My suggestion of the place to stay in Seattle, Washington is the Pioneer Square Hotel.
The Pioneer Square Hotel is within walking distance from the Amtrak station.
The Pioneer Square Hotel is located at 77 Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98104, Phone: 206-340-1234, Fax: 206-467-0707, or make your reservation right online at www.PioneerSquare.com! Although you can walk to the Pioneer Square Hotel from the Amtrak station, I'd suggest taking a taxi if you are carrying much luggage.
Whether you call, fax, or make a reservation directly on-line, be sure to tell them that you discovered them through "TrainWeb" on the Internet. If you make a reservation on-line, they even provide a place on their form to type where you found the Pioneer Square Hotel on the web. Please type "www.trainweb.com" in that space. I'm always pleased to get e-mail from vendors as well as travelers that let me know that my pages have been useful.
The Pioneer Square Hotel is at the corner of Yesler and Western Avenue. You can walk it from the King Street Amtrak Station if you don't have too much luggage. Find "2nd Street" on one side of the station and head north on it. About four blocks up is Yessler Avenue. Take a left onto Yesler and head toward the water for about four blocks. The Pioneer Square Hotel will be at your left. Alternatively you can walk 2 blocks southeast on Jackson to the trolly stop at the corner of South Jackson and 5th Ave South. From there you can take the trolly 2 stops to Pioneer Square. (Don't take the underground bus tunnel at Union Station! I'll talk about that later). From the Pioneer Square trolly stop, head north on Alaskan Way one half block and then take a right onto Yesler. You'll see the Pioneer Square Hotel on your right from there.
Make reservations at the Pioneer Square Hotel as far in advance as possible. I booked my room 6 months in advance and they were just about out of rooms! They were booked solid when I arrived. Ask for a room with a balcony overlooking Yesler. Room 415 is two double beds with a balcony and that is the room that we stayed in. This is a very historic hotel and absolutely gives you as much flavor of Pioneer Square as you can get! The furniture and tapestry provide the atmosphere early 1900's. All the plumbing fixtures are gold instead of chrome. The balcony looks like wrought iron and is accessed through a pane glass door. At night we left the balcony door open and let the evening music and sounds of Pioneer Square simmer into the room. A AAA discount is available. Amtrak crews used to be put up in this hotel and special rates for Amtrak passengers were featured. You might want to check to see if these special rates are still available. The rooms have the usual ammenities of a TV, clock radio, and most importantly, two phones including one with a data port on a side table.
While you are staying at the Pioneer Square Hotel be sure to have lunch or dinner at least once directly across the street at Trattoria Mitchelli directly across the street. The atmosphere is great and their Italian food is pretty good. They have a regular menu and specials every evening. Prices aren't bad either. Beyond that, you might want to wander up and down 1st Avenue South where you will find lots of pubs with music and dancing. Some have cover charges but many do not.
Pioneer Square Hotel is conveniently located to transportation to just about anywhere. You are just one block from the Waterfron Trolly which will take you to not only the Waterfront, but also Pike Place Market. Despite what any tourist info you might find says, that Trolly runs to almost 11 PM every night. The Transit Tunnel is only 5 blocks from the hotel. From there, you can get a bus that takes you to Westlake Center, a hub of shopping, or to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The buses run through an underground tunnel and avoid all the surface traffic on the streets. Until 7pm at night, all buses in urban Seattle are free. After 7pm, the Transit Tunnel closes but surface buses run down 3rd Avenue to cover the same route. To get to the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located, take the Transit Tunnel to Westlake Station. Then go upstairs and transfer to the Monorail. The Monorail runs every 15 minutes and only takes 90 seconds to get to the Seattle Center. I also noticed that bus #11 runs by the front of the hotel. My map indicates that this bus also goes to downtown Seattle. I did not explore that route, but you might find that another convenient way to get around.
Click here for more information on public transportation in Seattle. Public transportation in Seattle is called "METRO" and is provided by "King County Transit Division". For 24-Hour Rider Information you can also call 1-800-542-7876 or 1-206-553-3000.
