SeaTac Airport Surprises

By Julie Burgmeier

Heading to Cabo for a client meeting and research, I decided to spend the night in SeaTac as I had a 6:15 am flight.  Little did I know I would be walking to the SeaTac airport and experiencing a farm to market dining experience.  For the record, SeaTac is the name of the city AND home to the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport.

Hotwire Score

Circled in red is my friends cell phone flashlight from our hotel window.

As usual, I started with Hotwire to book my hotel and scored a 3.5 star hotel for $65.00 + tax. It turned out to be the Radisson. The GPS directions took us to “arrivals” at the airport. I thought that was strange.  But after pulling into the hotel, it was rather apparent we were literally across the street from baggage claims doors 00. I didn’t even need their free shuttle to the airport, as I was told it could take up to 15 minutes as opposed to less than 5 minutes walking. As I walked across the street at 4:45am, I felt safe and the sidewalk leading to baggage claim was well lit. I wasn’t leaving a car, but you can find close-by airport parking for under $7.00. Radisson was charging $15.

Fine Dining in the City of SeaTac

I checked out Yelp for restaurants to get a lay of the land and to start my search for farm fresh food (I’m not too fond of food that comes out of cans and packages). Needless to say eating out always takes some extra research. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see a 4 star review close by boasting farm to market yumminess. The Copperleaf Restaurant & Bar is located inside the Cedarbrook Lodge – a five star hotel that is surrounded by a small forest designed in classic Pacific Northwest architecture and less than a mile from the airport.

Always looking for a deal, I made sure to visit during happy hour. I was pleasantly surprised to see my favorite bottled beer, Fish Tale Organic Amber Ale (no beers on tap), on the menu.  The bar is more of a lounge with a wall of windows looking out to the beautifully landscaped open space and forest along with a view of the Copperleaf Restaurant. The service was wonderful and the lounge happy hour menu was perfect at $7.00 a plate with offerings of artisan cheese to cod fish and chips. We walked around the lodge afterwards and took in the original artwork.

My companion was craving Thai food, so we decided to visit Mango located a block and a half from the Radisson. You can park in the covered parking area next door for free with a receipt from Mangos. We sat at the bar and had a draft beer sampling a Seattle brewed IPA and a standby, all around safe choice, the Pyramid heffy.  The atmosphere was upscale Thai which was infused with aliens who were attending the Norwescon Fantasy and Science Fiction convention at the DoubleTree across the street. A trekker sat next to us.  The food was your standard Thai faire, and we enjoyed the fresh spring rolls and interesting company.

Nothing Like Your Hometown Airport

Where is Starbucks?

I landed at LAX at 8:30am ready for espresso. As I walked around LAX going from terminal to terminal desperately searching  for a Starbucks with no success, I settled on a poorly prepared very acidic macchiato at klatch COFFEE, and I waxed nostalgic for my home-town airport SeaTac with several Starbucks options, fresh food choices including Beechers, pedicures at Butter and a talking water fountain that serves up the best tasting water…..

Not to mention surprises across the street and around the block.