Hotels

Surprise staycation option by SEA Airport

Hotels

We’re big fans of luxury hotels that are connected to or just steps away from airport terminals.

And over the years, we’ve built special-occasion adventures using at-the-airport hotels such as JFK’s TWA Hotel, the Westin Denver International Airport, the Grand Hyatt DFW, the Grand Hyatt at SFO and others as home base.

Seattle, our hometown airport, has no at-the-airport hotel. But we found a hidden-gem property right near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) that works as either a great place to stay before an early flight or as a staycation location.

Cedarbrook Lodge

(Courtesy Cedarbrook Lodge)

Originally a retreat and training center for Washington Mutual, a savings and loan that went belly up in 2008, what is now Cedarbrook Lodge is tucked into a real neighborhood and sits on 18 lush acres dotted with walking trails, streams and koi-filled ponds.

167 comfy and well-appointed rooms are clustered around gathering areas called ‘Living Rooms’ with fireplaces, TVs, comfy sofas, refrigerators and microwaves. These areas also sport a stellar hotel amenity: complimentary snacks available 24/7 that include trail mix, chocolate-covered raisins, malt balls and a freezer stocked with Snoqualmie Ice Cream cups.

When we weren’t snacking on these treats, we visited the hotel’s fitness center, outdoor hot tub and the spa.

On our first night, we put together a light dinner from the bar bites menu at the hotel’s Copperleaf Restaurant and Bar, which has a surprisingly extensive wine and spirits list and a full menu featuring Northwest cuisine and locally-sourced ingredients.

The second night of our stay coincided with one of the hotel’s monthly Winemaker Dinners. We enjoyed a multi-course meal out on the patio prepared by Chef Josh and paired with intriguing guests and wines selected and presented by the knowledgeable crew from Ambassador Wines of Washington.

Convenience for travelers

We made note of the hotel’s very reasonable park and fly package for future adventures. And we appreciate that the hotel’s complimentary shuttle service runs not just to the airport, but also to the Seattle Link light rail station and the Tukwila Amtrak platform. That adds points to the property’s staycation-worthy credentials.

As a bonus, Cedarbrook Lodge is also one of the stops for Seattle’s Southside’s complimentary shuttle to and from the nearby Westfield Southcenter Mall, which has oodles of stores and restaurants, movie theaters, a bowling alley and arcade.

Indy 500 bound? Here’s a 50K hotel package.

Hotels,

During our most recent visit to Indianapolis, IN, we loved our stay at the Bottleworks Hotel, which occupies an Art Deco building that once housed the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottling plant.

For some reason, we were upgraded to a swanky suite which included a billiards table and a bonus loo we didn’t even notice until we were about to check out.

Any room at this boutique property would be a great choice anytime, but especially if you’re heading to Indy for the Indianapolis 500 car race on May 25, 2025.

If you’re feeling flush and want to make a grand weekend of it, though, InterContinental Indianapolis is offering an indulgent Indy 500 Weekend Package that costs $50,000 and is way over the top.

Here’s what’s included:

– A 3-night stay in the lavish Penthouse Suite;

– Friday night dinner for two the city’s highest rooftop bar and breakfast each morning.

– A Private Chef’s Table dinner in the Penthouse Suite on Saturday night;

– Two premier tickets to the 2025 Indianapolis 500;

– And round-trip police escort service to and from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Too rich for your purse? Classic rooms at the hotel start at $799 per night.

Travel tidbits from airports near you

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Pittsburgh Int’l Airport’s new terminal is almost done

(Image courtesy Gensler)

Later this week, we’ll be doing a hard hat tour of Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal, visiting the airport’s in-terminal day care center (yes, they have one!) and checking in on some of our favorite art pieces at PIT.

Stay tuned for pics.

Fresh art at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

SEA is the home base airport for the Stuck at the Airport team, and one thing we love about the airport is all the art. It’s wonderful and, often, reassuring to see favorite pieces before or after a flight.

And it’s always a treat to spot new art being added to the collection.

It’s not crazy to celebrate an anniversary at an airport

Our tradition of celebrating milestone anniversaries at new or cool airport hotels, such as the Hilton with a rooftop lounge that opened at Nashville International Airport not too long ago, made it into this Washington Post article about airport hotels.

