The_Real_Jake

I used the site's PRICELINE link.

I stayed at the Springhill Suites in the Seattle City Center in October, 2010. I believe this is an underrated property and could be 3* rather than the 2.5* it's listed as! ROOMS: All rooms are suites. I got a king bed suite and they also have the two-bed option. The suite includes a sofa w/ coffee table, chair w/ ottoman, desk, kitchenette (sink, mini-fridge, microwave, coffee maker w/ coffee). Bathroom is spacious with a very nice and CLEAN shower. Sink is outside of the bathroom. Nice flatscreen tv on a dresser with the ability to swivel towards the bed or the sitting area. Good wireless Internet. Room service but I didn't order it. HOTEL: Free guest access to 24 HOUR FITNESS right across the street :) Business center with 2 computers and printers. Complimentary breakfast (eggs, potatoes, sausage, cereals, oatmeal, pastries, waffle maker). Coffee throughout the day. Bistro on site (didn't try it) open till 10pm with a bar open till 11pm. Nice sitting areas in the lobby. Friendly staff--no mention of priceline. Little area to buy candy bars, water/soda, toiletries. Valet parking $20. Actually pretty convenient unless you try to leave when a bunch of people are checking in. LOCATION: I liked the location. Safe area. I originally wanted the "Downtown-Pike Place" region but I now prefer this hotel. Right off the I-5. Traffic noise from the roads was evident but not too loud. 10 minute walk from really nice Westlake Center shopping area--indoor mall as well as stores alongside the road (i.e. Macy's, Nike). 20 minute walk to Pike Place Market. Try the Market House Corned Beef-2 minute walk from hotel. Great corned beef and pastrami sandwiches. Subway right across the street. Top Pot Doughnuts 15 minute walk. Inside the "free fare" zone for buses (until 7pm). All in all I LOVED this hotel. Scanning the Better Bidding Forum I couldn't find any other 2.5* properties in the Center-Space Needle region, so it seems like bidding on a 2.5* in this region is a lock. Also, since all the rooms are suites they can't put the priceline guests in a tiny, cramped room.

Stayed at the Red Lion Portland Convention Center in October, 2010. Pros: Parking relatively cheap at $12 Free wireless Internet in rooms MAX light rail station right across the street (and in the "free zone") Mini fridge in the room (haha, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for some pro's) Cons: Aging, to put it nicely. Not inviting. A little too far to walk to places. Yes, there is a Denny's, but c'mon. Bathroom wasn't that nice. HVAC is a two-pipe system, meaning they only run "AC" OR "heat." They turn the heat on when the outside temp goes below 55 degrees. It was on the cusp but not quite 55, so the rooms were freezing. The little space heater you can request doesn't heat up an entire room. Major building construction going on outside my window. They started before 7am and it was loud. I was not impressed with the Red Lion. It was old, falling apart, and I never felt at home. I've stayed at the Doubletree before--I would dish out extra money to stay there again. ***as i was writing this my Internet and television cut out...

I'm typing this from the hotel. Not too impressive. Shouldn't be 3 stars...

I will be sure to post an updated review of the Springhill Suites.