This recommendation is specifically ONLY for those who want to see both downtown Seattle and American Girl Place, and who don't want to rent a car.
In this one, particular instance, I am inclined to recommend:
The Courtyard by Marriott Seattle Bellevue Downtown or
The Sheraton Bellevue
Here is why:
The Courtyard by Marriott is walking distance (2-3 blocks) from the Bellevue Transit Center. The Sheraton is not much further away, and if you call in advance, they have a shuttle that will pick you up at Meydenbauer Center, across from the transit center. The Bellevue Westin and The Lodge at Bellevue are also close, but I haven't stayed there before, and I have stayed at both the Courtyard and Sheraton--they are both nice.
You can get to the Bellevue Transit Center from Sea-Tac in one bus:
The 560
You can get to and from Downtown Seattle in one bus:
The 550
You can get to and from the Alderwood Mall (American Girl Place) in one bus (but NOT on Sunday or holidays--just to warn you):
The 535
My daughter and I took the 535 out to Alderwood today, and I started to think about it--this is a pretty good location for cruisers.
You do have a ways to go to get to the port, but less than from the airport.
Bellevue has a great deal of upscale shopping, including Neiman-Marcus and Jimmy Choo at the
Bravern, if that's your thing, but it also has the
Bellevue Square Mall with the
Lego Store,
Disney Store, Microsoft Store (flagship), and Build-A-Bear. From either place, you can also walk (or, in the case of the Sheraton, walk or be shuttled to)
Maggianos or the
Amazon Grill--both are great restaurants.
If you take the 550 into Seattle, and get off at
Westlake Center, you can go to the top of the mall to the
Seattle Monorail which will take you to Seattle Center--the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, Experience Music Project/Sci Fi Museum and Ride the Ducks are all here. It takes about as long as the
Disneyland monorail.
You can also skip the monorail and walk over to Pike Place Market, and from there, take an elevator down to the waterfront and see the aquarium, or take one of the dinner cruises. You may also go past the Pier 66 cruise terminal, but DON'T BE FOOLED! It is not Disney's cruise terminal.
Go back to the Westlake Center transit tunnel when you're done, pick up the 550 going in the opposite direction and it will drop you back off at Bellevue Transit Center, and it's easy to get back to your hotel.
If you take the 535 to the Alderwood Mall, you just walk towards the fountain and you'll see the American Girl place--there is also a neat Japanese store called Daiso in the mall, as well as another Disney store. If you plan to eat in the American Girl Bistro, be sure to make
reservations. The salmon is good.
You will need to make reservations to get to the port. I'd recommend either
Eastside for Hire or
Seattle Green Limo
Their facebook page says that they will start selling tickets about 30 days prior to opening, so hopefully late April if anyone is interested.
But they have recently started construction on a nearly 200 foot tall ferris wheel with covered gondolas to go out on the water front. It should be done this summer! Sounds fun!
