Seattle hotels, optimum time to book????

[able58]

Hi, we are cruising from Seattle August '16 ... I have been pricing downtown hotels and I'm a little shocked at the prices, however need to find something for one night.

Is there an optimum timeframe to book during the year that anyone knows? Any particular sale period or is it a matter of demand and no bargains during the cruising season? Thanks for any advice.

[Keith1010]

I would book now. Then keep tracking the prices and if they go down just rebook at the lower price. That way you protect yourself if they go up in price.

 

A lot of people visit in the summer months and there are many cruises to and from there in the summer too.

 

Keith

[CruiserBruce]

Keith is absolutely correct. Book now, or even sooner...we commonly book up to a year in advance. If the rate goes down, we rebook at the lower rate.

 

If there was a "magic" time, everyone would wait until then to book. The hotels would figure this out, and raise their prices at the "magic" time.

 

Summer is a very busy time for the Seattle area.

Edited February 27, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[SadieN]

Or increase your search area. We stayed at a Hyatt near the REI flagship store. It was a bit less than those near the Market.

[mapleleaves]

If you're just needing a room for one night, use a hotel near the airport. All the major chains are located there if you have points. Sleep Inn has gotten good reviews on this forum from cruisers ... and it's on the partner list with Seattle Express so their shuttle to the pier will be $15pp. At the other end of the spectrum is Cedarbrook Lodge at the airport.

 

Also price hotels near the Seattle Center/Space Needle/Lower Queen Anne area, like Maxwell Comfort Inn. That area isn't quite as expensive as downtown.

 

There's a thread at the top of this forum where people post winning bids on priceline .... give that a try.

Edited February 28, 2016 by mapleleaves

[Suzanne123]

Love Cedarbrook Lodge. Just booked it yesterday for June late night arrival Priceline 4* seatac area, 9.0 recommended on Express Deals Breakfast included. $174 and tax. Saved about $35

Edited February 28, 2016 by Suzanne123

[mapleleaves]

Love Cedarbrook Lodge. Just booked it yesterday for June late night arrival Priceline 4* seatac area, 9.0 recommended on Express Deals Breakfast included. $174 and tax. Saved about $35

 

yep it's a lovely place. Definitely not your typical airport hotel !

[RickinStl]

We just used our Hilton points to book downtown.. guess putting our cruise on a credit card has some benefit lol

[diskids2]

I booked the Marriott and am paying almost $500 for one night. I will keep checking for it to go down, but wanted to have the room secured.

[Gardyloo]

I booked the Marriott and am paying almost $500 for one night. I will keep checking for it to go down, but wanted to have the room secured.

Good lord, why?

[able58]

500 bucks! Better be a good breakfast.

I want to stay downtown, I've not been to Seattle before and didn't want to be stuck out in the sticks.

I ended up booking the Ace Hotel for AU$197 P/N which I thought was okay then after doing more research found the Moore Hotel downtown, it doesn't come up in the search engines so hadn't seen it before. Got a queen room for US$145.47 ... it gets good reviews on Tripadvisor, so we went for it. I refuse to pay Seattle prices ... we are off to New York after the cruise and got a Hilton at a lower price than most of those in Seattle ... ridiculous really.

[jamminlion]

I booked a year out. Prices have only gone up, by $100 or more since then. I still check periodically, but I doubt prices will go down.

 

$500 a night at the Marriott? I hope you are getting 5x the points for that stay. Outrageous they went that high, but I guess supply and demand....

[Roz]

Seattle hotel prices, especially in the downtown area, have definitely gone up over the past year. My sister and I priced different options, and decided to stay at the Doubletree near the airport. I got 2 rooms for 4 people for 20,000 Hilton Honors points each. Downtown each room would have cost me 50,000 - 60,000 pts., or $250 - $300. My sister and her friends aren't getting in until 9:30 pm, so we wouldn't be doing anything in downtown that night anyway. The next morning Seattle Express is picking us up at the Doubletree and taking us to the pier.

 

Post-cruise I have a 1:15 pm flight, but my sister and her friends have late overnight flights back East. They will be using Luggage Direct and then will be able to play in downtown Seattle all day sans suitcases and then take the light rail to SeaTac in the evening.

 

Roz

[peety3]

Here's a (somewhat) local's perspective: Seattle has an absolutely booming conference market year-round. The hotels will get booked regardless of cruises. We have a lot of road construction projects, and whenever they close one of the bridges, some conference always complains "why are you doing this to us?", and their answer is always "every weekend is bad...we had to throw darts at the wall".

[Roz]

Peety, I live in Nashville. Although much smaller than Seattle, we have a year round convention and conference business just because we're Nashville. People come here to visit or sightsee, and think they're coming to a small town in the boonies. They're appalled when they either can't find a place to stay or find a room and have to spend $200-300 a night, or stay out in one of the surrounding counties.

 

Roz

[prmrolltide]

Try priceline. I booked The Roosevelt thru them.

[mondello]

I've been watching prices for July 2016 for both pre- and post- cruise on 7/5 and 7/12. Finally found a "semi-annual" sale with Starwood through 4/10. Booked the Sheraton and Westin and great rates compared to prices listed the past few weeks.

 

Now I see a "flash sale" for the Hilton group of hotels, only good through 3/30. Seattle Hilton was $199 for 7/5 is now $149.

 

I'm okay with that since the 2 I booked have pools, a must for our son.

 

Must be a big convention in Seattle mid-July, rates really jumped from 7/4, pre-cruise to 7/12, post-cruise.

Edited March 30, 2016 by mondello
Additional info

[peety3]

Must be a big convention in Seattle mid-July, rates really jumped from 7/4, pre-cruise to 7/12, post-cruise.

As I mentioned earlier, there's always a convention in Seattle. I can remember trying to use a restaurant gift certificate with a very short expiration deadline, and we'd picked a night that had a Mariners game, a Sounders (soccer) game, and a Madonna concert at Key Arena. Was there a convention too? I don't want to know...

[crzndeb]

Remember, cruise season and the the summer are the highest tourist season in Seattle. It's not always a convention during those months. But normally most people don't want to come and vacation her in the winter, unless they are big skiers.

 

The 4th of July is also a big holiday and will bring in even more local tourists for a long weekend. Even the locals will snatch up hotels downtown to get a good view of the fireworks from Elliott Bay.

Edited March 30, 2016 by crzndeb

[shadowmeboy]

We always stay at the Best Western Executel out by the airport, and take a shuttle or light rail into downtown

[vegasvic88]

Peety, I live in Nashville. Although much smaller than Seattle, we have a year round convention and conference business just because we're Nashville. People come here to visit or sightsee, and think they're coming to a small town in the boonies. They're appalled when they either can't find a place to stay or find a room and have to spend $200-300 a night, or stay out in one of the surrounding counties.

 

Roz

 

I also am in Nashville. Road construction everywhere and still not enough to keep up with the housing construction due to growth. I avoid downtown and it takes twice as long to get anywhere these days! :(

[Roz]

Thank God you can't cruise out of Nashville (except for a river cruise!) or it would be worse. :D I work downtown so there's no way to avoid it. 3 new hotels going in across from and beside the Convention Center.

 

Roz

[misslyss1220]

Try near the Space Needle, we got a hotel room in that area for one night over July 4th weekend for a little over $200. The monorail is right there which will take you downtown and it's a short cab ride from the cruise terminal.

[shutuph]

My advice would be book sooner that later. We booked our hotel a year ago and paying half of what is posted now. (We booked directly with the hotel.)

[jonsmom]

Is the light rail or shuttle nearby this hotel?