This article is a perfect match for a story we wrote back in 2018 about the first airport hotels.

Airport hotels are no longer dominated by the staid, cheap, bed-for-a-night abodes that were standard for so many decades. New accommodations hark back to the luxury of early aviation, featuring top-notch amenities enjoyable by all. My latest in the @washingtonpost.com.

— Edward Russell (@byerussell.com) 2025-04-22T13:06:28.199Z

Finnish airplane hotel (with sauna). And a museum in a Chinese airport.

Hotels,

The Stuck at the Airport team visited Finland, loved it and Helsinki Airport – and we’re now scheming to go back.

If we do, we’ll try to book a stay at the Ilmatar Airplane Lodge, which the folks at Visit Finland let us know is housed inside a SAAB 340b passenger airplane once operated by the Finnish Air Force.

In addition to accommodating eight guests, the jet complex has two saunas and an outdoor jacuzzi.

(Photo credit: Ilmatar Airplane lodge and Valtteri Vainio)

Chinese Airport with a cool museum

It’s not the first museum in an airport, as they claim, but the museum inside the new fifth terminal at sprawling Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) in Northwest China is quite impressive.

The new airport museum displays artifacts excavation during the construction of the airport along with cultural relics from Shaanxi Province.

According to an article in China’s Global Times, the airport museum showcasing archeological treasures is a “bold initiative” that “redefines the boundaries of both museum spaces and transportation hubs, heralding a new chapter in cultural accessibility and public engagement.”

If you’re not heading to China anytime soon, you can visit the museum exhibits offered by the SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the Phoenix Airport Museum at Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and many others here in the United States.

In Spokane, WA: Celebrating a World’s Fair + a Hotel Amenity Fee to enjoy

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The Stuck at the Airport team is a longtime fan of Spokane, WA.

The city is home to, among other treasures, a giant red Radio Flyer wagon.

Its airport, Spokane International (GEG), offers a free car wash to anyone who uses the parking garage.

In 1974, this eastern Washington city became the smallest city to host a World’s Fair and a citywide 50th-anniversary celebration of Expo ’74 is running through July 4, 2024.

We stopped at the Expo ’74 exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and got a kick out of the list of bands and other performers who visited the fair. Marcel Marceau, Gordon Lightfoot, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, The Modern Jazz Quartet and Chicago, were all there.

As was Liberace.

The exhibit displays the poster advertising Mr. Showmanship’s appearance (prices starting at $3) and the lovely beaded blue costume and boots he was wearing in the poster and in his show.

While in town, we stayed at the Davenport Grand, which sits right across the street from Riverfront Park and is one of the five unique hotels in the city’s The Davenport Hotel Collection.

Four of the hotels – The Davenport Grand, the 110-year-old Historic Davenport, the Davenport Tower, and the Davenport Lusso – are part of the Marriott Autograph Collection.

And each hotel adds a $20 amenity fee to the room rate.

Usually, hotel amenity fees irk us. But this one feels like a good deal.

The fee covers high-speed internet; a standard offering of amenity fees these days.

But guests also receive a coupon for a Washington wine tasting that includes two small glasses of wine, plus another coupon for $20 food & beverage credit which can be used anytime at any of the brand’s 11 restaurants & bars in town.

We got great value from this by using our coupons during Happy Hour at the Safari Room at the Davenport Tower and were pleased that the wines offered in the tasting, which we loved, were included in the discounted Happy Hour wines.

If we weren’t so busy enjoying the festivities at Riverfront Park and visiting the Expo ’74 exhibit, our amenity fee would have also covered our use of the hotel’s bicycles – and helmets – for two hours; any number of fitness classes at the local branch of The Union; and unlimited rides on the hotel’s shuttle van to any attraction or location within a half mile of the hotel. If the weather hadn’t been so nice, we would have used that shuttle quite a bit.

The Davenport Collection team values this amenity package at $125.

And while not every guest will take advantage of all the items covered by the amenity fee, as amenity fees go, this $20 is easy, and fun, to recoup.