SEAAirport Guide

Staying near SEA before an early flight

Nine SEA hotel shuttles run all night, and one hotel says you can walk. Checkpoint 4 is the only checkpoint open before 4 a.m. Pick by flight time.

A hotel lobby near Seattle-Tacoma airport with a round front desk, acoustic discs and a red patterned rug.
Airport hotel lobby, SeaTac

Choose a hotel with an all-night shuttle. A shuttle that starts at 5 a.m. strands anyone on a 5 a.m. flight.

What your departure time asks of a hotel

The Port of Seattle says to arrive two hours before a domestic flight and three before an international one.

Flight leaves Be at SEA by Checkpoints open then What the hotel must offer
5 a.m. 3 a.m. Checkpoint 4 only, which is open 24 hours A shuttle that runs at night
6 a.m. 4 a.m. Checkpoints 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 all open at 4 a.m. A shuttle that runs at 3 a.m.
7 a.m. 5 a.m. All six A shuttle that starts by 4:30 a.m., which only a phone call confirms

An international flight at 6 a.m. puts you at the airport at 3 a.m., so it follows the first row.

Hotels whose shuttle runs around the clock

These are the hotels our hotel listings record as running all night. The phone numbers come from the Port’s courtesy vehicle list. Courtesy vans pick up at the courtesy islands on the third floor of the garage. Our free shuttle hotels guide covers how to call the ride.

Hotel Phone Notes
Coast Gateway 206-248-8200
Country Inn & Suites 206-433-8188 Track the shuttle online with the hotel’s property code once you have your bags
Days Inn SeaTac Airport 206-244-3600
Fairfield Inn & Suites 206-592-8760 Pick up the courtesy phone on the garage’s third floor to call it
Hampton Inn & Suites (28th Ave) 206-244-5044
Hampton Inn SeaTac 206-878-1700
Holiday Inn Express & Suites 206-870-2576 Picks up at courtesy island 1 or 3 on the garage’s third floor
Four Points by Sheraton Seattle Airport South 253-642-0100 Also runs to Link
Embassy Suites (Tukwila) 425-227-8844 Charges per party

Embassy Suites is 4.3 miles from the terminal. The other eight sit 0.9 to 2.8 miles away, and Four Points is the far one at 2.8.

Hotels with shuttle hours that don’t fit every flight

Red Roof Inn runs every 20 minutes from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to midnight. Nothing runs from midnight to 5 a.m., so it fails a 6 a.m. flight.

The RoomsWithAReview channel filmed the Aloft and said the shuttle is complimentary but needs a reservation early in the morning. The video doesn’t say what counts as early, so ask when you book. Best Western Seattle Airport Hotel, Sleep Inn SeaTac, Hilton Garden Inn, Radisson and others list no shuttle hours, so ask the hotel for its first and last run.

Walking from the hotel

Hilton describes its Seattle Airport & Conference Center hotel as about a five-minute walk from the terminals, with a shuttle for anyone who’d rather ride. That’s the only walking time listed.

Three hotels sit closest by our listings’ distances, though each runs a shuttle and none gives a walking time.

Hotel Distance to the terminal
DoubleTree Seattle Airport 0.25 miles
Hilton Garden Inn Seattle Airport 0.48 miles
Seattle Airport Marriott 0.5 miles

Light rail before dawn

Link light rail suits an early flight only if your hotel sits on the line. Sleep Inn SeaTac’s shuttle goes to Angle Lake station and Best Western Seattle Airport Hotel’s goes to Link. The RoomsWithAReview video called the Aloft “super close to the light rail.”

Our Link light rail guide has the walk from the station to the terminal.

Trains leave SeaTac/Airport toward downtown from 4:51 a.m. on weekdays, 4:48 a.m. on Saturday and 5:58 a.m. on Sunday. The Port runs the Train-to-Plane cart from 5 a.m., so anyone arriving on an earlier train walks.

After the last train, Night Bus route 597 leaves SeaTac Station toward downtown from 12:26 to 4:26 a.m., every 30 minutes.

When the plan breaks

If the shuttle doesn’t come, call the hotel first. The Port’s Ground Transportation booth is at (206) 787-5906, the number the Port gives operators for courtesy-van special-needs requests. The Port’s operator rules say a courtesy van can’t refuse a passenger who uses a wheelchair.

If neither works, taxis and app-based rideshare run 24 hours, and Metro route 124 serves SEA about 1 to 5 a.m.

Sources