- Introduction: A New Era Of German Business Class
- Review: Lufthansa Lounge Detroit Airport (DTW)
- Review: Lufthansa Business Class 787 (DTW-FRA)
- Review: Lufthansa Welcome Lounge Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Hilton Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Condor Business Class A330-900neo (FRA-SEA)
- Are Condor’s “Prime” Business Class Seats Worth It?
- Review: Marriott Seattle Airport (SEA)
- Review: Alaska Lounge Seattle Airport (SEA)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge Seattle Airport (SEA)
- Review: Alaska Airlines 737-900ER First Class (SEA-MIA)
For the return portion of my quick review trip to Germany, I had a night near Seattle Airport. I had arrived from Frankfurt in Condor’s A330-900neo business class, and was connecting the following morning to Miami in Alaska’s 737-900ER first class.
While I was tempted to stay at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington (which isn’t an airport hotel, but is still closer to the airport than the city, and is highly regarded), I ended up just staying at the Marriott Seattle Airport. That’s because it’s really close to the airport, and I was planning on getting to the airport by 4AM the following morning.
So, how was the 459-room Marriott Seattle Airport? Fine… totally fine. I wouldn’t recommend seeking out this hotel, but I also wouldn’t actively avoid it. It got the job done, and that’s about it.
In this post:
Booking the Marriott Seattle Airport
For the night I was staying, the Marriott Seattle Airport was charging around $200. As a point of comparison, an award redemption at the hotel would have cost 42,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Based on my valuation of 0.7 cents per Marriott Bonvoy point, this was a situation where paying cash was the better value, so that’s what I did.
For what it’s worth, pricing at the Marriott was comparable to other mid-range properties near the airport. Since I’m loyal to Hyatt, then Marriott, and then Hilton, this seemed like the best option, since Hyatt doesn’t have a convenient airport hotel in Seattle.
Marriott Seattle Airport location
The Marriott Seattle Airport is one of the closest hotels to SeaTac Airport. It was a gorgeous late winter afternoon when I landed, so I decided to walk to the hotel. The walk is under a mile, and it took me around 15 minutes. I just walked along International Boulevard (I passed 13 Coins, where I have fond memories of eating back in the day).
Then I turned right at the Hilton Seattle Airport, and walked through that parking lot.
I then had to walk up some stairs, and then the Marriott Seattle Airport was right across the street.
While I wouldn’t recommend making this walk in the rain or with a lot of bags, when traveling light with nice weather, it’s a pleasant walk.
The hotel also has a 24/7 shuttle that runs every 15 minutes. I took the shuttle at 4AM the following morning, and it’s a roughly five minute drive.
Marriott Seattle Airport lobby & check-in
The lobby of the Marriott Seattle Airport has a lodge-like feel, which you probably wouldn’t expect from an airport hotel in Seattle. I was checked in by Mataya, who was extremely friendly, thanked me for my loyalty, and explained I had been upgraded to a club room. She also provided the hours of the club lounge, as well as a rundown of the hotel’s other features.
With keys in hand, I headed toward my room. At this hotel, rooms are located in a couple of different areas. There are rooms around the huge central atrium, and then there’s a separate tower, which is where my room was located.
This hotel was initially built in 1980, and you definitely feel it in the hotel’s huge atrium, as the design doesn’t feel particularly luxurious or modern, to put it mildly (yet oddly I’m kind of a sucker for these atriums).
To access the tower elevators, I just walked along the interior of the atrium and turned left, and then elevators were located at the end of the hall.
The tower has nine floors, and my room was on the eighth floor, which is the same level where the club lounge is located.
Marriott Seattle Airport guest room
I was assigned room 811, featuring two queen beds (I had booked a room with two beds since it was a bit cheaper, and forgot to ask about changing that at check-in). My room was just down the hall from the elevators and on the left.
Despite the hotel otherwise feeling pretty old, my room felt modern. It had an entryway with a closet to the left, the bathroom to the right, and the rest of the room straight ahead.
The room had two very comfortable beds, a desk with a chair, and a console with a TV and a dresser.
There was an in-room Keurig coffee machine.
The room didn’t have much in the way of views, as it just looked at the roof of another part of the hotel, and some trees. At least it wasn’t a dreary day.
The bathroom was compact, and had a sink, a shower/tub combo, and a toilet.
Toiletries were in reusable containers from thisworks.
