‘Tis The Season To Save Seattle’s Hotels Offer Lower Rates, Holiday Packages

A friend who’s a real bargain-hunter booked a room last summer at a cheap “guesthouse” on the other side of the state.

After a night punctuated by slamming doors, neighbors partying and loud talking in the halls, he and his wife were sleepless in Seattle.

It’s a rough way to experience that age-old lesson about getting what you pay for.

At 100 bucks and up for most downtown locations, hotel rooms don’t come cheap in Seattle. Especially when you tack on the hefty 14 percent hotel tax and the price parking, which can be up to $17 a day.

But this time of year, rooms become fairly reasonable. It’s called value season, when the tourists fearing rain stay home and hotels drop their rates.

Many hotels also offer additional lures such as holiday shopping packages. And with the opening of NikeTown, REI, Eddie Bauer, FAO Schwarz, Warner Brothers Studio Shop and the bevy of specialty boutiques and department stores, downtown Seattle has become a shopper’s paradise.

Here are some of my favorite places to stay while filling my Christmas list:

The Olympic Four Seasons is the ultimate hotel.

Beyond the elegant lobby, the comfortable, well-appointed rooms, the fantastic restaurants and a topnotch health club, The Four Seasons is distinguished by its stellar service.

An army of the city’s best concierges will do everything for their guests from arranging a romantic dinner to tracking down an obscure food product at the Pike Place Market. (They once found caper berries for me at an Italian grocery and offered to send someone out to pick them up.)

But what I love best about this historic property is that when I dial room service or phone the front desk, they greet me by name. Somehow, being asked if Ms. Kelly would like her eggs sunnyside up or scrambled makes me feel like royalty.

You pay dearly for this royal treatment, however. Even in the off-season, the rates start at $140. For Four Seasons central reservations, call (800) 332-3442 or phone the hotel directly at (206) 621-1700.

Even if you don’t stay at The Four Seasons, a visit to the hotel during the holidays is essential if you’re in the city. They have a beautiful tree that stands almost two stories in the lobby and kids will go nuts over the Teddy Bear Suite, a museum-like display of hundreds of those cuddly creatures.

The Mayflower Park is another hostelry with history.

It was built in 1927, so it’s filled with the kind of artisan architecture you don’t see in more modern buildings. High ceilings, soaring windows and a gorgeous crystal chandelier in the lobby are a few of the visual treats.

The hotel underwent an extensive renovation in the late ‘80s to update the 187 rooms and connect the Mayflower to the dazzling Westlake Mall, home of a huge variety of stores.

Conceivably, you could check into the Mayflower and never have to venture out if the weather turned nasty. Aside from the mall access, you can board the Monorail to Seattle Center without ever opening an umbrella.

Appropriately, The Mayflower offers a shopper’s special for $99 that includes a bag loaded with offerings from nearby merchants and a surprise gift.

For reservations, call (800) 426-5100.

It’s only fitting that a region recognized for its blossoming wine industry would sport a hotel that pays tribute to vintners.

All the rooms at The Hotel Vintage Park are named for wineries and are decorated in rich shades of green and burgundy. I like the Woodward Canyon and the Hogue Cellars rooms.

It’s location is on the fringe of the downtown core, but the doorman will kindly provide an umbrella if some of that famous Seattle rain is falling.

Nice touches that helped make my stay at the Vintage Park memorable included the complimentary wine-tasting held nightly in the cozy lobby, and the spritz of rosewater the maids spray when they turn down the beds. There’s also morning coffee in the reception area and newspapers delivered to your door.

Off-season rates at the Vintage Park start at $120. For reservations, call (800) 624-4433.

One of the newest options downtown is Cavanaugh’s Fifth Avenue, a property owned by the Spokane-based Goodale & Barbieri Co.

The owners ingeniously turned an old bank building into comfortable quarters in one of the best locations in the city.

Walk out one door to the upscale boutiques, movie theater and snazzy Italian eatery (The Palomino) at the City Centre mall. Walk out the “back” door and you’ll run smack into Moose Lake, a kind of homegrown L.L. Bean, as well as the array of shops on Fourth Avenue including the flagship Nordstrom and a gigantic Bon Marche.

I appreciated the way the large rooms were laid out in this affordable accommodation, notably an overstuffed chair and ottoman with a reading lamp in one corner and a large marble counter at the entry with a coffeemaker and an honor bar.

My only complaint was that staff seemed a bit overwhelmed, with long lines snaking through the lobby at checkout time and a mix-up in my room-service order. The staff seemed well-intentioned but not yet quite polished.

Rates at Cavanaugh’s Fifth Avenue start at $99. They also offer a shopper’s package with breakfast for two, a bottle of champagne and merchant discounts for $159, double occupany. For reservations, call (800) 843-4667.

For more motel-like digs still within walking distance of the major attractions, check out The Sixth Avenue Inn.

The rooms are clean and serviceable. The walls aren’t so thin that you can’t get a decent night’s sleep.

The $69 rate is tough to beat, especially because you don’t have to pay to park.

For reservations, call (206) 441-8300.

Finally, it’s important to be selective when searching for a good night’s sleep.

The recently opened Paramount Hotel is convenient to the theater that bears the same name, though it’s a few blocks from downtown shopping. (A few blocks make a big difference when your arms are loaded with packages.) I was extremely disappointed with the cramped rooms at this WestCoast property. The bathroom was so tiny, you almost needed to stand on top of the toilet to open the door.

Also, the room had no honor bar and there was no room service. (You’ll have to settle for a pop machine.) One phone in the room didn’t work. And the heavy doors are constructed to close on their own, so there was a symphony of doors slamming shut at all hours.

This might sound like nitpicking, but when you’re paying upwards of $100, you should be able to expect a certain level of quality.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo