If you are departing from or returning to Seattle on an Alaskan cruise, or if Seattle is part of our pre or post cruise adventure from Vancouver, then you are going to need a hotel! This post will share our experience and photos staying at the Seattle Hyatt Regency Hotel both before and after our Alaskan cruise.
Traveling all the way from Florida to Seattle, we wanted to make the most of our time out there, especially since the kids had never been. We wanted to give ourselves a buffer before the cruise, since delays happen and we did not want to cut it too close and potentially miss our cruise, so we stayed here for two nights before the cruise. Additionally, we really wanted to explore after the cruise before heading home, so we stayed 3 nights after the cruise.
We wanted a good location, not too far from the cruise terminal, while being walking distance to some Seattle attractions, since we were not getting a rental car before the cruise.
Perhaps the biggest driver for us choosing this hotel was that it was free. Leading up to our cruise, I opened a couple of credit cards and obtained their welcome bonuses…enough to cover the entire cost of our stay both before and after the cruise. The only thing we had to pay for was parking when we rented the car after the cruise. The points were earned opening Chase credit cards – this is the best card for redeeming for travel points. I then became a World of Hyatt member (free) and connected my accounts to easily transfer my points and book directly with Hyatt.
Cruise Terminal Transportation
When we arrived at the airport, we had a driving service bring us to the hotel. Our room was ready early and we also had a nice conversation with the Concierge, who helped us reserve transportation to and from the cruise terminal. We had read that doing it this way was better since certain types of transportation drop off at different locations at the cruise terminal. Taxis and Ubers are not able to drive all the way up to the terminal, but rather back in a parking lot drop-off zone and then you have to walk with your luggage to the main terminal area. Private driving companies can go all the way to the loading zone at the terminal, and park in a spot to drop you off and have your luggage taken right then and there. Similarly, after the cruise, they can drive all the way up to their designated parking spots just a few steps from the terminal exit. Unfortunately, there was a bus parked in that spot that wasn’t supposed to be and the driver was no where to be found, so we had to watch our driver circle around a few times 🙁
The Concierge told us what time to be downstairs, and when we got there on our departure day, there were a few other cruisers joining us on the trip to the cruise terminal. To note is that this is not transportation provided by the hotel. The hotel provides the free service of working with a company they’ve partnered with to book your transportation and it is a separate, additional fee.
Our Room & View
Back to the hotel itself. We booked a 2 Queen Beds – High Floor room and we were assigned a corner room fairly high up. We had a nice view of the buildings and city below, as well as the Seattle Great Wheel and Elliott Bay.
My kids enjoyed sitting on the ledge looking out at the scenery….my mommy heart was a little nervous, but that’s just me.
During the day, they could look out and see various things happening down below.
And at night, all the lights were so pretty to look at.
The room was really nice, and the corner location allowed for extra walkway space to place luggage if needed. The bathroom was modern and clean. We stayed here before we knew we would start this blog, so apologies for not having a ton of personal photos of just the room. Here are two photos from the Official Seattle Hyatt Regency Hotel website.
On the day before our cruise, our adventures were on foot….it was about a 15 minute walk to Pike Place Market to start our day with coffee, breakfast and shopping. At the end of that day, we were in the Space Needle area, so we hopped on the monorail and ended at the Westlake Center, which is only a few blocks away from the hotel.
After the cruise, we rented a car. The hotel conveniently has a Sixt rental car agency within the building, so we used them and used the parking garage right on property. It was super convenient! We had never used Sixt before, but the prices were pretty good and you got elevated luxury brands for equivalent prices of other brands at other agencies. We drove to the Ballard Locks Fish Ladder, Gas Works Park and Snoqualmie Falls on one day and Mount Rainier on the other.
One downside, at least for me, of this hotel is that it doesn’t offer free breakfast (at least not to my status). Our kids are light breakfast eaters, so we don’t typically make a big fuss over going out to eat somewhere. But we love when hotels offer free breakfast so we can stroll downstairs, grab a coffee and a few bites and go about our day. Knowing that there wasn’t free breakfast and that we needed something to eat in the room, we walked to the Amazon Go! a few blocks away and got some fruit, yogurt, iced coffees and some other goodies to store in the room. There is a market in the hotel, but we had also never been to an Amazon Go! so we took the opportunity.
Another downside of staying downtown…it can be difficult finding places to eat that are open late. Same as Orlando, you’ll find a lot of places close fairly early, like before 6pm, because they mostly cater to the city employees that leave after their work day. Luckily, there are a couple of restaurants in the hotel; Daniel’s Broiler, which is an upscale steakhouse, and Andare Italian Kitchen & Bar, a more relaxed vibe. We chose Andare, as it seemed more appropriate for our level of hunger, attire and vibe, and we all enjoyed it. Again, sorry for no pictures of our food…I don’t even remember what I got!
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the Seattle Hyatt Regency and would stay here again, especially if I had points to make it free again! There were plenty of activities within walking distance and I felt safe walking around. Would love for free breakfast, but love the onsite parking and cruise transportation.