was so cheap, not that the accommodations weren't OK for staying a night or two.

 

[SubwayNut]

How did you manage at an Econolodge

I honestly don't really remember, I think my bag (my backpacking backpack) was just on basically public display on the floor next to the desk.

 

[PaulM]

I thought Amtrak will hold checked baggage for a time, perhaps 2 days If so, you could check your bags and then pick them up when your room is ready.

 

[Big Green Chauvanist]

...also the 13 coins restaurant at the hotel seems to be well recommended...hopefully they hold luggage before checking in...

If that's the same quality restaurant that used to live in its own premises in the '70s/80s, it is indeed highly recommended.

When the 13 Coins was in its longtime home in the next to the Seattle Times building in the Cascade district, one of its claims to fame was being open 24/7 (in a city which normally shut down early). Those days are apparently over. For good.

 

[GAT]

When the 13 Coins was in its longtime home in the next to the Seattle Times building in the Cascade district, one of its claims to fame was being open 24/7 (in a city which normally shut down early). Those days are apparently over. For good.

Thanks for refreshing my memory. I hope the food is still top notch.

 

[John Santos]

I thought Amtrak will hold checked baggage for a time, perhaps 2 days If so, you could check your bags and then pick them up when your room is ready.

It depends on the station. Some will store bags for free. Some for free, but not overnight. Some charge $5 or $10. (Seattle King St charged me $10 for holding my large bag for an hour while I went about half a mile up the street to drop off my rental car and walk back. Was boarding the EB to MSP.) On the other hand, one time I arrived at MSP about half an hour before the east-bound EB was due, and it was about 4 hours late. They held my bag for free while I found a nearby coffee shop to east breakfast and drink about a gallon of coffee while waiting.
Like all Amtrak policies, the only consistency is inconsistency.

 

[PaulM]

It depends on the station. Some will store bags for free. Some for free, but not overnight. Some charge $5 or $10. ...
Like all Amtrak policies, the only consistency is inconsistency.

I wasn't referring to stored luggage (left luggage in British parlance), rather not retrieving checked baggage until later.