Belltown Inn — Hotel in Seattle

There are five things I think most people will be bothered by with this hotel - the bed size, ac/air quality, bathroom, parking, and neighborhood.

1 - the "queen" bed in our room was not a queen, it was a full. My husband and I sleep in a queen at home and immediately noticed that the bed felt too small. We measured, and it was indeed not a queen bed, as it was about 6 inches too narrow. Some people may not be bothered by this, but we both run hot and spread out so it impacted our sleep quite a bit. Also, the room was advertised as having a queen? What an odd thing to not be honest about.

2 - I really don't know if it was the AC or something else, but the air quality was weirdly humid. We stayed three nights and by the time we checked out, a lot of our clothes had the same dampness to them that we often get with camping. It was noticeable enough to me that I worried about our electronics, and even thick fabrics (like the canvas of my backpack) had a cold, tacky feeling to them from the humidity.

3 - The toilet, at least in our room, would be completely unusuable if your knees were at all bad, and given the average visitor we saw there that would be most of their guests. The toilet was VERY short both vertically and in terms of the length of the bowl. I'm fairly short and I felt like I was near squatting, and it felt like I could barely fit all the requisite parts over the bowl at one time. In our room, it was clear the bowl was very short length-wise because if it were any longer, the bathroom door would not be able to open. Overall, weirdly cramped and uncomfortable. The scale of the toilet made it genuinely difficult to use the bathroom from a body mechanics perspective, to the point that I considered leaving to find a different bathroom.

4 - There is no on-site parking. They are open about this, but the lot where they told us to park had human waste all over the place which produced a strong odor. There were homeless people trying to camp there and I felt horrible disturbing where they were trying to camp. To be clear, I do not blame the homeless people for being there or the shameful condition Seattle leaves them in. I'm more incensed that I had to pay $35 a day to encroach on these poor people because there was literally no closer option and no option that was accessible for me as a person with a disability. If you can't walk more than a block, you can't really access this hotel at all.

5 - I am not gonna handwring about homeless people and drug use, they are people being failed systematically by the city and shuffling them out of eyesight doesn't help anything and I don't want any part of it. Politically, the location of the hotel was a major issue for us. It is very clearly a part of a steady gentrification happening specifically in Belltown, and there is a very jarring dichotomy between the impoverished population trying to survive and the heaps of new hippie granola businesses slowly gentrifying the area. The people that you see here are largely callous - we saw several people walk past a man who looked nearly dead on the sidewalk without batting an eye or calling for help. I could not find any info on the history of the inn or the building itself, but the shape of it implies to me that it used to be an apartment complex. If you morally don't want to participate in the gentrification that Seattle uses to justify pushing its homeless population out of the city, you do NOT want to stay in this hotel.

The room was clean and the elevator worked, but that's about as much credit as I am...

So I originally posted a review on TripAdvisor and gave the Hotel 2 stars. After the response from the owner/manager, I now give it a 1 star. I am unable to edit or reply on TripAdvisor. Here's the original review: -------My review: The hotel is nice. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The area around the hotel is fine during the day but after about 4 or 5 pm I would recommend taking a cab or Uber. High drug presence and large number of homeless people sleeping on the streets and alleyways. ------This was the Owner/Manager’s response: Response from Dean Albright, Owner at Belltown Inn Responded yesterday Sandy, Thank you for your feedback. We’re pleased to hear that you found our staff friendly and helpful and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. We understand your concerns about the neighborhood, and we want to assure you that we have overnight security to help ensure our guests' safety and comfort. Please know that the people on the streets are homeless, and struggling to survive, but are not colectly any more dangerous than you or I. You can greet them and acknowledge them and they will greet you in response. The only difference is they may ask for a handout. You'll read in hundreds of other reviews, people that mention they were nervous but learned after walking around, that there was nothing to concern themselves with. There is no need to take an Uber, just to open your mind and release your prejudice. Sincerely, Dean A Assistant General Manager

If you are still reading, here is more of my experience: ---- My father-in-law has to stop and take breaks when walking. We were stopped on a corner about a block from the hotel. A gentleman approached us and stated "Hey, this is not a safe area. I would highly recommend leaving now." ---- We did interact a little with the homeless population. A guy fell and dropped stuff out of his backpack and we helped him pick up his things and ensured he was ok. I do not appreciate the manager being prejudemental about me and labeling me prejudiced. Added note, the homeless gentleman was carrying a screwdriver in his right hand for protection. ---- Why would the hotel need security if the area is safe? ---- We looked up statistics about Belltown and it was rated #1 among the most dangerous neighborhoods in Seattle. Here's the website: propertyclub.nyc ----- Price: $750 for 2 nights. In my review, I simply provided a recall of my experience in order to help other guests. It was not meant for ill intent or to downgrade anyone or any...

We recently stayed at the Belltown Inn and had a generally positive experience with a few disappointing exceptions. The location is excellent — within walking distance to Pikes Place Market, the Space Needle, and the ferry terminals, which made exploring the city very convenient. ADVICE-when coming from Seattle-Tacoma Airport, if time permits, take the Link Transit Train, its $3, the drop-off is a 10 minute walk to the hotel, a similar Uber will run you $60-$80 or up to $120 if prices are surging.

The rooms, while on the smaller side, were clean and well-equipped with thoughtful amenities including a mini fridge, microwave, iron, and a TV with a variety of channels. The lobby was a nice communal space, offering complimentary coffee in the morning and both regular and lemon-infused water throughout the day. There was plenty of comfortable seating, including couches, chairs, and a large table that could seat around eight people.

Most of the staff we interacted with were friendly and welcoming. However, we did have a frustrating experience with one front desk employee regarding transportation to the airport. On our last night, we inquired about arranging a ride and were told the hotel offered a private shuttle service for $68. This was positioned as a guaranteed, on-time, private ride — an appealing alternative to Uber or Lyft, which were fluctuating in price at the time ($60–$70).

I specifically confirmed with the staff member that the service would be private, and he confidently assured us it would be. Unfortunately, when the vehicle arrived the next morning, it was a shared shuttle with other passengers. The driver confirmed this, and when I returned to the front desk to ask about the discrepancy, the staff seemed confused and said a manager would follow up with me — which never happened.

This lack of transparency and follow-up was disappointing and left a negative impression on an otherwise enjoyable stay. Had we been given accurate information, we would have made different arrangements.

In summary: Great location, clean and comfortable rooms, and mostly helpful staff — but be cautious when relying on front desk transportation recommendations. Accuracy and follow-through are important, and unfortunately, that fell short...