Host Hotel

The host hotel for the
Emerald City Hoedown
for 2013 will be the
Renaissance Seattle Hotel!

Rates for 2013 start at $139+tax per night for double occupancy.  Rooms may be reserved at this rate from Monday, May 20–Thursday, May 30.  Room block expires April 27.

(The hotel room block has limited availability before May 22 and after May 27.  If you have difficulty obtaining rooms outside the main hoedown nights, please contact us at hoedown@raincountrydance.org.)

All hoedown events — workshops, dances, and socials — will be held at the host hotel, so staying there enables you participate fully in the hoedown activities.

To reserve your room at the hotel, click here.

  Renaissance Hotel

About the Hotel

The Renaissance Hotel is located at 6th and Madison in downtown Seattle, perched just above the I-5 freeway.  Fantastic views include Mt. Rainier to the south, First Hill and Capitol Hill (the gay neighborhood, walking distance away) to the east, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains to the west, and downtown Seattle to the south, west, and north.

The hotel features two on-site restaurants plus a coffee cart in the lobby. An on-site fitness center is available, including a salt-water swimming pool on the top floor (views all around!).  On-site parking is available, and hoedown attendees staying at the hotel will have a 50% discounted rate.  (For attendees not staying at the hotel, on-site parking can be expensive.  Affordable surface pay lots are located just a couple blocks away, on the other side of the freeway at 7th & Marion.)

For full details on hotel amenities, please visit the hotel website.

Around Seattle

The architecturally unique Seattle Public Library is just a block away.  Two blocks away is the 5th Avenue Theater, which presentsplays and Broadway-style musicals year round.  Three blocks to the north is the edge of Seattle’s downtown shopping core, with major stores and a huge selection of lunch and dinner options.  (Many dining options are within just a couple blocks of the hotel as well.)  The Seattle Art Museum is just a few blocks away, and the Seattle Center (with the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, and Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum) is a short cab ride away (or walk 1/4 mile to Westlake Center and ride the 1960s-era monorail to the Seattle Center!).

The gay neighborhood in Seattle is Capitol Hill, about a mile up Madison from the hotel — walkable in nice weather, or a short cab ride.  On Capitol Hill, you will find several gay bars (and many happening straight bars as well), gift shops, leather stores, funky thrift shops, and food of all sorts (from cupcakes to ph?).

Rain Country’s home bar, the Cuff Complex, is located on The Hill at 13th Ave. & E. Pine.

Getting to the Hotel from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

  • Link Light Rail costs $2.50 each way and is available directly from SeaTac Airport, leaving every 10-15 minutes and takes about 35 minutes.  Exit at University Street Station, and the Renaissance is 5 blocks away.
  • Bus service costs $4.25 each way, takes an hour, and requires one transfer and a 3 block walk.  See the Metro Trip Planner.
  • Downtown Airporter costs $12.50 per person each way, leaves the airport every 30 minutes, and takes about 50 minutes but goes directly to the hotel.
  • Taxi service costs around $40.  Follow signs from baggage claim — and don’t forget to buckle up!
  • Driving from the South: take exit 164A (Dearborn St.) off I-5, but stay on the exit ramp to the I-90 bypass.  Take the Madison St./Convention Place exit, and turn left on Madison.  The hotel is at Madison and 6th Ave.
  • Driving from the North: take exit 165A (James St.) off I-5 and merge onto 6th Ave. Turn left on Cherry St., left on 7th Ave., and then left on Madison St.  The hotel is at Madison and 6th Ave.

More transportation info (PDF)

Getting Around Seattle

On-site parking is available at the Renaisance Hotel.  For Emerald City Hoedown attendees who are staying at the host hotel, a discounted rate of $15 for overnight has been secured (50% off the regular rate!).  For attendees not staying at the hotel, on-site parking can be expensive.  Affordable surface pay lots are located just a couple blocks away, on the other side of the freeway at 7th & Marion.

Parking in downtown Seattle and on Capitol Hill can be a challenge on a good night.  Consider using the bus system, carpooling, or taking a taxi!  (Or even walk, if the weather is nice!)  Most locations you want to go to are only a few dollars ride away from each other.

For bus information in Seattle and King County, visit the Metro Transit website.

Questions?