Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Mar 1, 2010
I don't know if this is good value for money because I paid for it with
priceline - but I want to recommend this place. The only downside of this place
is the roar of traffic from Aurora St - so bring earplugs. Otherwise it is a
decent place with a great staff.
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Feb 23, 2010
This hotel is a large, 5-story, 60s era Holiday Inn that has been rebranded as
an HI Express. It is close to Seattle Center (Space Needle, Rock and Roll
Museum) and sits right on Aurora Ave., a major North-South artery, so there is
traffic noise. I did not explore the neighborhood but it did not look inviting
for walkers or like there was much of interest within walking distance. As of
Feb 2010 it has not yet gotten the full remodelling treatment that other Express
hotels have and the interiors still have the old HI decor. My single king room
was large and clean. Bed was comfortable and had a choice of firm and soft
pillows. Lots of towels. Free internet and breakfast but no microwave or fridge,
unlike other Express hotels I have recently stayed in. Parking is $10/night. The
breakfast was the usual HIE selection of cereals, overcooked eggs, biscuits and
gravy, pastries, and breads. The fitness room had five cardio machines but no
strength training equipment at all. There is a small indoor pool. The hotel has
a basic, utilitarian feel but represents very good value in a central location
in a major city. Nothing fancy but it has everything you need for a comfortable
overnight stay (except a weight machine in the gym).
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Feb 15, 2010
First of all, I'd like to thank Chad for making it hassle free to refund a
double charge that was wrongly made to my cc....just one phone call and one
email. That is truly excellent after sales service!
Hotel location is quite near the space needle. However, if it was raining (which
it was when we arrived) I'd advise against going to the needle as you can't
really see anything from up there....$$ wasted.
The area looks pretty safe. We walked around the night with kids and didn't feel
insecure (unlike in LA).
Parking was in a locked garage which opens when you insert the room key...took
me a while to figure that out :{, but it was cool. Elevator in the garage goes
straight to the room, which was excellent cos we've got lots of luggage with all
the shopping at the premium outlet. Of course you'd have to go to the right
garage to get to the right wing...we just happened to go into the correct one.
There's a Walgreen's nearby which made it convenient to buy supplies.
We had a room facing a wall, which was very quiet. No scenery from there.
Rented a car from Avis, and they have a service to drive us from the hotel to
Avis nearby, which was nice.
Breakfast is a nice addition...enough to get us all going for the day.
All in all, an excellent place to stay!
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Jan 23, 2010
(Family of 4. Two males, two females. Four nights stay.)
We have stayed at many HIE, but have never encountered such odd room setup: The
bathroom sink was out in the bedroom hall (photos), leaving the bathroom without
a sink, no mirror, no ventilation fan. We found this to be very inconvenient and
it made every day an unnecessary challenge for everyone to shower and groom,
etc. So much for privacy. When we requested to move to a room with a normal
bathroom, we were told every 'standard room' had the same exhibitionistic setup.
We were paying for 4 people, but room service refused to provide us with 4 bath
towels. Every day we had to call the desk to ask for the fourth towel. We found
this to be very inconvenient.
The hotel's location - on the 'wrong side' of walled-in Aurora Ave - makes
walking to Seattle Center a dangerous proposition. There are few attractions
within a safe walking distance. If you plan to drive every place downtown, then
the location is OK.
On the plus side, every staff member was friendly and the hotel was clean. The
queen beds were very comfortable. Continental breakfast and robust coffee was
good.
Overall, however, due to the poor room design (with the bathroom sink out in the
bedroom hall), we would not return to this location.
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Dec 14, 2009
I have stayed at this hotel a number of times for business and I find it to be
an excellent hotel. Most of the rooms have been updated and many have a
beautiful view of the Space Needle. It is located on the North end of downtown,
within walking distance of the many belltown restaurants. The prices tend to
vary a lot and can become quite expenisve in the summer. I would tend to shop
around during the height of the summer tourist season. About the only downside
is the wi-fi system which can be very slow at times. Also as an FYI parking is
$10 per night, which isn't bad in a downtown area hotel. Overall it is a great
place to stay.
