Sometimes, you just have to take a deep breath and remind yourself that you're only staying at a hotel for one night. Unfortunately, that was the case when it came to our stay at the Red Lion Hotel Seattle South courtesy of Priceline.

Our Experience

1. Directions

The directions provided on the hotel's website (redlion.com/seattlesouth/) were lacking. A small incomplete map was provided but no written directions. After driving around the neighborhood for about half an hour, we called and were told that "lots of people get lost". If you're able to pick up a brochure for the hotel, written driving directions are provided on the brochure. Ordinarily, I would have gone to Mapquest before leaving home but we weren't sure where we would be coming from that evening.

2. Room Assignment

While Priceline only guarantees double occupancy, we've never had a problem requesting two beds in a room outside of New York City or San Francisco. Common sense would dictate that when you see three people at check-in, you'd assign them to a room with two beds. We arrived in our room to discover a single king bed which was immediately followed by a call to the front desk. The manager personally brought us our new keys. If you stay here, the rooms with two doubles are much larger than the ones with a single king.

3. The Room

Our basic room had two double beds, a nightstand, a bench, an armchair with ottoman, a desk and a television armoire. Television stations were quite limited. Tissues and toilet paper were thin. Plenty of towels were available. Water pressure is good and there was plentiful hot water.

To get to the rooms, you first walk down a long, very dark interior hallway. While this was a bit disturbing, security is good. Access to the buildings where rooms are located is by key card reader access only and there is a guard patrolling the parking lot. When it was discovered that the trunk to our car was opened, we received a call from the manager who met us at the car with security (who was actually a policeman). Nothing was missing from the car and we were impressed by this service.

The room itself had some drawbacks to make it an unpleasant stay. The shower curtain in the bathroom was not sufficient to keep water within the tub and shower so there was a lot of water on the floor after using it (something that also happened at the other Red Lion we stayed at in Port Angeles). My daughter slipped on the water in the bathroom but wasn't hurt other than getting a little shook up.

The full length mirror in the room wasn't mounted properly on the wall and it would rattle ominously whenever anyone walked by it. I attempted to fix it but the facilities staff had used the wrong size clips to mount it on the wall. It was very loose and the clips weren't mounted using anchors so it's definitely a safety hazard. I ended up stuffing the clips with tissue in order to secure the mirror for a short-term solution.

The beds both creaked, with mattresses that sagged in the middle. Even a 39 pound toddler sitting on the bed resulted in creaks. The walls were paper thin so we heard out next door neighbor's alarm go off at 3 am, 3:15 am and 3:30 am. The air conditioning cycled on and off throughout the night with a loud whine like feedback from an amplifier.

The most unacceptable aspect to the room was the lack of privacy drapes on the windows. There were thin sheers there and our room faced a brick wall, but it also looked over the walkway to the pool area. There was no possible way to block out the lights from the common area nor to escape the prying eyes of passersby. We slept in our street clothes, or at least we attempted to sleep.

More information about the hotel

This hotel has 118 rooms on two floors. I don't know if there are elevators to access the second floor or not as I only saw stairs and there are no elevators marked on the hotel map. Amenities include Gilcrest & Soames toiletries, a coffee maker, hairdryer, iron and ironing board and dataport. If you reserve a business class room, you get a refrigerator, microwave, high speed wireless access and breakfast. I do not know if this is a continental breakfast or not or where or what is served. Breakfast for regular customers may be purchased at the Thai restaurant (Nakorn) on site. Lunch, dinner and room service are also available. An exercise room is on the second floor and there is an outdoor swimming pool. In the lobby, you can use a computer for fifteen minutes or purchase coffee from a machine. Parking is free and a complimentary shuttle is provided to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and assorted other nearby attractions.

Recommended: No