Overnight in Seattle and San Francisco

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river

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New member here....Hello to all.

My spouse and I recently returned from a round trip from Chicago to DC on the Capitol Limited in a roomette and had such a great time I am now hooked. We did a long distance trip to California some years ago in coach and never again! I am glad we gave Amtrak another try with sleeper accomodations--it was a night and day difference--in more ways than one!
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Wonderful time we had! When we were in DC, we stayed at a hotel 2 blocks from the Amtrak station--it was very convenient and we hope to be able to stay at hotels within walking distance to Amtrak in our future trips as well.

I am now happily planning a trip from Chicago on the Empire Builder and then the Coast Starlight to Los Angeles. From Los Angeles (where relatives live that we will visit), we plan to fly home (only to save time and to save a trip on the Texas Eagle for another time). We have never visited many of these states (except So. California), so this will be a new adventure for us.

I am thinking about staying overnight in Seattle and then again overnight in the Oakland area before ending in LA. I would like to stay very close the Amtrak stations and then also visit each city for a day. We especially like museums and architecture tours. Are there any architectural boat cruises for instance? What museums are good? What hotels would you recommend?

Any and all suggestions welcome!
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Hello and welcome. I just spent a couple of days in Seattle and stayed at the Alexis Hotel. It is walking distance (but a long walk). Since I arrived in the CS at night, I took a short cab ride from the station. However, when leaving I combined walking a free bus ride to get back to the station. I believe there is a Best Western that is closer. While in Seattle, I met a couple who were staying at the Best Western and they were paying more than I was paying at the Alexis, and the Alexis is much nicer. (I got a 2 night special at the Alexis and it was quite reasonable for Seattle).

Have fun!!
 
Welcome to the Forum, it's easy to get hooked! And like all internet forums, and maybe life in general, "there are all kinds of people" who post here.

I'm assuming you have already joined Amtrak's Loyalty Program, "Amtrak Guest Rewards". If not, do it now, and if you need a referral, I'd be glad to do so. (and so would any one any of us).

The benefit of a referral is that not only do YOU earn points on your next Amtrak trip, so does the person who referred you, as long as the trip is within 90 days of signing up for Amtrak Guest Rewards. (AGR)

There are a TON of ways to earn "non-rail" miles, that you can still redeem for Amtrak travel.

There's no such thing as a "dumb question", just dumb answers. (mostly by me)

If you have time, scan the topics first, as a LOT of the questions newbies asked, have been asked several times B4, but no worries, if you post a question that's been posted B4, it will more than likely happily get answered again!
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My favorite topics are the ones covering "what to bring" on a trip, and "best routings" or "best use of AGR points when redeeming".

I'd also encourage you to drop Amtrak Customer Service an email after EACH TRIP, if that is you got GREAT service, or you got "SUB-PAR" service. It's the only way they know what the traveling public feels.

Once again, "Welcome!"
 
pennyk said:
Hello and welcome. I just spent a couple of days in Seattle and stayed at the Alexis Hotel. It is walking distance (but a long walk). Since I arrived in the CS at night, I took a short cab ride from the station. However, when leaving I combined walking a free bus ride to get back to the station. I believe there is a Best Western that is closer. While in Seattle, I met a couple who were staying at the Best Western and they were paying more than I was paying at the Alexis, and the Alexis is much nicer. (I got a 2 night special at the Alexis and it was quite reasonable for Seattle).

Have fun!!
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The Alexis http://www.alexishotel.com/ is indeed a nice boutique hotel as is the Inn at the Market http://innatthemarket.com/
 
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About a block from the station at OKJ, there's the Jack London Hotel - no palace, but it's a place to stay. However, if you're really looking to do any sightseeing, go ahead and go into the City (aka San Francisco); you can find lots of good deals on hotels online.
 
Thanks for the welcome! I am an Amtrak Guest Rewards member--still working on getting all the points from our CL trip. Got half of them, so I'm doing something right! I would also like to take the Texas Eagle and City of New Orleans in a couple of years, so by then maybe we can use some of our saved points.

I am now thinking we may need to stay 2 nights in Seattle in case the Empire Builder is late into the station, and 2 nights in Oakland because there is so much to do and see in San Francisco. From what I am starting to research, there is a ferry from Oakland to San Francisco. That sounds like something I'd like to do--and then do at least a bus tour of San Francisco one day and then an Alcatraz visit maybe. Never been to either city so let me know what's good to do in both cities!
 
river said:
Thanks for the welcome! I am an Amtrak Guest Rewards member--still working on getting all the points from our CL trip. Got half of them, so I'm doing something right! I would also like to take the Texas Eagle and City of New Orleans in a couple of years, so by then maybe we can use some of our saved points.

I am now thinking we may need to stay 2 nights in Seattle in case the Empire Builder is late into the station, and 2 nights in Oakland because there is so much to do and see in San Francisco. From what I am starting to research, there is a ferry from Oakland to San Francisco. That sounds like something I'd like to do--and then do at least a bus tour of San Francisco one day and then an Alcatraz visit maybe. Never been to either city so let me know what's good to do in both cities!
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Remeber - all the restaurants in SF are good, some are just better. You won't have a bad meal in that town!
 
river said:
Thanks for the welcome! I am an Amtrak Guest Rewards member--still working on getting all the points from our CL trip. Got half of them, so I'm doing something right! I would also like to take the Texas Eagle and City of New Orleans in a couple of years, so by then maybe we can use some of our saved points.

