Over the past few years, airport hotels have started to really grow on me.
It’s hard to beat the convenience they offer when dealing with early or late flights and I’ve found them to be very accommodating properties as a whole.
In this review, I’ll cover the Marriott Seattle Airport and give you a sense of what you can expect if you choose to stay at this hotel.
Table of Contents
Location
The Marriott Seattle Airport is located about one long block away from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the SeaTac/Airport Station (for trams).
It’s close enough that you could walk from the airport terminal to the hotel but if you have a lot of luggage it’s probably a lot easier to just take the shuttle.
The hotel is only about 22 minutes away from attractions in Downtown Seattle so staying at this airport hotel is still relatively convenient if you want to get out and spend the day in Seattle.
In our case, we only had one night in Seattle so we decided to Uber to some of the tourist attractions like Pike Place Market since this was our first time in Seattle.
It was an abnormally warm day that normally would not stick out because of what we are used to in Arizona but coming from Alaska it felt pretty hot!
We grabbed some pizza from a local joint as soon as we arrived and it definitely hit the spot.
We would spend the next few hours wandering around Pike Place Market, trying out different foods, and just exploring the city a bit. Seattle made a pretty good first impression.
Related: Are Airport Hotels Good Options? (Pros & Cons)
Getting to the hotel
After arriving from Juneau, Alaska, on a super early flight we arrived at SEA and then we made our way over the cat walk to the parking garage where you also find the complimentary hotel shuttle busses.
Each hotel shuttle bus serves a different “island” (station) or multiple stations in this area so you want to make sure you’re standing in the right area.
A huge tip is to wait at the station where the bus will be first arriving because otherwise it might be filled up by the time it gets to you.
(Some of the hotels only have one bus running so don’t assume that a secondary bus will come and pick up the slack.)
The shuttle bus for this hotel is hard to miss so you don’t have to look very hard.
It didn’t take long for our shuttle bus to arrive and we had it completely to ourselves. It’s always nice when public transportation turns into private transportation.
Booking
We booked this hotel stay with one of our Marriott free night certificates, which came out to pretty awesome value. With taxes and fees, the total came out to around $400 per night which was excellent.
Prices aren’t normally that expensive though so I think we were just visiting during a peak time.
Check-in
I was immediately impressed by the beautiful and cozy lobby at the hotel. Since we were arriving so early at around 9 AM, it was very quiet.
Check in went about as smooth as you could ask for.
We arrived around 9 AM fully expecting to not have a room ready for us but we were delighted to find out early check-in would be available.
The downside was that we were going to be put in the section of the hotel that is not connected to the lounge.
This meant that for every lounge visit we would have to go down to the lobby, walk to a different set of elevators, and then head up those.
Considering we would only be making two lounge visits on a one night stay, that was a small inconvenience to pay for such a massively convenient early check-in.
However, if I had multiple nights to spend here I would get a little annoyed with the up and down.
The room
Our king room was spacious and modern with a beautiful oversized headboard.
We found the bed to be comfortable and got some good rest after we finished up at the the lounge
The room came with a large flatscreen TV which was mounted above a dresser and large counter.
We also had two water bottles waiting for us.
There was a box with all of the coffee cups, coffee packs, and some tea near the workstation.
This is also where the coffee maker is although we always use our own tea kettle.
The workstation came equipped with stationary, a phone, and lamp. Outlets were built into the side of the frame holding the TV.
There’s also a mini fridge underneath the TV.
One thing I really liked about the room is that we actually had a pretty decent window view from up on the fifth floor.
It doesn’t get much better than an amazing mountain view of Mount Rainier — such an impressive mountain.
The bathroom is really nice in these rooms, too. You’ll find a single sink with plenty of counter space under a brightly lit mirror.
The bathroom came stashed with thisworks amenities.
It’s a nice shower too.
Privacy glass makes up one wall although it is partially translucent (just in case you are sharing a room with someone you’re not that close to).
The toilet is also right next to the shower and the sink which is a little bit of a tight fit.
Lounge
Because we were able to check in so early, we had enough time to grab breakfast in the lounge.
I was pretty satisfied with all of the offerings which included: muffins, fresh fruit, eggs, protein, toppings such as cheese and salsa, oatmeal, cereals, and water bottles and soft drinks.
We had just flown without really having an opportunity for any type of real breakfast so being able to enjoy a full breakfast spread in this lounge was pretty amazing. It’s amazing how good basic food can be whenever you are starving and exhausted.
Also, while we were trying to rush before breakfast ended, the staff up there was really friendly and was not rushing us at all. Kudos to them.
We would head back up to the lounge in the evening for snacks. At that time they had salad, meats, cheeses, and a platter of vegetables. Can’t forget about the cookies, either.
The hotel also has its own restaurant, Aqua Terra, a farm-to-table restaurant serving seafood and American fare although we did not get the chance to try it due to taking advantage of the lounge.
I thought the bar area looked pretty nice so it’s probably worth checking out.
Here’s another look at the lobby which once again I really liked.
During our stay, we explored some of the hotel facilities which I thought were really interesting because they were so different.
First, they have this large atrium with 45 ft skylights that houses a few things.
One part of it is a wide open lounge area with a large multi-panel TV along with some comfy seating. Would be a cool place to catch a ball game during your travels.
The other part is event space where they put on special events out in the open (suitable for up to 800 people).
It’s a little strange to me to be putting on events like weddings or receptions while nosy hotel guests are watching from their rooms but I guess it works?
Then, there is the 24-hour fitness center which is right in the middle of all of this. It’s interesting because it has this fish bowl feel with its glass walls.
For those who like to work out out in the open, you’ll really love this gym. For those who like to sweat it up in privacy, this may not be your cup of tea.
With that said, it’s a very equipped gym with plenty of cardio equipment.
Final word
This was a very solid airport hotel stay.
Getting handed early check in at around 9 AM was a major win and it was nice being only about 20 minutes outside of Seattle so that we could do a little bit of exploring.
While the lounge is pretty small, I enjoyed the breakfast up there and considering how much value I got for the free night certificate, it was hard to complain about anything for this stay.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
