Casagordita

The Monaco is a Kimpton Hotel. I've stayed at a few of their properties, and I like them a lot. They don't have that bland, cookie-cutter feel that a lot of corporate chain hotels have--each one has its own look and personality. They're very comfortable, beautifully decorated, and a little bit quirky (for example: Kimpton hotels are pet-friendly, and if you didn't bring a pet, they'll loan you a bowl of goldfish for the duration of your stay). The staff seem to genuinely enjoy working there, and I've always gotten great service during my stays.

The Monaco's restaurant, Sazerac, is excellent--one of my favorite places downtown.

like Gardyloo, I would be more worried about the quality of the meal. I never understand why people come from thousands of miles away and go to chain restaurants that you can eat exactly the same menu in more than 100 other cities around the world. Yes, they may have some local takes on their menu items, but it's not the same as eating someplace you will only be able to eat at in that particular city. Please, skip the Hard Rock. There are so many better restaurants nearby.

The original Hard Rock Cafe was in London. It was started in the 1970's by a couple of American guys who wanted a place to get a really good hamburger. It was meant to look like a classic American coffee shop--lots of Formica, red leatherette booths, waitresses in starched white uniforms. The menu was basic American diner food. They had squeeze bottles of French's Mustard on the tables, and the soup came with real saltine crackers. That might not sound so special...but if you're a homesick American college student doing a junior year abroad, and spending your first holiday season thousands of miles from your family, it was a little piece of heaven. My friends and I went there for our Thanksgiving dinner, because it was the most American place we could think of. It was one of the best meals of my life because it tasted like home.

All the other locations, the glitz, the rock-and-roll memorabilia, the overblown, overpriced menu...that all came later. I've been to a couple of Hard Rock Cafes in the US and they are NOTHING like the original. And that Thanksgiving was forty years ago--the London one is probably nothing like it was back then, either!

But being from over there, the the OP might actually have reason to think that the Hard Rock Cafe is a beloved American classic. Just so you know, it's not. DrKoob is right--there are many, many better restaurants in Seattle, with good food and a genuine local feel, rather than prefab, hyped-up decor and mediocre, mass-produced food. You really can do better.

Here's one more club with good live music to add to your list: Highway 99 Blues Club. I can't believe I forgot them before--I've seen some great shows there! They're a little challenging to find--they're underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct, across the street from the Aquarium--but they're not so very far from your hotel.

Have a safe trip, and enjoy your visit!

I booked a HAL cruise to Alaska R/T from Seattle. The Port charges are $471.50. I asked my travel agent and he said the Seattle Port charge is $358 of the total. He said the Seattle Port Charges are the highest in the world. Does anyone know what the reason for the high Seattle Port charges?

Because we're worth it...? :D ;)

In all seriousness...I think that has a lot to do with it. Another way of putting it might be, we do it because we can. The port charges don't seem to be stopping the nearly 1,000,000 people who passed through Seattle in 2015 to board a cruise. So it's a solid source of revenue for the region, helping pay for necessary goods and services, and the folks paying it aren't showing any signs of staging a tax revolt or going elsewhere in large numbers to avoid it. I'd say that's a pretty successful tax!

Governments collect taxes because infrastructure and services cost money. If they don't collect what's needed to pay for those from port taxes, they'll get it from another kind of tax--or they won't get it at all, and the things it would have paid for deteriorate accordingly. Washington is a blue state, and King County is VERY blue. We tend to believe, between taxes and no taxes, having to pay taxes is the lesser evil. And a lot of us also think it's fair to expect the folks at the upper end of the economic scale to kick in a higher percentage of the necessary tax revenues. And while I know some folks have to scrape and sacrifice more than others to afford a cruise, the fact that it's an option at all shows that they're better off than a whole lot of their neighbors.

So, yeah, you'll pay a bit more in port charges to sail from Seattle, and we thank you! We'll do our best to make your visit worth it. But I'm willing to bet that you're one of a minority of the folks who sail from Seattle who even bother to read the fine print and notice this!