All-in-all, the room was your standard Marriott room. There was nothing bad about it, but also nothing terribly exciting. Wi-Fi in the room was fast and free.
Marriott Seattle Airport club lounge
The Marriott Seattle Airport’s club lounge is also located on the eighth floor, and was just down the hall from my room. The lounge is open from 6AM until 10:30PM on Mondays through Thursdays, from 6AM until 1PM on Fridays, and from 7AM until 10:30PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
Breakfast is served from 6AM until 9:30AM on weekdays, and from 7AM until 10:30AM on weekends. Meanwhile the happy hour is offered from 5:30PM until 7:30PM.
I didn’t have the chance to have breakfast in the lounge, but I did check out the evening happy hour. The lounge’s design and layout is very basic, with under a dozen cafe-style tables, and some additional high-top seating by the windows.
The lounge doesn’t exactly have an especially premium feel.
There were non-alcoholic drinks available throughout the day, including water, soda, and juice.
There was also a selection of tea, as well as a Starbucks coffee machine.
During the day, the only snacks were a bowl of trail mix.
As is pretty standard at Marriott lounges in the United States, drinks were available for purchase, and ranged in price from $6.50-10.
The evening happy hour selection included veggies, salami, cheese, salad, pulled pork, and mashed potatoes. That was the extent of it.
As someone who doesn’t eat pork (and the cheese was sitting on top of pork), that left me with veggies, a basic salad, and mashed potatoes.
Honestly, as much as I’m a fan of hotel club lounges, to me this was one of those club lounges that isn’t even worth visiting. Then there’s the fact that this is one of the lounges where there’s a TV constantly on at high volume, so the whole room is basically just a bunch of people watching the news together and commenting on it.
Marriott Seattle Airport restaurant & bar
I didn’t visit any of the other outlets at the hotel, but the Marriott Seattle Airport has a restaurant and bar. The restaurant is named Aqua Terra, and it’s open daily from 6AM until 10PM, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
There’s also the Aqua Terra Lobby Bar, open daily from 11AM until 11PM, serving drinks and a more limited food selection.
Marriott Seattle Airport gym
The Marriott Seattle Airport has a gym that’s in a room near the center of the atrium, which can be accessed 24/7.
The gym was probably the most impressive part of the hotel, as there was a huge selection of cardio equipment, as well as a decent number of strength training options.
Bottom line
The Marriott Seattle Airport did the trick for my quick airport overnight. The hotel has a convenient location within walking distance of the airport, the shuttle was reliable, the room was modern, the gym was nice, and the person checking me in was friendly.
Other than that, though, this isn’t a particularly impressive hotel. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying here, but I also wouldn’t recommend staying away. I guess if you’re a Marriott loyalist and need to spend a night at the airport, this is a fine option. Fair enough?
As mentioned at the beginning of the review, next time I’d probably stay at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington. I should also mention that a lot of people rave about the Cedarbrook Lodge, but it’s a fully independent hotel, and I know many of us struggle with forgoing points.
What do you make of the Marriott Seattle Airport?
I stayed at this hotel in 2020 and like the review, it was a decent hotel; something not to avoid but nothing special about it neither.
I was flying on Alaska and connecting through Seattle when they cancelled our flight so they put us up at the Marriott Seattle Airport. The hotel is very big and very accommodating to large groups and there were frequent shuttles. The only downside is that the hotel is very...
I stayed at this hotel in 2020 and like the review, it was a decent hotel; something not to avoid but nothing special about it neither.
I was flying on Alaska and connecting through Seattle when they cancelled our flight so they put us up at the Marriott Seattle Airport. The hotel is very big and very accommodating to large groups and there were frequent shuttles. The only downside is that the hotel is very large and there are different sections without clear signage on how to get from your section to the main lobby - many in our party got lost in trying to understand how to get out of the hotel and to the main lobby.
other than that, a solid airport hotel. More details can be found on my blog: https://0504traveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/stay-report-seattle-airport-marriott.html
Stayed there coming and going from Asia. On way back, checked in on the app in Tokyo and requested early check in. Got to the hotel a little after 8 am and they let me have my room right away. Room was on same floor as check in. No elevator required. Really easy. Had room service twice which was great. Main restaurant was pretty empty on my stay on way to Asia. But food was good. Shuttle was great both coming and going. Overall great experience.
