While top Seattle hotels remain pricey, you can get a sublime meal and drinks in this town for surprisingly little.

TRAVEL ADVISORY | Wanting to get out of town two weeks ago, we headed for Seattle. High-style hotels are pricey in this city, but we snagged a lovely room at Seattle’s Pan Pacific for $185 per night (parking was $20 extra), at least $70 less than every other top-name hotel we checked with. Plus we saved a bundle on dinner.

The Pan Pacific is located in trendy South Lake Union, a mere five-minute walk into the heart of downtown where, after a day of exploring and shopping, local friends introduced us to another great Seattle money saver: happy hour meals. Read more