You've already gotten some good advice, but I'll see if I can add a few suggestions...

The Warwick is located in Belltown, which is a hotspot for nightlife. One advantage to that is the streets are rarely deserted in the evenings. The biggest risk there (and it's not a big one) is probably getting caught up in someone else's drunken stupidity. If you find yourself in the middle of a group of people who start misbehaving in the way people with too much alcohol and raging hormones in them can do, just walk away, quickly.

There are a few clubs with live music near the Warwick. The Crocodile tends more toward harder, edgier sounds, but it's worth a look at who is playing there when you're in town. Another nearby place where you can catch some good touring artists is the Moore Theater. The Triple Door, which is downtown, is also worth a look. The Tractor Tavern is out in Ballard--you'd need a cab to get there--but they might have the kind of music you'd like. The Stranger does have the best entertainment calendar in town, but keep in mind that it's aimed at a young, edgy, hipper-than-hip audience, and that's going to color their commentary--their tastes may not always be your tastes.

Lunch at the Space Needle is a great idea--especially if you'd be going up to the observation deck anyway, and then out to a nice lunch somewhere else. The menu is overpriced, but when you figure in the elevator ride (you pay to go to the observation deck only, but it's included if you eat at the restaurant), it's not so bad. Do make reservations--you'll need them to get a table during summer, and that lets you bypass the long line for the elevator.

Local 360 is a well-regarded gastropub not far from your hotel, in Belltown. Another possibility nearby is Black Bottle, also in Belltown. On Capitol Hill, you might want to look at Oddfellows Cafe, or Quinn's Pub. If you get out to Ballard, another place to try is Bramling Cross, one of local celebrity chef Ethan Stowell's places. Tom Douglas, another local chef with a a dozen wildly popular restaurants, has Brave Horse Tavern in South Lane Union.

Enjoy!

Anyone ever stay there? Boy the hotels in Seattle are expensive!!

I haven't stayed there, but I live nearby. It's in an industrial zone, far from just about everything--the airport, the piers, and most of the major tourist sites. Unless you have a car, your options for restaurants and shopping and things to do nearby will be very limited. If you're hoping to do much sightseeing, you'll spend a lot of money on cabs or a lot of time on buses. The place looks decent enough from the street, but it's not at all fancy or upscale--it's a somewhat older building, probably on par with a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express.

In short, it would have to be a heck of a bargain to outweigh the drawbacks for most people.

And yes, we know hotels are expensive here. You should see the rent on apartments! :eek:

We will be there July 2 -5 leading up to our cruise that leaves the 5th. I'm from Alabama so we are sweating bullets by July, lol. Do you recommend that we have pants for evening instead of shorts? I have a hard time comprehending cool weather in July :)

They always say that summer begins July 5 in Seattle (right after a damp, gray 4th). So you might get a little of both!

I wish we could give you a simple answer, but Seattle weather is never that predictable, especially when it's transitioning between seasons. In early July, it could be gray and drizzly and the high 50's. It could be sunny and 80-something. It's even more likely to be cool and damp in Alaska, so you'll probably want to pack for all those possibilities. Think layers. A lightweight, water-resistant jacket with a hood may come in handy. A light sweater, too. Layer those over clothes that would be fine alone if it's warm out, and you'll be fine. And yes, you might be glad you packed a pair of long pants--but you can probably get by with something less bulky than jeans. But throw in that pair of shorts, too!

Another place that will hold your luggage while you're there is the Museum of Flight. It's on the way from the pier to the airport--wouldn't be a bad cab ride to get there, then another one the rest of the way to the airport. If you're at all interested in aviation and aerospace, you could easily kill a few hours there.

It's pretty far-removed from the usual tourist high points in Seattle. Also, Bellevue isn't especially walkable--unless you'll have a car, you'll have a harder time getting much of anywhere off the hotel premises. You can take transit across the lake and into Seattle, but it may not be very convenient. And taking cabs would likely eat up anything you're saving by staying over there.

