Light rail to hotel?

We will be flying into Seattle next Thursday night around 10:30. Our hotel is by the Space Needle. Do you think that we can ride the light rail to the west lake station and then catch a taxi to take us to our hotel. I know the monorail will not be running that late at night. We really don't want to spend the $60 on a taxi all the way from the airport. There will be 4 of us. Will it be safe? Will it be too much of a hassle with all our luggage? Will there be available taxis just hanging around downtown to take us the 1 - 2 miles the rest of the way to the hotel? Thanks so much for any info!

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If you get into Seattle at 10:30pm, you'll not get your luggage til 11pm. 15 minutes to walk to the train platform and tickets.

45 minutes to Westlake.

You're not getting there until midnight. Then you'll have to find a taxi. With four you'll need a larger taxi or two regular ones. At the airport there will be larger taxis available.

We stayed in the Westlake area a few years ago. It seemed safe enough to walk but there was a plaza across the street that had an 'interesting' element after dark.

With getting in that late in the evening I would say that the $60 for a cab direct to the hotel would be money well spent. After the flight you are going to probably want to get to the hotel as quickly as possible and crash. Light rail is going to add at least 30 minutes to your trip vs. taking a cab. The trains only run every 15-20 minutes or so later in the evening so that could delay you further depending on how you hit it.

The Westlake area is safe enough, but has its interesting element just like any other major city. The light rail route doesn't take you through the best part of town on its way from the airport.

It's unlikely you'll find a taxi at Westlake that could carry 4 plus bags, so it would take two cabs, probably making the whole exercise close to a wash in money terms. Cabs downtown might be in short supply at that time of night anyway - ferrying bar hoppers and other tourists around.

I'd take a van taxi or a towncar from the airport and call it good.

Next weekend is "Seafair" weekend - Blue Angels, hydroplane races, etc. - so a very busy time in the city.

Thanks so much for the info! We will definitely just take a cab from the airport then. You are right about prob just wanting to crash. We are flying in from Dallas so when we land in Seattle it will really already feel like 12:30 to us!

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Stila Towncar has the airport contract so they have cars stationed there all the time. The last time I walked by their kiosk the sign said $45 to downtown Seattle. Call them to see if 4 will qualify for this fare. If so, you call from the courtesy phone at baggage claim and they'll pick you up at the curb in a matter of minutes.

A lower cost taxi option is http://www.eastsideforhire.com. I've used them a few times now. If you reserve a car, they'll be waiting by the airport for your flight. Use your cell to call when you have your luggage; they'll call you with their car number and pick you up at the curb in a few minutes. Their fare is $30 but probably several $ more for 4 since you'll need a minivan instead of a prius.

Call them both and see which is the better option.

Thanks I will call!

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please post back with whatever your learn. The info will be helpful to others.

My experience with eastside has been as a solo traveller, and the Stila sign is something I see frequently at the airport.

Ok here is what I found. Through Stila we can get an SUV for 4 people that will take us from the airport to our hotel by the Space Needle for $50. And through http://www.eastsideforhire.com we can get a van to take us for $39. So we are going with Eastsideforhire. I think both are a pretty good deal considering some of the other places I checked including the one contracted with our hotel was $65. Seems crazy for only driving 15 miles!

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Twinsrock224, I think you have made a very good decision. wondering around the streets of Seattle at 11:45pm is not the safest thing to do, your pretty much asking for trouble. The streets of Seattle aren't the safest place to be after the sun goes down.