Back In Seattle

Back in Seattle again

I catch (almost) the same flight to Seattle as last year, almost to the date. Flying First again with British Airways, as it worked out so well last year, I have a light lunch again in the Concorde Room having got to Heathrow at 12.30 pm.

I’m seated on board our 787 Dreamliner at 3.30 pm for our 4 pm departure but this year, as last, air traffic control conspire up an even bigger delay and we don’t take off until 5.05 pm.

The food, drink and service on the flight were excellent this year, probably the best I’ve yet experienced in First. Pity BA still isn’t fixing some of the many other niggles with the rest of its travel offering.

As last year, immigration at SEA-TAC is a breeze. Because I’m hand luggage only and the airport has passengers collect their hold luggage before passport control, and I’m one of the first off the plane, I’m out of the terminal in no time.

Staying at the airport

I’m trying something new this year, by staying at the airport in the Coast Gateway Hotel, the nearest hotel to the terminal as it happens. The idea is to save a day on car rental and pick it up in the morning. We’ll see how it goes…

The first problem however is that none of the courtesy phones in the parking garage are working. These should allow you to call your hotel and get them to send their shuttle van to pick you up. I suspect this non-working is a deliberate policy by the airport given the apparent permanent nature of the notices stuck on the courtesy phone stands: “Use your cell phone”.

The problem then was that the US SIM card I bought in the UK took forever to activate itself. Until it did I couldn’t call the hotel to request a shuttle. Eventually the SIM card got a signal but after landing at 6 pm and being in the garage some 20 minutes later, it’s 7 pm before I’m at the hotel, literally a few hundred yards down the road, checking-in. There’s not a lot I could do about that. According to my UK cell provider, my UK SIM probably wouldn’t work in the US because my phone is so old (7 years…).

As a follow-on to the new plan at the airport, one major consideration was numerous news reports I read about cars at airport hotels and car parks in Seattle being regularly vandalised and broken into, something the authorities appear unable (or unwilling) to clamp down on. Hence another reason not to pick the car up on arrival but leave it to tomorrow.

Sharp’s Roasthouse

I chose the Coast Gateway because it has a bar/grill attached, just across its parking lot, Sharp’s Roasthouse. It had very good reviews. Having sorted my stuff out for tomorrow, I wander across around 8 pm. Sharp’s reputation is fully deserved. I didn’t eat there but the place has a great buzzy atmosphere. It was also extremely busy.  Quite how it has developed into such a good bar right next to the airport I don’t know. I’d always thought – from my limited experience visiting such establishments – they were devoid of any sort of decent ‘joint’ status.

My beer tonight is Bodhizafa IPA, of which I have a couple of pints. I chat to the barman a bit but he’s so busy serving he doesn’t have any free time. To end the night I have a couple of shots of Savor Spear American Classic bourbon. I make it through to 10 pm, 6 am UK body clock time, and hope that will see me through the night. I head back to my room for the real adventure starting tomorrow.