The Southcenter location is about 5 miles from the airport, so you're looking at almost an hour commute to downtown between the shuttle and rail.

...which is why they're discounting the heck out of it.

I've taken it--I used to commute that way, from the Tukwila station (one stop north of the airport) to downtown. The schedule was pretty accurate, most days.

Do Amtrak. Many parts are along the ocean.

One of my very favorite memories: Taking Amtrak to San Diego from LA, and looking out the window as we sat in the Del Mar station. We were right next to the beach and I was watching the surfers out in the waves. And then I saw they weren't alone--there were several dolphins playing in the waves and surfing alongside them!

Yes, definitely, take Amtrak. It's a beautiful route.

If you're going to be spending time seeing Seattle, I'd recommend a centrally located hotel, not one by the pier. There are lots of hotels near the convention center: just a few blocks from the Pike Place Market, on the light rail (which is the cheap way to get from SeaTac to downtown), and there's even a great little urban target between Pike Place and the convention center for all your last-minute needs. These tend to be nice and cheap, too, when conventions aren't happening.

I guess it's all relative--I would call anything in downtown, Belltown, Pioneer Square, Seattle Center, or Lower Queen Anne "central." Some hotels there are closer to some of the most popular tourist sites, some to others, but none of them are really very far from where visitors usually want to go. It's pretty easy to walk between most of them if you're so inclined, or to take transit or cabs without busting your budget. And several of those areas can be significantly cheaper than a center-of-downtown hotel.

Thanks for your feedback. I stayed at the Moore Hotel on Labor Day (pre cruise), and 2 nights last week (post cruise). The location was great-you're right- a lot of good restaurants in the area; felt safe in the neighborhood, as well-down by Pioneer Square would have been a different story :eek: (and I work with many homeless people every day:)

Actually...Pioneer Square has a lot of homeless people, and definitely has its share of crime. But there's nothing down there that's quite as notorious as the open-air drug market and swap meet for stolen goods at Third and Pine, less than three blocks from the Moore! The police have been cracking down heavily all summer in this area, and I've been hearing that it's helped make these few blocks safer, and less scary to walk through. But in late August, just as police officials were making the rounds of local media, proudly reporting their success, there was a really scary robbery and assault on three visitors near Pine and Third. The victims were described as "battered, but not seriously injured" but they're not sounding likely to come back to Seattle anytime soon!

To be clear: much of the crime in downtown Seattle isn't violent, and the violence that happens more often targets homeless people, or people who were involved in some of those illegal transactions. Visitors to Seattle aren't very likely to be victims of crime, most especially violent ones. But it does happen, and it happens in the very area where you felt safe. And at least judging by recent anecdotal evidence, there's more of the truly scary stuff happening around the Moore Hotel/Westlake Park area than down around Pioneer Square.

The moral of the story is, you can't assume you're safe...well, anywhere, but especially in the urban core of a big city like Seattle. It will certainly help to use some common sense (like, not walking around in the vicinity of Third and Pine at 11:00 at night, like those folks did). And part of that is being aware that areas that look okay...might not be. Criminals who target tourists tend to make it their business to blend in and not look scary or dangerous, until they have to.

The closest place that has it on the menu is probably Pike Place Chowder at Pacific Place, Pine Street and Sixth Avenue, a couple of blocks from your hotel. They're known for their chowder--I've never had the fish & chips--but if you want it close by, they're worth a try.

A lot of people say the best fish & chips in town is at Pike Street Fish Fry. They're about 3/4 of a mile from your hotel, uphill most of the way. It's on Capitol Hill, in the middle of a very lively neighborhood with lots of popular bars and clubs and restaurants. They're probably open the latest. If you want to check out Seattle hipster youth culture, here's your chance!

If you want a Seattle classic, there's always Ivar's. The nearest location is down on the waterfront, about a mile and a half from the Hyatt. They have a more inexpensive seafood bar there, and also a more upscale Ivar's Acres of Clams restaurant. They definitely have the most history, and the best view.