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Nov 26, 2009
We really enjoyed our stay at this hotel- we were given complimentary upgrades
to King suites on the top floor facing the space needle- it was super and the
beds so comfortable!!
We basically had no complaints with the hotel and the free breakfast was VERY
nice- not just bagels and yogurt, like most free hotel breakfasts.
The only complaint we had was the with the hotel restaurant. It was very
expensive, the "special" that we ordered tasted like frozen ravioli with a
canned spaghetti sauce and the dessert - a sliver of cheesecake for $7. The high
prices did not in any way match the low quality of food, ambiance (we were
seated in ear-shot of the bar- loud drunk guys swearing up a storm) or the
service. Our dinner salad was just as pitiful. It's a disappointing since their
are not any other restaurants in that block- and when you are really tired, have
a baby along etc- it's nice to have the convenience of a nice restaurant at the
hotel.
We would definitely stay here again- just will not eat at the restaurant.
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Nov 14, 2009
I thought this motel was basically clean and comfy with pretty good service and
basically "ok" to stay at ... BUT... you are paying for the LOCATION near
downtown Seattle and the Seattle Center, not necessarily an exceptional place to
stay. That is what you are paying for. The other hotels and motels in the
downtown area are MUCH pricier, (believe me I've priced all of them), (and they
do not have breakfast waiting for you either.) Sixth Avenue Inn is close by and
they are near this price range but are somewhat scuzzy and don't offer free
breakfast.
The parking is extra and is $10. a night, it is plentiful both in front of the
motel and in an underground garage, the service at the front desk was helpful
and friendly, the pool was clean and warm enough for comfort, the work out room
only has 1 treadmill so you may need to wait your turn and there is/are NO gym
(weight-s equipment) equipment of ANY kind, but they do have the single
treadmill, elliptical, and stair-steppers. Shower and towels also right there
next to work out area.
The place is next to a major road (Aurora Ave.) and the traffic is VERY loud on
that side, (Space Needle view side) but they have earplugs at the front desk
(which I found out AFTER I checked out). the breakfast was hot, plentiful, clean
and good, and they do have the FREE internet PC in the room next to the lobby to
check your e mail. Beware it seems on Saturday nights before Seahawk home games
it can be quite loud and crowded in the halls, and there was no security of any
kind that I noticed operating, elevators are pretty loud at night on the
weekends and a party kind of atmosphere somewhat happens. The tv when you turn
it on is VERY loud in the morning as the volume AUTOMATICALLY goes VERY HIGH and
there is NO way to do anything about this even if you turn the volume all the
way down before you go to bed the night before. The hot tubs flood their water
out as they are poorly designed and the curtains do not go all the way across
the tub/shower area, beware of water flooding down onto the bathroom floor.
Busses are free as long as you stay in the downtown area, downtown is also a
walkable distance if you are in decent shape.
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Oct 27, 2009
Nice hotel..good continental breakfast...parking should be free, but I guess
Seattle is expensive for cars. No frills close to Space Needle and monorail to
downtown area.
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
Sep 25, 2009
Just returned from a 2 night stay in Seattle and after reading the reviews on
this site, decided to book the HI Express Downtown. We had planned this trip for
our anniversary and wanted to experience "Teatro Zinzanni" again (previously
visited on a trip to San Francisco a few years ago). The rooms are clean and
bright, the air conditioning works perfect without being too noisy, the free
breakfast buffet is awesome with lots of variety, including fresh hot scrambled
eggs, fruit, yogurt etc. The bed was very comfortable with 2 pillows each, one
"firm" and one "soft", as marked on the covers. Pool and gym were clean and not
crowded. The hotel's own bar/restaurant offers 2 Happy Hours, one early and one
late with great specials. Not too far to walk to the Space Needle and Pike Place
Market. Overall, would highly recommend. |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Sep 14, 2009
We (2 adults and 1 baby) stayed here for a week and found things to be generally
fine. I had booked a room at the back of the hotel given that the road at the
front is really busy – the downside of this is that you get a view of the
Holiday Inn on the other side of the alley out the back, rather than the Space
Needle, but this isn’t such a big deal. However, as mentioned by others, there
seem to be trucks going down the road at the back of the hotel in the early
hours of the morning which woke us up a couple of times.
