"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Okay, so we're stuck flying the executive mailing tube to Seattle in
May, to attend my nephew's wedding. I just don't have time to fly
Atlas all the way, and I can't risk being held up by weather.

For all you Washingtonians, where is the best "suites-type" of hotel to
stay?

Addressing a variety of topics in this thread in a single post...

It's "Bellevue", not "Belleview", in case you're wondering why you're having
trouble looking that city up. Bellevue is the next largest city near
Seattle, but as with Tacoma and (especially) Everett (other major cities in
the area), not very conveniently located for Boeing Field. Though, you
don't say where the wedding is and it might be convenient for that.

Of course, you don't define what "sneak over" means either. You're not
going to walk to the Museum of Flight from pretty much anywhere worth
staying. Even from Bellevue or Renton, it's only going to be about a 20
minute drive (maybe only 15 minutes from Renton), since you're so close to
the major highways in the area.

In the Eastside area (includes Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Renton, and
others) all the lodging I know of is the big chain variety. There's the
Marriott Residence Inn, Doubletree Suites, and Extended Stay Suites, to name
a few. Unless the wedding is on the Eastside, you probably won't be
interested in any of those.

In Seattle itself, you've already gotten some good recommendations. Don't
confuse the Marriott Courtyard (which is on Lake Union) with the Seattle
Marriott Waterfront (which is near Pike Place Market and the Seattle
waterfront). The Courtyard is nowhere near Pike Place Market or the Seattle
waterfront (though, being on Lake Union, does have prime viewing location
for the VERY busy Kenmore Air Harbor seaplane traffic).

I can vouch for the Edgewater (having stayed there myself) as well as the
Fairmont (referred to in another post by its previous name, the Four
Seasons...friends of ours from Hawaii only stay there when they visit). The
W is okay, but a little too artificially trendy for my tastes. The Westin
is more of a classic high end hotel, but IMHO they can be a bit snooty if
you don't fit their expectation of the ideal clientele. None of those are
"suites specialty" places, but of course all offer suites.

One note about the Edgewater: try to avoid getting a room along the east end
of the south side of the building. I'd be surprised if they had any suites
there anyway, but those rooms all face out to the adjacent pier, with very
bright lights on all night. Not the best view, and being forced to keep the
drapes closed all night isn't very fun when you're right on the water with
great views nearby.

I suspect of all the potential places to stay, the Edgewater might provide
the most unique and distinctive experience.

Of course, the above only grazes the surface with respect to available
lodging. As a large(ish) city, Seattle has plenty of high quality hotels to
choose from. A resource like AAA or the Seattle Chamber of Commerce would
give you a much more comprehensive listing, though of course without the
personal "word of mouth" aspect.

As far as the Hawthorne at SeaTac being "not anywhere near" Boeing Field,
I'd have to disagree. SeaTac airport itself is VERY close to Boeing Field,
and anything within the SeaTac city limits is not a heck of a lot farther
from Boeing Field than anything in Seattle. That said, staying under the
shadow of SeaTac airport is probably not what you had in mind.

For all the words, I guess there's not much information in this post.
Feel free to ask for elaboration or provide more details if we as a group
haven't answered your question.

Pete