First time visitor to Seattle (SeaTac: crime, hotels, home)

[Chatteress]

I am planning my first vacation to Seattle and found that many of the hotels downtown are too pricey for me. I found a few bargains within walking distance of the Space Needle but was wondering how safe that area is. I plan to utilize the monorail. Thanks for your help.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by msconnie73

I am planning my first vacation to Seattle and found that many of the hotels downtown are too pricey for me. I found a few bargains within walking distance of the Space Needle but was wondering how safe that area is. I plan to utilize the monorail. Thanks for your help.

Save your money on the monorail, unless you really don't like walking. The monorail doesn't go very far and you can (relatively easily) walk the same distance.

[Ira500]

I think the hotels near the Space Needle are in a fairly safe area, but if they're on Aurora Avenue it might be pretty noisy. Aurora is a very busy street.

[allforcats]

MONORAIL:
There are only two stops on the monorail, the start and the end. The entire route -- one mile -- takes 2 minutes. It's a fun way to get from Seattle Center to downtown Seattle, overlooking the streets, but it's a bit pricey for the little you get. Here's their website with a neat map showing you the route in detail, and the hours of operation.
Seattle Monorail (http://www.seattlemonorail.com/information.htm - broken link)

HOTELS:
To check out hotels from reports of real travelers, have you researched on trip advisor dot com? This will open to the Seattle hotels page:
Seattle Hotels: Read Seattle Hotel Reviews and Compare Prices - TripAdvisor
and the Seattle overview page:
Seattle Tourism - Seattle Vacation Reviews - Seattle Vacations - TripAdvisor

[Chatteress]

Thanks for the tips about the Monorail. I have searched through reviews on several websites (including Trip Advisor) but the reviews do not provide clues as to which areas are safe to walk and which areas to avoid within the Downtown area. Since I am female, travelling alone & using public transit, I want to be safe walking to the attractions and/or using public transit. It appears that the decent hotels run for 189+ per night within the Downtown area. How easy (and safe) would it be to access the downtown attractions via public transit if I stayed near the airport or other outlying areas where prices are more reasonable? I heard that Seattle is one of the more safer downtown areas but I do not want any unpleasant surprises in regards to safety. Thanks for your help.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by msconnie73

How easy (and safe) would it be to access the downtown attractions via public transit if I stayed near the airport or other outlying areas where prices are more reasonable? I heard that Seattle is one of the more safer downtown areas but I do not want any unpleasant surprises in regards to safety. Thanks for your help.

The irony of staying in a hotel by the airport is that many of the hotels are nearby Hwy 99, one of the more notorious highways in the area. If you're trying to avoid crime, that's not the way to do it.

Stay closer to downtown, if you can. I know that the Downtown Ramada is fairly inexpensive, as is the Travelodge by the Space Needle. I've also stayed at the Mediterranean Inn and found the rooms small, but nice.

As far as crime in Seattle ... it tends to be very random. Property crime is far more likely than crime involving injury. I have stayed out late in nearly every neighborhood in Seattle and can say with certainty that there are only two neighborhoods that I avoid after a certain time of night:

1) U-District
2) Pioneer Square

Outside of those two neighborhoods, I have never felt unsafe. And I doubt that you would stay out any later than me (I usually stay out 'til 4 or 5 in the morning), so I doubt that you would have much in the way of problems. To that end, however, here are a few hints:

1) Don't talk to crazy people. Really. Don't talk to them.
2) Be aware of your wallet at all times.
3) Stand up straight, look people in the eye, and walk with purpose.

That's it, really. I've done all of that and been just fine. I'm sure that you will be fine as well.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by msconnie73

How easy (and safe) would it be to access the downtown attractions via public transit if I stayed near the airport or other outlying areas where prices are more reasonable?

I forgot to say why you don't want to take public transit from the airport!

The hotels nearby the airport are serviced by the bus #174, which is one of the worst bus routes in the entire King Co. bus system.** It runs late into the night, but believe me when I tell you that you don't want to go there.

It would be far easier for you to stay close to the action and not have to pay ~$30+ each way for a taxi to and from the airport area.

** - Believe me, I have stories that could curl your hair!

[allforcats]

Holy cow! we're both up late tonight aren't we! Folks here generally hit the hay by 11:00.
I'm also a woman, who's been wandering around Seattle for over 20 years at all times of the day and night because almost everywhere is safe. I spent my first 30 years in New York City, so I know the difference...
As Ira500 said, the area you're looking at around Seattle Center is fine. Stay away from any addresses on Aurora Avenue because of the constant traffic noise, as Ira500 mentioned.

Hotel:
Have you tried 6th Street Inn in downtown Seattle? A couple of us on this forum helped a middle-aged couple plan a complex trip a month ago, and they stayed at the 6th Street Inn. Not the Hilton, but certainly adequate. No need for the Monorail - the hotel is about 3 blocks from everything downtown. The wife told me after the trip that the hotel had worked out just fine.
Sixth Avenue Inn (Seattle, WA) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

Busses: Seattle Center is in the city of Seattle and at the edge of downtown Seattle, and thus has lots of busses going in lots of directions overlapping very frequently (every 10-20 minutes). SeaTac Airport is outside the city of Seattle and does not. It does have busses but you'd have to walk very, very long distances, or take taxis, to get to the busses, or choose a hotel that is near a bus stop. Lower-priced hotels in SeaTac are not places you'd likely want to stay in terms of neighborhood safety; if I had to do that, I'd either stay home or take taxis all the time.
The bus trip from Seattle Center to smack in the center of downtown Seattle is tops 12 minutes; the trip from SeaTac could be 30 minutes, maybe more.
If I had to choose a hotel in one of those two locations, I'd choose near Seattle Center -- for both safety and not wasting my vacation bussing back and forth to my hotel.

There isn't anywhere unsafe in downtown Seattle. Public transportation is also safe to use, clean, comfortable and dependable.

The #174 bus unfortunately transports those who cannot afford other means of transport, and they often are not happy people or stable people. Wow, that was polite and circumspect!
The cab fare on the meter between downtown and SeaTac is running at least the $30 mentioned by SeattlefromNC, but the TIP is on top of that. There may also be a gas surcharge.

[wythors]

The 8th Avenue Inn and the Days Inn on 7th Avenue are probably your best bets for a more reasonable price and good location. They are in the Belltown neighborhood between downtown proper and Seattle Center. As previously stated stay away from the airport and motels on Aurora Avenue.

[AzDreamer]

Has anyone on this thread stayed at the Travelodge by the Space Needle? My son used to work at a different Travelodge location that was managed by the same owners and he said the Space Needle location was pretty crappy.