Bellevue Revisited

Markus watching Snoqualmie Falls rush on at the lookout from Snoqualmie Falls Park

A few days ago, we took an impromptu trip to Bellevue for the weekend. It was coming up to the weekend and we felt like going somewhere, but didn't have anything planned. A couple days prior, we booked a hotel and spent the weekend in Bellevue. This is the second time we're staying in Bellevue since we've adopted Markus and you can read all about our first time in Bellevue here.

Where We Stayed in Bellevue

Location: Hotel 116, a Coast Hotel
Pet Fee: $25/stay up to 2 pets

Markus getting some rest after a long day of being on the road

Considering we found this hotel a couple days before arriving, I was very happy with the result. From the last time I was in Bellevue in this area, I had walked over to the Chik-fil-A (as one would) and I actually recall walking past this hotel and thinking that it looks great from the outside. While looking for hotels this time around, we came across Hotel 116, which comes at an excellent price point and a very affordable pet fee.

The surrounding area of the hotel is okay for dogs. You'll have to walk a little bit farther up the street (across the street from the Whole Foods Market) to find some grass, but there really aren't too many grassy areas. There is a Lake Bellevue nearby, but before you start thinking that's a great spot to take a dog, there's really not much you can access. The lake is surrounded by restaurants and offices. Aside from that, you're going to have to get in a car if you're looking for more grassy areas.

Another thing that we liked about Hotel 116 (aside from the fact that it's next to a Chik-fil-A) is that it's connected to a Woods Coffee. As I mentioned in our previous trip to Bellevue, Woods Coffee has become one of my go-to's for coffee in the Pacific Northwest, so I was pleasantly surprised by that. Nothing like kick starting my morning with a good coffee right away.

The only other thing we can stay about Hotel 116 is that the exterior looks better than the interior (or at least their rooms). I wasn't very impressed with the rooms, but we were only going to spend the one night, so with the costs and with the fact that we were able to sleep through the night without being disturbed, what more could we ask for?

My Recommendation For Reactive Dogs

When we were here, the hotel wasn’t too busy so we didn’t have issues, but it felt as though the ground floor where we stayed was the dedicated dog floor. The hallways of the hotel aren’t very wide and the rooms don’t feel spaced apart, so if your dog is reactive to the noise outside the door, this could be an issue if it was busier. The stay was certainly fine considering the price we paid, though.

About Bellevue, Washington

Since this is our second trip to Bellevue in a few months, we didn't want to rehash the same things that we did. You can read about our first trip here. On this post, we wanted to talk about some of the things that we did differently this time around!

Snoqualmie Falls Park

Markus watching the powerful waters from the Snoqualmie Falls rage on

On one of the trips, we made a stop to Snoqualmie Falls Park. This area isn't really a park or a trail. It's actually more of a lookout with a short trail in between to get to a lower lookout. Both of these lookouts overlook the iconic Snoqualmie Falls, an incredibly powerful waterfall.

Along the trail from the upper to the lower lookout, there are some power plants (though we weren't sure if they're still active). There are historical mechanical structures along the way that we thought were pretty neat. As a whole, we found that the walk was enough for Markus, but since the waterfall is on a lookout that's fenced and gated, you can't really ever get too close to it.

We also didn't find too many dogs along the trail either. As owners of a reactive dog, I can honestly say that there were more people and tourists trying to catch a photo with the waterfall than there were dogs. We felt comfortable during our time here with Markus and we recommend this short little detour for your dog!

The Crab Pot

If you've never been to The Crab Pot, it's definitely worth trying. A 10-minute walk away from Hotel 116, The Crab Pot is a restaurant that's made popular in Seattle by Miner's Landing Pier 57, but you can also get a taste of it here in Bellevue. The location in Seattle tends to get busy (upwards of 2 hour waiting times), but we found this location to be not as busy, though, we did go a bit earlier to beat the rush.

The Crab Pot is known for their steamed seafood (prawns, mussels, crab, clams, etc.) that are brought to you in buckets and dumped right onto your table. These seafood pots also come with sausages, corn and potatoes and they give you a bib and little mallet to whack away. The food is delicious (though a little on the pricier side) and you'll have fun eating with your hands and a little hammer. Everything tastes better when eaten with your hands!

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.