Thanks for info..we are staying in Hampton inn by airport next June. We arrive 19th and all the downtown hotels were outrageously expensive :-( anything happening in Seattle that might run up prices?

Summer. Cruise season.

We are staying at the Hampton Inn airport location on 28th Ave. We would like to leave for the port early. What would be the least expensive way to get 4 adults and luggage to the port? Also where could we get some soda to take onto the ship? Is there any place close to the hotel? Any advice for a close by place to eat in the evening?

I'll let other folks tell you about your options for getting to the port. I live here, and I have a car, so I don't use things like shuttles and town cars and cabs very much.

I do know the neighborhood you're staying in, however (I live nearby). The closest place to buy soda (without paying 7-11 prices) is probably the Safeway a couple of miles south on International Boulevard. You could catch a bus or take a cab, or the hotel might be willing to take you in their shuttle.

If you want to eat within walking distance, your options are somewhat limited. There's Dave's Diner and Brews, a fairly adequate place with basic American food--that's very close. Mango Thai, which I like quite a bit, is a little less than half a mile north on International Boulevard. Sharp's Roasthouse (roasted, smoked meats) is just a little farther north. Besides those, and some fast food, there isn't much. If you're willing to take a cab (or the hotel is accommodating with their shuttle), you'll find just about any national chain restaurant around Southcenter Mall, about four miles away. Burien is about five miles away, and there are several very good local restaurants there--if that's your preference, let me know what you like and I can suggest some.

Thank you. We are sailing NCL so we leave out of Pier 66. I have to return to Alamo downtown. I plan to leave Renton at 1030, return approx. 11 (if traffic isn't bad) and they shuttle to the pier from there.

 

Am I crazy to consider going back into the city right now? I would like to see the market at night and have dinner there somewhere but not sure if this is a good idea????

It's probably too late...but besides Hempfest there's the Seahawks first preseason game going on right now at CenturyLink Field. I hope you stayed in Renton!

If you haven't gone to dinner yet, there are quite a few decent restaurants down in Renton--Melrose Grill (steaks), Naan & Curry (Indian/Pakistani), Royal Orchid (Thai), Whistle Stop Ale House (pub food), Heaven Sent Chicken (takeout spicy fried chicken that's famous for being so good, it made Oprah blow one of her many diets!)

I was thinking about the time I was driving home from work in June 1994 and taking a street parallel to the freeway (I hate freeways during rush hour). There was a big crowd of people outside one house on Barrington (or Bundy' date=' can't remember which one). Turned out that was where Nicole Simpson lived. It was a popular spot for tourists (and local residents) to check out. Sometimes we would be going to Santa Monica and would see buses turning on one particular street -- yep, checking out OJ's house (I think it's been torn down since). A few of my co-workers admitting stopping and getting out on the freeway during the white Bronco chase.[/quote']

 

I go back long enough in Los Angeles to remember the Saudi Sheik's house that was a scandal in the late 1970's. It was an enormous mansion, right on Sunset Boulevard, fairly sedate and traditional-looking until the Sheik and his family moved in. They painted the house avocado green, they stuck plastic flowers in the stone urns along the fence, they painted the faux-classical Greek statues around the grounds--including giving them vividly-colored pubic hair and naughty bits :eek: The decor inside was said to be even wilder. Nobody was sure whether the owners thought all this was a genuine improvement, or if it was their idea of a joke, or just an effort to mess with their neighbors--but the neighbors were indeed outraged. There were constant traffic jams on Sunset Boulevard from all the people who stopped out front to gawk and take pictures. The city authorities were beside themselves, but when you're dealing with people with that much money and that little regard for their opinions, there was only so much they could do.

 

For the next few years, the scandals just kept on coming. Members of the Sheik's large extended family were said to be writing bad checks all over town, throwing wild, raucous parties in the house, beating their servants, and otherwise pushing whatever limits they could find. The final blowout was a messy divorce case brought by the Sheik's wife, who cleared $81 million after all the lurid charges and counter-charges were aired. The Sheik left the country, never to return. Not long after, the house was gutted in a fire set by thieves to cover their tracks after they stole some of the valuable artworks left inside.