I would describe the location of the hotel as being just beyond the edge of
downtown – it is close to the Seattle Centre/Space Needle and quite easy to walk
into the city centre in about 20 minutes and it isn’t far from the edge of the
“free ride” bus zone. A tip for others staying here is that the route 99 bus is
free all day (not just peak hours) and is also free along the length of its
route rather than just in the “free ride” area – it goes past many of the sights
and isn’t too long a walk from the hotel.
The taxi ride from the airport cost about $45 and the check-in was quick and
easy (even got some water and cookies for being a Priority Club member!). The
hotel is quite modern, and we had a one bedroom suite (with a completely
separate bedroom) which was fine for our needs as it allowed us to be in one
room and the baby to sleep in the other. The bed was comfortable and the bedroom
was clean. It was also great that free wifi was available. The only downside was
that the kitchenette wasn’t really sufficient to prepare any food for our baby –
there were no utensils provided beyond plastic knives/forks/plates, although the
fridge came in handy for storing her food.
Talking of food, the breakfast buffet was the standard Holiday Inn Express fare,
which I happen to like! It was good that fruit was provided as well as the less
healthy options. The breakfast room is quite small given the size of the hotel,
but although it was always busy we never had to wait. The staff there did a
great job in ensuring that everything was kept stocked.
We chose the Holiday Inn Express rather than the Holiday Inn next door as the
Express had a swimming pool – we ended up only using this once (too much to see
in Seattle!) but it was a great facility to have and the temperature was lovely.
We got a great rate of $140 per night through the Intercontinental “Friends and
Family” scheme as one of my friends works for them in the UK – if you know
someone who works for the hotel chain you get a good discount (I shouldn’t say
that you could google “intercontinental hotels friends and family” but.....)
Car parking is an extra $10 per night, but we only picked up the rental car
towards the end of our stay from the nearby Avis given how easy it is to get
around Seattle on foot/by public transport. We had read about the problems using
the underground carpark so we parked at street level – there seemed to be a few
spare spaces.
The restaurant in the Holiday Inn (Emerald Grill) wasn’t so good – we tried it
once as Priority Club members get a discount. We stood there for 5 minutes as 3
staff walked by without even acknowledging that we were standing there. When we
sat down we weren’t given menus and were given a broken baby seat. The food was
mediocre on top of this, so I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant.
All in all we would definitely consider staying there if we visited Seattle
again. |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Aug 8, 2009
The Holiday Inn Express Seattle City Center is just a few blocks away from
downtown and the Seattle Center (Space Needle). It's within easy walking
distance of the Needle (maybe 6 blocks) and near good public transportation that
can get you easily around to tourist sights in central Seattle.
We spent 2 nights here. The hotel is modern and the rooms were clean and
everything worked OK. No complaints. Our room fronted busy Aurora Avenue which
can get a little noisy, so if you are sensitive to noise ask for a room in the
back. On the other hand, we had a very nice view of the Space Needle.
The breakfast buffet was up to Holiday Inn Express standards, a big selection
that fills you up well into the afternoon. However it got a little crowded in
the breakfast room at peak times, we had to wait for a table one morning.
I didn't realize until we checked out that there are actually TWO hotels here -
the HI Express and a "full service" Holiday Inn right next door (I thought it
was just one hotel!)
If you don't mind staying a little ways from downtown (it's just a few blocks!)
or want to be near the Space Needle, you can't beat this hotel! We paid about
$150/night for very nice rooms in summer season!! |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
June 12, 2009
We had a 2-room suite on the fifth floor facing the Space Needle. The view was
great although we didn’t spend much time enjoying it. I’ve read people
complaining about traffic noise but we didn’t find it to be a problem at all.
