Thanks for the replies! I was hoping to catch a bus to get to the train station. It looked to me like route 194 would go from baggage claim at the airport to right downtown near the train station. However, its a good point that if there is no airport shuttle then I'd probably have to drop $ on a taxi and might negate the cheaper starting hotel rate. I could definitely spend more if need be, but between the airfare and the train ticket I'm just looking for a place I can save a bit of money on the trip. I've used HOTWIRE before once (stayed at a Fort Lauderdale Extended Stay America which wasn't that bad in my opinion), but have yet to try PRICELINE. I can read the general tips on this forum, but if anyone has any specific advice for Seattle (specifically around the airport area) that would be appreciated as well! thank you