4- and 5-star hotels in Seattle

Seattle pairs a compact downtown with a waterfront on Puget Sound, and most of the visitor sights sit close together: Pike Place Market, the Seattle Center with the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Museum of Pop Culture, the stadium district near Pioneer Square, and the Museum of Flight to the south. The city has a reputation for rain, though summers are notably dry and mild. The hotels here are clustered in the centre. Several stand on Union St, University St and Pine St in the downtown retail core, within about 1.3 to 1.4 km of the centre; others sit on 5th Avenue at the edge of downtown, and a few lie in Belltown, north of the core, close to the Space Needle and Seattle Center. That makes them practical for couples on a short break, families who want to walk to the market and the monorail, and business travellers who need to be near the retail and office district.

Getting there and around

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is about 14 miles south of downtown and is served by light rail on the Link line, which connects the airport to downtown and the University of Washington. Amtrak trains from Portland and Vancouver, BC, arrive at King Street Station, and long-distance buses use the same area. Once in the city, Link light rail, buses and the King County Water Taxi cover most visitor areas. The Seattle Center Monorail connects downtown and the Space Needle. For the downtown and waterfront hotels on this list, light rail, buses and the monorail are enough; a car is useful for trips to the mountains or wine country.

When to go

Late spring through early autumn brings the driest, mildest weather, with long daylight hours in June and July. Summer is the busiest season, so downtown hotels near Pike Place Market fill fastest then. Winter is cool, wet and often grey, though the city stays green and indoor attractions remain open. Spring and autumn can be pleasant and less crowded, but rain is possible in any month outside summer.