It is important to always map the hotel on Google. I nearly booked a hotel, that was relatively close to the city, but extremely far on Google maps.
I was looking at hotel stays in Seattle. As a Platinum Elite member of Marriott Bonvoy, I invariably default to Marriott properties. As I searched for a reasonable hotel for my stay, I came across the following options:
I looked at my three options, and thought, excellent. 14 miles away, I see a Fairfield Inn with a 4.4* rating. Although I am never a big fan of Fairfield Inn, for my purpose, it did a fantastic job. I was going to check-in at 11pm. Check-out at 6am. There was no need for a club lounge, breakfast, early check-in or late check-out. This was an ideal stay to not care about any elite as long as the hotel is cheap and at a reasonable location.
I just had one question. Nobody I spoke with had never heard of Bremerton. It was important to know how far Bremerton was from Redmond, Bellevue and Everett. I checked Google Maps, and was alarmed at the real location:
Uhhh… no. Yes, I am sure the hotel is 14 miles away from Seattle. But that is, as the bird flies. Not as my car drives.
Conclusion
I thought I knew the city of Seattle very well. It turns out, I do know the city of Seattle very well, but very little about Washington State. I am glad I caught the error before I booked. For trips like this, I typically book well within the cancellation deadline. Despite the good reviews of the Fairfield, I am confident they would not have provided free cancellation on their reservation had I called them past midnight asking them to cancel, since the hotel is just too far from Seattle.
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This Fairfield is walking distance from the ferry in Bremerton. But the ferry schedule has been very messed up the last few months for the Bremerton route.
As an overnight tourist, it would take a lot to convince me that a ferry option is worthwhile. But that is very interesting insight, especially if the ferry can operate on a proper schedule.