 

You probably won't see anything that outrageous these days in Beverly hills. But for anyone who hasn't grown up around the kind of opulence and excess that are commonplace there, it's quite a place to see.

Ask yourself this. If you were a movie or TV star or celebrity would you give out your address to a guy who is going to put it on a map and sell it to complete strangers just so they can constantly drive by your home and disrupt your peace and quiet? Chances are they got the addresses off public legal documents and that they may have lived there at some time. However, you can bet your booties that every time a star moves they don't update all the maps sold.

Sure, I'm not picturing most celebrities having an item on their moving-day checklist: "Notify the movie star map guys out on Sunset Boulevard of my new address." But the information is out there, one way or another, if you live in Los Angeles--locals just know that that's so-and-so's house.

And you know, being celebrities and living in one of the star-studded neighborhoods of Los Angeles, they have to know it comes with the territory. If they really wanted privacy and anonymity, they would live somewhere else, where there aren't people out selling those maps a few blocks down the hill. Would I like it if people were constantly driving by my house, peering in, taking pictures, etc.? Heck no--but then, I have always thought being famous sounded pretty horrible, for that very reason. These are folks who've eagerly sought it out. If the fans stop caring where they live, now, that's when they're really going to worry! My feeling is, as long as people are staying off their property, and don't go banging on the door or behaving like crazy stalkers, they're not a real problem.

I've done this a couple of times, when I lived in Los Angeles and had out-of-town guests (they gave me a good excuse! :D). It was a hoot. You're really not going to see a lot of the houses--most have high walls, thick hedges, or other barriers at the street (they also have some serious security--motion sensors, alarms, guards on call within moments if somebody trespasses). I don't assume that any of the information on the maps is 100% current and accurate, and some of the houses listed will even say they're the former home of so-and-so. But the maps do get you driving around some incredible neighborhoods, full of crazy-big, luxurious, over-the-top houses. And you do get a better look at some of the houses, which can be fun. My favorite was the home of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, widow of Gene Roddenberry, who created Star Trek. It was in Beverly Hills, and plenty big and posh, but far less so than many of the neighbors. The wall was low enough to see the yard. And all over, on the lawn, in the planters, in the trees, she had these goofy, whimsical ornaments and decorations--wind chimes, sparkly wind-spinners, metalwork lawn ornaments. I'd always liked her as Nurse Chapel (TOS) and Lwaxana Troi (TNG), but after seeing her house, I really liked her!!

I used to see these maps at all the touristy gift shops. Try the ones around Grauman's Chinese Theatre (a.k.a. TCL Chinese Theatre) in Hollywood. And like I said, there at least used to be people out on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, holding big signs ("MOVIE STAR MAPS") and trying to wave down the passing cars. Buying from them might be a necessary part of the experience.

Seattle

Plane arrives at 7:00 pm. We will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express on Aurora Street. Thinking of taking Flat Rate Car for Hire. Is that a good idea? Also, can someone recommend a restaurant near the hotel for dinner that night?

If you want something within a short walk of that hotel, Tutta Bella is an upscale Neopolitan-style pizza place, maybe four blocks away. if you wanted to keep it quick and simple, there's a Whole Foods Market in the same building that has a huge selection of ready-to-eat prepared foods that you could take back to your room. The 5 Point Cafe is a classic Seattle dive, with lots of attitude, stiff drinks, and pretty good food (their motto is "Alcoholics serving alcoholics since 1929--if you don't find that amusing, it's probably best to skip that one). Lunchbox Laboratory, a kitschy gourmet burger place, is walkable, too. Those are the only places close by that I'm very familiar with. There are a lot more restaurants within a short cab ride--Belltown, South Lake Union, and Lower Queen Anne are close. Any particular kind of food you were looking for? Price range?

It can be a great deal, but it's not for everyone. Look at the list of attractions--how many do you really want to go to? Do those individual admissions add up to enough that the pass is a bargain? And are there other things you'd like to do here that aren't included--that you might end up skipping, because you've already paid for all the stuff on the pass and you feel like you should do those instead?

