Even though I live in Boston, Seattle is one of my favorite places in the whole world.  It’s so beautiful and green, with the crispest air I’ve ever breathed.  And, it’s the place where I met my husband, almost 15 years ago.  If you are ready for a mancation with your buddies in one of the best places on Earth, the Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle is offering a fun man-cation package.

Rates for the Oh, Man-Cation package start at $459.  The package includes the following:

• Your choice of either a bucket of six local microbrews and two dozen Copperleaf signature chicken wings OR a bottle of Hennessey VSOP and two premium cigars

• A $50 credit for brews, burgers and billiards at Copperleaf Bar
• Your pick of 18 holes at Chamber’s Bay for two players including club rentals and use of the driving range or a Road Dogs Seattle Brewery Tour where you’ll stop, view and taste at more than 12 local microbreweries, plus a Road Dogs tee shirt and souvenir pint glass
• Overnight accommodations and valet parking

The Oh Man-cation package is subject to availability through May 31, 2012.

The Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, rated 17th hotel in the world in TripAdvisors’ Travelers’ Choice Awards, offers 104 guest rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling working windows with views of lawns, patio, pond, lush cedars and natural restored wetlands.

Cedarbrook Lodge
18525 36th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98188-4967
206.901.9268

Photo credit: The Cedarbrook Lodge

Hyatt Regency Bellevue

As a city, Seattle manages to balance perfectly between cutting edge and perfectly grounded. Home to some of the world’s most successful tech companies and a thriving organic food industry, the seaside metropolis pulls off both style and substance beneath a seemingly constant drizzle of rain.

While not technically in Seattle proper, the Hyatt Regency Bellevue is a perfect reflection of the city’s functional sleekness. The front lobby features floor to ceiling glass as well as babbling water features and greenery. The Twisted Cork, one of the hotel’s restaurants on the main floor, easily flips from hip nightclub in the evening to spacious dining room for breakfast in the morning. The staff is friendly, accommodating, and just as quick and efficient as you’d expect from a property that likely sees a lot of business travelers.

The Hyatt Regency Bellevue is a short drive from the Nintendo Americas Headquarters (where I was visiting), as well as Microsoft offices and other East Seattle corporations. It’s also within walking distance from restaurants, shopping and relaxed nightlife, a convenience often missing from airport hotels and other locations catering to conference crowds.

I stayed in a king room during my visit and found the bed comfortable, the bathroom plenty large enough, and the room itself spacious enough to accommodate working, relaxing, and unpacking. I would request a better view since I’ve learned that some of my fellow travelers were able to see the mountains from their rooms, whereas I was greeted each morning by office buildings.

If you’re visiting Seattle, the Hyatt Regency Bellevue’s out-of-the-way location wouldn’t be convenient. However, if you’re in town doing business in Bellevue, you can book a stay at the Hyatt with confidence.

Photo courtesy of Hyatt Hotels

Like Tom Hanks in that movie The Terminal, we’re still in airports. So far we’ve been to SFO and O’Hare, and today we’re heading to Pacific Northwest, the home of Sea-Tac, a.k.a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Sea-Tac is a fair distance from downtown Seattle, and you have to drive through notoriously bad traffic to get there. If you have an early morning flight, or you’re traveling with kids (big or small), a night at an affordable hotel can get your holiday off to an early start. It might also help you avoid a headache!

You won’t find much in the way of luxury accommodations in the Sea-Tac area, but you do have your choice of the major hotel chains.

Marriott Hotel SeaTac

This Marriott is is probably the fanciest hotel you can find near Sea-Tac. It’s very geared toward the business traveler, with meeting rooms, wifi and a full business center with copy and fax service.

Seattle Airport Marriott room

There is a beautiful atrium with an indoor pool, and a lounge if you want to stay dry but wet your whistle.

Seattle Airport Marriott atrium pool

Seattle Airport Marriott atrium lounge

The rooms are spacious and well appointed, with new beds, duvets, and flat panel tvs. Suites are available, with standard rooms starting at $119.

Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites

Located one mile from the airport, and more geared toward the one night stay traveler, this hotel is less beautiful than the Marriott, but has a laundry list of amenities, including on-site laundry, valet service and dry cleaning services. You can also take advantage of the the free airport shuttle, make a quick meal in your room at a kitchenette or enjoy the complimentary breakfast.

Holiday Inn Express Sea-Tac

Rooms are about what you’d expect — no gorgeous decorations, but some kitchenettes have full sized refrigerators and you have enough room to spread out and repack before the flight out or home. Rates start around $99.

Holiday Inn Express Sea-Tac double room

Super 8 Motel of SeaTac

If you really just want a bed with clean sheets, then you can count on the Super 8. The rooms are basic — queen size beds, TV with HBO, and “an alarm clock in every room.”

Super 8 Sea-Tac room

For $80 a night you get the room, a free 24-hour shuttle to the airport, complimentary breakfast, and pets are allowed. No frills, no fuss.

Super 8 Sea-Tac breakfast room

Bellevue Seattle Bridge

Seattle, Washington is a great city, with lots to see and do. On my recent trip there, I was initially staying in the middle of downtown at the Executive Hotel Pacific, but that didn’t pan out so well. The location was great – I could walk to Pike’s Market, restaurants and shops – but the hotel was not that great. Luckily, my boyfriend was in town for a video game convention and he was staying at the Hilton. At first, we were excited because the hotel was supposed to have been booked in the downtown area – but upon checking in we realized that nope, he was booked at the Hilton in Bellevue, a good 15 minute drive away. Oh well!

The drive was definitely worth it though. To get to Bellevue, you have to cross the world’s longest floating bridge. This was a lot of fun, and it was a beautiful drive. The weird thing was that, on the drive from Seattle to Bellevue, the water to the right of the bridge was extremely choppy, but the water to the left was as smooth and calm as a pond.

This Hilton was exceptionally nice. The rooms were huge (as were the bathrooms!) and the beds were super comfy. I made use of the workout room which had every machine you could possibly need, and there was an outdoor pool that we didn’t get a chance to try. There was apparently a beauty pageant happening at the hotel when we arrived, so there were lots of six-year-olds running around with poofy hair and more makeup than I wear on Friday nights, but that’s another story.

Seattle Bay

Thank you to Ramanathan.Kathire san for the photo of the Bellevue Bridge.