I am now thinking we may need to stay 2 nights in Seattle in case the Empire Builder is late into the station, and 2 nights in Oakland because there is so much to do and see in San Francisco. From what I am starting to research, there is a ferry from Oakland to San Francisco. That sounds like something I'd like to do--and then do at least a bus tour of San Francisco one day and then an Alcatraz visit maybe. Never been to either city so let me know what's good to do in both cities!
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There are quite a few hotels very near the Emeryille station (one of which is directly across the tracks).
 
Thanks for the great suggestions! I checked out the Alexis in Seattle and it looks wonderful--a little pricy though. I am also looking at the Courtyard Downtown in Pioneer Square. That looks even closer. But if we could get a good deal on the Alexis, I'd go there.

The Waterfront Hotel in Oakland also looks wonderful! Thanks for the suggestion. The ferry location is very appealing to me.

I don't think there are first class lounges in Seattle or Oakland, are there? (In Chicago and DC they had special lounges where we could leave our luggage on the day we were traveling on Amtrak--a wonderful perk, since both cities have great attractions close by.)

Is Emeryville or Oakland a better place to stay?
 
...the Inn at the Market in Seattle also looks wonderful, now, I see! Decisions! That looks a little pricey too. We will be going mid to late August of 2011 hopefully, so I have time to check out all my options! :)
 
river said:
...the Inn at the Market in Seattle also looks wonderful, now, I see! Decisions! That looks a little pricey too. We will be going mid to late August of 2011 hopefully, so I have time to check out all my options! :)
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If you don't mind large chain hotels, the Seattle Sheraton is a good choice. Right in the heart of downtown close to shopping and restaurants.
 
For Seattle check out some of the Bed and Breakfasts on Tripadvisor.com. Also if you schedule your arrival in San Francisco, you get the free Ambus that will drop you off at a few locations across the Bay near your hotel. Check out the Golden Gate Hotel, a charming B&B in the heart of San Francisco on Bush Street a half a block from the cable car line.
 
river said:
I am thinking about staying overnight in Seattle and then again overnight in the Oakland area before ending in LA. I would like to stay very close the Amtrak stations and then also visit each city for a day. We especially like museums and architecture tours. Are there any architectural boat cruises for instance? What museums are good? What hotels would you recommend?

Any and all suggestions welcome!
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:hi: Welcome to the wonderful world of Amtrak Unlimited! :wub: Nice trip, I go to the Bay area often, also have visited Seattle many times! I wont mention any particular things to do as to sights,activities etc. but I have really good experiences using the various travel sites to book hotels (Orbitz/Expedia etc. Try bookaroom.com , you can compare all! For example in Seattle we paid $79 for a $250 hotel and that included breakfast!Summer is a popular time on the West Coast, trains included, so book early as you can! (up to 11 months allowed on Amtrak!) As to the Bay Area, the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco leaves right next to Jack London Square, the train station is there etc. Stay close to the water in Oakland and dont walk around @ night on the streets but youll be perfectly safe around the hotels and train station which is also @ Jack London square!You get to do street running there, it's awesome!) You can also stay in Emeryville, again next to the water, the Bay Bridge is right there and the Amtrak Station is right there next to the water also, lots of nicer hotels around that area but not much to do, there is a big mall and a few food places close!

As to crossing the Bay, you can also get deals on San Francisco hotels/B&Bs etc. if you check all the sites, hit the timeing right! Again summer is VERY popular here but great local transportation and a million things to do! Google up any of this, plenty of info and well be glad to help with trains and suggestions! Dont hesitate to ask, we have lots of friendly and knowleded folks here, again Welcome! And save your money also,both can be pricey! ;)
 
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The Courtyard @ Pioneer Sq is a decent hotel. I was in the lobby earlier this summer and had several friends staying there, hence the reason that I saw the lobby.
 
Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I am also looking at Woodfin Suites in Emeryville. Will also check out priceline, hotwire, etc. before I finalize our plans.
 
I would suggest visiting Portland and San Francisco, instead.

I've visited both Seattle and Portland, and would go (and have gone) back to Portland again. Between the short blocks and transit, it's infinitely easier to get around Portland; on my last layover there, I walked to a nice tapas place and then to Voodoo Doughnuts and back without much effort. Personally, I have found Portland to be a friendlier place.

San Francisco is self-explanatory. Why gaze longingly at the City by the Bay when you could be there with just a short bus ride?
 
The Alexis is a Kimpton hotel, and the Kimpton chain appears to still offer its "15 percent off if you arrive by train" deal. You can read about that deal here.

There have been several discussions about where to stay and eat in Seattle over the past year or so. I just scanned through them and see several favorable remarks about the Alexis. You can read these old threads for yourself here, here, here, here, and here.
 
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