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[annathepiper]

So an online friend of mine is making noises about she and some of her kith and kin visiting the area later on this year, and she's asking me about reasonably cheap and decent places to stay. As I actually live here, I have had very little opportunity to stay in any of the local hostelries outside the contexts of Norwescon or Writer's Weekend--so anybody got any recommendations for places she might check out? Thanks in advance!

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

What area, yours? There's a Motel 6 Suites up off 205 Street that I have been eyeing for some time; I've stayed at many a Motel 6 and they've always been as advertised: Spartan and yet clean and mostly well-cared-for... there is a place or two near Seattle Center as well, if they're in a touristy mood...

Where you don't want to be is Aurora anywhere *between* the Bridge and 205 Street. Not Recommended. Even the name-brand places, it's still not where you want to be for location... too much riffraff up and down there after hours. There is an actual hostel just outside Pike Place, too; dunno anything about it, though. And some of the airport hotels can actually be semi-reasonable, and you can catch 194 into town if you're car-free.

All depends on what you want.

[annathepiper]

I don't have a more specific area in mind than "in the Seattle area"; I don't know yet what will be convenient for my friend. I'll tell her to monitor this thread, though!

[chamois-shimi.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't stay right by the Market - well, I dunno, maybe it's a fine place - but when I was growing up the Market was a great place to be during the day, but something to be strenuously avoided at night.

[annathepiper]

Yeah, about the only place I'm familiar with downtown is the place near the Seattle Center where we had the 2005 Writer's Weekend--that wasn't bad, and proximity to lots of places to eat didn't suck--but just from my overall impression of downtown, closer down to the Market is probably not the place to be for the most relaxing stay. We'll see what my friend has in mind. Thanks. :)

[cow.livejournal.com]

The market hostel is the Green Tortoise, and it's awesome as far as hostels go. (And the neighborhood's not nearly as bad as another poster makes it sound.)

I would expand your advisory re: Aurora beyond 205th and, really, all the way to Everett. (I lived just off SR-99 and SW 212th in Edmonds for a year.) Some parts of that aren't so bad neighborhood-wise, but I've yet to see a hotel along that strip that looked like it had any surfaces I'd be willing to put my body in contact with. (And I stay in hostels a lot. }:D)

[ceallaighgirl.livejournal.com]

Well heck, they should just check this out, hee hee:

http://www.couchsurfing.com/

[annathepiper]

Heh. :)

[chamois-shimi.livejournal.com]

This is a pretty cool travel advice website:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/

I use it a lot when planning trips, it has nice pithy reviews like “Atmosphere reminiscent of 'Dirty pretty things' and '8mm'.” “Oh the Humanity” and “Filthy Pit”. ;D

[annathepiper]

Hee, excellent. Thanks for sharing the link!

[cow.livejournal.com]

How cheap?

The Green Tortoise is the best option for super-cheap (it's a traveler hostel, and nice as such things go; I like hostels, but a lot of people don't). It's somewhere around 1st and Pike, so if they're not urban-dwellers, a warning and/or discussion may be appropriate, but Seattle is such a ridiculously safe city I wouldn't worry unless they personally feel too uncomfortable. etc.

If they're looking for just a generic cheap hotel, try hotels.com; it's worked well for me in the past (and the user reviews can be great, as you'd be amazed how many super-picky people with an entitlement complex stay at two-star hotels, so they'll tell you everything that's wrong and you can decide). Last-minute deals can be great, but if you're coming from out of town and not used to it, that can be more stress than it's worth.

(Which reminds me of the time I was in a country where I barely spoke the language, hated my hostel, and used hotels.com to find somewhere twenty kilometers away on no notice...and it turned out to be the best thing ever. But that's another longer story.)

Slightly more specific recommendations: Nothing on Hwy 99 is worth the money you save; really, if they're mostly coming to visit y'all, something up in Snohomish County, specifically Lynnwood, is likely to be cheaper than Seattle proper. The couple of times I needed hotels while not living in Seattle, Lynnwood ended up being a great deal.

[annathepiper]

I don't know Heidi's budget, I just told her I'd be pinging LJ for recommendations and that she should monitor this thread. Thanks for chiming in!

And there are other reasons bringing her and her kith and kin out here, I believe; having lunch with me is a bonus. ^_^

[(Anonymous)]

In my not-so-humble opinion, one of the best ways to stay almost anywhere if you're a crowd is to rent an apartment. In the US they're generally listed under "corporate housing". There's also a Seattle-based thing called, I think, Rentalo, which is holiday housing, basically. Depending on how long they're going to be in the area, and the number of people who are helping pay, they're very often cheaper than hotel/motel rooms, plus they have kitchens and washers and dryers in the apartment, making life in general easier. Corporate housing is all over Seattle and the Eastside. We've rented three-bedroom apartments most often and find them cheaper and more relaxing than a hotel. True, no one comes in to make your bed each day, but if you're there longer than a week they do change the linens weekly, and besides, there's that washer and dryer....

[annathepiper]

Dunno how many people will be accompanying my friend; just a few, I think. But I'll make sure she sees this. Thanks!

[howlinhobbit.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)]

The Green Tortoise (http://www.greentortoise.net/) just recently moved to the corner of First and Pike.

Unless it's moved (I haven't looked in a while) there's an Int'l Youth Hostel at First and Union as well. It's on the west side of First and you have to go a little ways down the stairs there to get to it.

(Ooops! Just checked and apparently it has moved. It's now on Vashon Island (http://www.vashonhostel.com/index.htm). At least, that's where the former link is redirected. But hey! One of your "room" choices there is a tepee. Hmmm...)

[annathepiper]

Heh, thanks for chiming in! :)

[poodlgrl.livejournal.com]

A couple of folks in my neighborhoood have mother-in-law apartments they rent here on Beacon, which is central to everything. Not very urban though - residential. Maybe check on vrbo.com or word of mouth. You can actually find some amazing deals. I don't know their budget - - recently my family rented a vacation spot over in Kitsap County for a family reunion, it was like $120 per night and had 3 big king size beds, it was a beautiful home!

[annathepiper]

I don't know her budget either, but have advised her to monitor this thread for interesting ideas. Thanks for chiming in! :)