The room was spacious and the beds very comfortable, although the sofa bed left
something to be desired but it is a sofa bed so what can one expect? Probably
the first time I've had more pillows than I knew what to do with. The check-in
process was quick and painless and we even got a little welcome package with
bottled water and popcorn. The room had everything we needed and then some, I am
particularly appreciative of the fridge.
My nearly 2-year-old came along for the trip and he seemed to enjoy the room; it
gave him room to play and was reasonably child safe - and a decent selection of
channels including cartoons helped.
The indoor pool isn’t very big and is rather simple so we didn’t bother actually
trying it out. The TVs in the rooms are good size with decent quality although
the power button didn’t work on one of our remotes. Getting up and running on
the internet did require a call for some technical support but they walked us
through the process quickly enough. The water pressure in the shower was
impressive and refreshing – the provided shampoo smelled like cinnamon oatmeal
and the conditioner almost had a custard aroma (you'll likely come out of the
shower feeling hungry). They even provided cotton swabs which I always forget to
pack. |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
June 8, 2009
As mentioned in other reviews the parking is incredibly tight, that really would
be my only criticism of this property. I’ve stayed in a few hotels in Seattle
and the surrounding area like Everett and I have to say this is the first one
that I would not only stay at again but look forward to the opportunity. It does
cost a bit more but the Seattle market for accommodations is a little tricky so
given what’s available it’s worth putting out a little extra green for. I am
very impressed with the Holiday Inn Express brand based on this experience and
will probably start my next hotel search with them in mind. |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
May 6, 2009
This hotel is just north of downtown and within walking distance of the Space
Needle. Room was clean and bed was comfortable. Busy road right in front of the
hotel, A little noisy during rush hour traffic but you really don't notice it to
much. Neighbour hood is going over a change (Lofts Etc). Not really much to eat
around the hotel but getting to downtown and and Pikes Market is really easy.
Even during rush hour. Front desk staff was great with information and
directions. We walked to the Space Needle during the early evening. Not sure if
I would do this after dark. Breakfast was your typical Holiday Inn Express meal.
$10.00 parking fee per night. We were aware of this but used to free parking.
There is outside parking and underground parking. I would stay at this site
again. It's a good value and location is good |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Apr 27, 2009
We stayed in this hotel for four nights in April 2009 while exploring Seattle.
It's conveniently located within walking distance of the Space Needle and other
City Center attractions (including a monorail that will take you to other parts
of the city).
This hotel has all of my favorite things about Holiday Inn Express -- clean,
fresh linens; a great breakfast; and free wireless Internet access. The room was
clean, comfortable and reasonably priced, and the staff were friendly and
helpful.
My only hesitation is the location; there weren't very many restaurants within
walking distance. It might be better to stay near Pike Place or Pioneer Square
instead. |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Apr 12, 2009
This was the second time I have stayed at this hotel (first time was 2004). As
Holiday Inn Expresses go, it's fine. The neighbourhood isn't great (not a lot of
amenities) but it's far cheaper than staying downtown in Seattle. You can walk
easily to the Space Needle and the Music Experience and hop onto the Monorail to
downtown. My only gripe is the parking lot is really small. I drive a small car,
and I found getting in and out of the parking spots difficult. The hotel is very
clean and comfortable, and I would stay here again. |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Apr 3, 2009
This is one of the best hotels I have ever been. The room is big, clean,
everything is in good condition. The mattress is super comfortable, the best
compared with all previous hotels I stayed in! The staff is very friendly and
helpful. The price is unbelievably cheap with no extra charge for more than 2
people. And finally the complimentary breakfast is unbeatable with so many
selections. This hotel is amazing. We will definitely come back! |
Hotel Review of the Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
Mar 20, 2009
I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel. My room was spacious and clean. The
hotel was within walking distance to several big attractions and some really
great neighborhood restaurants. The only downfall was I heard the hum of traffic
at night. However, for the price I got on the hotel, I would gladly bring along
earplugs to drown out the noise.
Also they don't have wireless internet so if you are planning on using the
internet you should bring your own cable or you can lease one from the front
desk. |
Holiday Inn Express Seattle
|
226 Aurora Avenue
North Seattle Washington |
|
|
