Staypineapple, University Inn, University District Seattle

The beds were very, very comfortable, the staff were polite, and the location worked perfectly for my weekend conference at UW. The hotel is under a 10-minute walk from campus and the University Ave shops and restaurants, with a medical center just across the street. As a woman walking alone at night, I felt very safe. Insomnia Cookies, with vegan and regular options, is about an eight-minute walk away and stays open until 1 a.m. They also provide filtered water and reusable bottles. I wasn’t sure the room experience was worth $120 a night. It’s a basic, dated hotel, and you get what you pay for. I’m a light sleeper, and weekend nights were rough. A group of about four teenagers in the next room were talking loudly and screaming in their room and the hallway, going in and out and slamming the door. The walls are thin enough that it all sounded like it was in my room. People in the hallway seemed to slam their doors too, and I woke up repeatedly despite earplugs and a pillow over my head. Around 11 p.m. I asked the teenagers to quiet down. I guess I should’ve expected noise, booking in a university neighborhood on a weekend. There was also a glaring neon bathroom light shining toward the bed. I moved the desk chair into the bathroom and propped a pillow on it to block the light. The door isn’t sealed, so hallway light came through at night too; I hung one of the European-style comforters over the lock arm to cover half of the gap. In room 304, a pipe or drainage pipes made a sound like a water fountain that came and went. I couldn’t tell if it was connected to the rain outside or appliances draining water continuously for hours. If you’re not a sensitive sleeper, you’ll probably be fine.