I agree with your review. I was transiting in Seattle and Alaska cancelled our flight so we were put up in the Marriott Seattle Airport. As you said, its conveniently located, has a nice shuttle and plenty of rooms. The rooms are a bit on the smaller/snug side so if you are a large family or group in one room be aware. Also, there are various sections to the hotel and the directions are not...
I agree with your review. I was transiting in Seattle and Alaska cancelled our flight so we were put up in the Marriott Seattle Airport. As you said, its conveniently located, has a nice shuttle and plenty of rooms. The rooms are a bit on the smaller/snug side so if you are a large family or group in one room be aware. Also, there are various sections to the hotel and the directions are not as clear. Various members of our group got lost coming down from their room to the find the lobby so keep some time out for that -- other than that a decent Marriott that gets the job done!
I used to stay at the SeaTac airport hotels all the time in the 90s when they were pretty new. They are all pretty dated now and in need of updates now. I had that Marriott booked a couple weeks ago for a layover on the way to Tahiti for the same $200 price. I had looked around and decided that at least the Marriott had updated their guest rooms and was the best of...
I used to stay at the SeaTac airport hotels all the time in the 90s when they were pretty new. They are all pretty dated now and in need of updates now. I had that Marriott booked a couple weeks ago for a layover on the way to Tahiti for the same $200 price. I had looked around and decided that at least the Marriott had updated their guest rooms and was the best of a bad group. However, my partner convinced me to cancel and to use some Hilton points and stay at the Hilton that you walked by. You have confirmed my assessment. We described the Hilton the same way you did... but it's a LOT worse than the Marriott. I won't go into details but it needs some love.
There is a much better route to walk than the one you took. If you follow the path to the light rail from the Airport, you continue over the bridge and elevator to the street that runs parallel to the Marriott. You come out right next-door to the side of the Hilton and just a half block from the Crowne Plaza. That’s a much faster and safer route and most of it is covered!
They used to provide Starbucks coffee packets in the guest rooms...
Passing 13 coins sounds painful, much worse than kidney stones.
The atrium used to be a pool I believe originally
Regarding your comment "As is pretty standard at Marriott lounges in the United States, drinks were available for purchase": Does this also apply during the Happy Hour or are alcoholic drinks complementary during that time ?
My recent Club experiences were all in Asia and the alcohol was always free. These days it is hard to find clubs in the hotels in the US, especially the Hyatt hotels.
"I had booked a room with two beds since it was a bit cheaper, and forgot to ask about changing that at check-in"
Sounds like a nice travel hack to use.
It’s called dishonesty.
@CR-
Wait, what?
What?
The Friday club hours for Friday seem odd. 1 p.m. closing?
Oh that atrium, it used to be a big pool there, unfortunately closed back in 2018 something like this. The plan was to use the space as meeting space but I see it is just a vast open plan with the gym in a corner. Sad.
I stayed a number of times when it was still a pool. It was a great place for kids to hang out and splash around but a bit moist walking to your room and always a strong smell of chlorine. I wish then would fill the place with plants or something as it does look a bit sad.
I stayed at this hotel almost thirty years ago, in 1994, with my family. I remember the atrium being huge, echoey, and filled with swimming-pool smells and sounds. There were pine trees and a bunch of totem poles and the whole place had a very Pacific Northwest feel. These pictures just make it feel gray and sad, but that's the aesthetic Marriott seems to be going for with most of their properties anymore.
I'm a sucker for atriums, too. Good for people watching, good for reducing traffic and siren noise. :)
X2
That atrium is giving Holidome.
I *loved* Holidomes as a kid!
Why on earth would you walk by 13 Coins? That is completely out of the way. I’ve made this walk multiple times and even going through the Hilton is out of the way vs just walking up 176th. “Walking by” 13 Coins would add an extra 5-10 minutes for absolutely no reason.
@ Rob -- I was coming from the international arrivals facility, which lets out at the very end of the outside roadway at the airport. That's why I went in that direction, past 13 Coins.
I stay at the coast hotel when I have a short I overnight at SeaTac. Nice views of the light rail and I can get Alaska miles instead of hotel points. It's limited service with a better than average breakfast.
SO many great memories of 13 Coins. It was quite the spectacle after the bars closed at 2am back in the day!
Absolutely. Chain mail between the booths. Upholstered high back swivel bar stools. Huge martinis. Straight out of a Tarantino movie.
Alternative thought to Cedarbrook Lodge being independent, time to rack up some LPs via AA hotels?
@ Terence -- Hah, that's a better way to justify it, I suppose!