Silver Cloud Hotel - Seattle Stadium

Rooms and decor

Picture opening the curtains in the morning to find a whole baseball field laid out in front of you — that's the first bit of charm at Silver Cloud Hotel - Seattle Stadium, a 3-star hotel standing in the SoDo / Stadium District at the centre of Seattle's sports zone. The roughly 211 rooms are done in a contemporary American style that's clean, airy and easy to live in, with warm, simple tones and nothing cluttered. Beds are soft enough to sleep deeply after a long day, and there's a sitting area and a desk in each room. Many rooms have big windows opening onto a view of T-Mobile Park and the city skyline, and the lucky few look straight down into the field on game days. A lot of reviews agree the rooms are roomier than you'd expect at this level, and cleanliness is one of the things guests rate most highly. If you like a stay that's simple but comfortable, with a good location that doesn't have to shout about it, this place should suit you.

Food and amenities

If this hotel has a beating heart, it's the rooftop pool that looks down over the whole field and out as far as Elliott Bay — in the cool of the evening, soaking in the water while you watch boats pass and the stadium lights slowly come up is the moment reviewers single out as a must-try. Down in the building there's Jimmy's on First, serving both food and drinks with the relaxed feel of a neighborhood pub, which has become the meeting spot for sports fans before and after the game — somewhere to toast a win or commiserate without walking far. The hotel also has free breakfast to start the day with a full tank, a 24-hour gym for anyone who works out, free Wi-Fi throughout, and what a lot of people love most, on-site parking — a huge help in an area where parking is hard to find and pricey on game days. In short, everything you need for a sports trip or a city break is in one place.

Location and getting there

Location is this hotel's strongest card, no argument. It sits directly across from T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners, just one street to cross, and right next to Lumen Field, where the Seahawks and the Sounders play. From the lobby to the stadium gates is only a 2-3 minute walk, about 250 metres — the closest a sports fan will find in this list. With the game that easy to walk to, you don't have to worry about traffic or finding parking at all. For getting elsewhere, the Stadium Link Light Rail station (Line 1) is about a 5-minute walk, with one long line connecting both Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) airport for arrival and departure days and a straight run downtown to Pike Place Market or the shopping district, with no taxi needed. The surrounding SoDo area has craft breweries and local restaurants scattered about to explore on foot, which suits anyone who wants to base themselves near the field and then pop into the city now and then.

Things to know before booking

To help you decide, here's the straight talk. The first thing — both a plus and something to know — is that on game days or during big events the stadium area gets lively and very busy, with traffic, parking and crowd noise all in the mix. Some field-facing rooms may catch some of the outside noise, so if you sleep lightly and aren't here specifically for the game, ask for a room on the side away from the field, which is much quieter. The second is that the location leans toward the sports and SoDo district, which is fairly quiet when there's no game and doesn't have the dense run of shops you'd find downtown. If you want to walk to the shops or Pike Place Market, allow time for the Light Rail or to drive in — it isn't a few steps away. The last thing to be clear on is that this is a 3-star hotel selling convenience and location first, so some of the decor and amenities are simple, in line with mid-range chain standards, not a plush luxury stay. Set your expectations there and you won't be disappointed.

Our take

From reading through plenty of real reviews, Silver Cloud Hotel - Seattle Stadium sells a stadium-side location that's hard to beat, a rooftop pool with views over the field and Elliott Bay as its highlight, and full convenience at a 3-star price that earns its keep. If the trip in your head is waking up to the field, walking across the street to cheer on your team, then coming back to soak in the rooftop pool watching the sun set over the bay, followed by a drink at Jimmy's on First, this is about as well-matched as it gets. But if you're mainly here to shop or to live downtown and aren't bothered about sports, the stadium-district location may mean heading into the city fairly often. Overall we give it 8.8/10, best for sports fans, families and travellers who want a stadium-side location and convenience first.