If you're going to really enjoy a lot of the things the pass includes, and you have the time to do them without feeling rushed and frantic, then buy one. If you'll end up running a marathon all over town, just trying to get your money's worth now that you've bought the thing, and letting it dictate your agenda in ways that you wouldn't have chosen otherwise...then maybe paying the individual admissions for a couple of the included attractions is a better deal for you.

49ers won't be in the Super Bowl.

You said it, I didn't (but I was going to!! :D )

If the 49ers surprise us, I would proceed cautiously out on the streets, no matter the outcome of the game. I love San Francisco dearly, I grew up nearby and lived in the city for a few years, so this is not just a Seahawks fan's bias talking here...but San Francisco sports fans just do NOT behave well after a big game, even when they win!

Seahawks fans, on the other hand...

These places all look more like we're looking for. I wasn't sure of distances/times, so your advice is great. I just feel like we missed the real beauty of the Pacific Northwest last year. I think Leavenworth is further out, but it's still a day trip, right?

It's a pretty reasonable day trip--longish, if you stop a lot, but quite do-able. Highway 2 is gorgeous--great views of some rugged peaks and valleys. Leavenworth is VERY cute--too cute for some people's tastes! There are lots of shops and restaurants along the main drag, mostly with a Bavarian theme. Downtown Leavenworth tends to be jam-packed with tourists, especially on weekends. I like it there...in small doses!

If you go a little further past Leavenworth on Highway 2, you start descending out of the mountains and down to the Columbia River Plateau. You're getting into prime fruit-growing country there. The area around Wenatchee has lots of fruit stands selling cherries, apples, pears, and other tree fruits in season. North of Wenatchee is Lake Chelan, a very popular resort area and escape for Seattleites who haven't seen the sun in too long.

You can go up to Leavenworth and back on Highway 2, or make a loop--south on US Hwy 97 to I-90, and back over Snoqualmie Pass. I think Highway 2 is prettier, but I-90 is a better road, and certainly not unattractive--and I like the variety. Another cute little town, much less touristy than Leavenworth but still worth a stop, is Roslyn, just off I-90 near Cle Ellum. If you were ever a fan of the 1990's TV show Northern Exposure, you might recognize it--Roslyn stood in for Cecily, Alaska, and they filmed almost every episode there. You can visit The Brick Saloon, which was prominently featured in the show, but it's a real place that pre-dates television--it's Washington's oldest continuously-operating bar, open since 1889!

Salish Lodge

http://www.salishlodge.com/

That's a good suggestion, if it's in your budget. Beautiful hotel, top-quality restaurant, great location (right at the top of Snoqualmie Falls). It's a bit off I-90, on the way up Snoqualmie Pass.

Another area you might like is Woodinville. It's a suburban, but it's right on the edge of the more developed areas. There's a beautiful trail for walking and bicycling along the Sammamish River, and you can rent kayaks on the river nearby (they also rent bikes). Woodinville also has a lot of wineries and tasting rooms, plus a few breweries and distilleries, if that's an interest. It's within easy reach of US Hwy 2, which goes up over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth, with lots of hiking opportunities along the way. The Willows Lodge is a very good hotel in Woodinville, and there are a few bed and breakfasts in the area. You might also want to check out sites like FlipKey.com and VRBO.com for vacation rentals. There are some very good restaurants in the area (the Herb Farm is world class).

The coast is more than an hour away from Seattle (it might look closer, but there are no roads that go straight across the Olympic Peninsula, because the mountains are so rugged). It's beautiful over there, but so is the Sound--and it's a lot more accessible from here. You might want to look at staying on one of the Islands--Whidbey, or Vashon, and doing some exploring there. The San Juans are gorgeous, but again, you're definitely getting farther from Seattle there than you said you wanted. Another area worth a look is the Hood Canal--more than ah hour from Seattle, but not too much more, and really pretty (it's a natural fjord, not a man-made canal).

Hope that helps!