Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour

One hour underground tour started which gave good knowledge about history of Seattle city with live commentary with all visual evidences of city life more than 100 years ago. Tour guide engaged us totally, gave proper instruction and took care of me as had certain issues of walking; had to go upstairs and downstairs many times. It was good study tour even for tourists. All info provided is appreciated.

This was an enjoyable tour the host was very entertaining and always found away to get endgames from the tour guests. If you’re a history buff this will be an enjoyable tour of Seattles history and how it’s come about today. Although I understand there is always a cost to tour this was a bit pricey for what you get but you are walking through other’s property so I get it that someone has to pay to gain access.

​My partner and I decided to check out Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour during our vacation in Seattle this week, and it ended up being one of the absolute highlights of our trip! ​I’ve always been fascinated by local history and the structural quirks of older buildings, so walking through the literal buried foundations of the city was right up my alley. The tour starts in historic Pioneer Square, and you essentially get to explore the subterranean storefronts and sidewalks that were entombed when Seattle decided to rebuild directly on top of itself after the Great Fire of 1889. ​What We Loved ​The Humor: I was expecting a standard, dry historical walk, but the guides here are incredibly entertaining. The 75-minute tour is packed with witty punchlines, quirky anecdotes, and hilarious tales of Seattle's gritty pioneers and early plumbing disasters. ​The Atmosphere: Walking along the old wooden planks, seeing the original brickwork, the vintage storefront signs, and the old purple glass skylights illuminating the underground corridors was such a unique way to experience the city. It’s slightly eerie but totally fascinating. ​The Fascinating History: Learning how they raised the street level by a whole floor to deal with sinking buildings, muddy tide flats, and sewage issues puts the modern city into such a cool perspective. ​A Few Quick Tips ​Wear comfortable shoes: You'll be navigating a few flights of stairs and uneven surfaces on the old subterranean sidewalks. ​Go early in your trip: It gives you a great historical context for the rest of your time exploring the modern streets above ground. ​If you enjoy a good mix of comedy and history, do not skip this. It was highly entertaining from start to finish and worth every penny!

So I went to this underground tour really excited about it because my cousin suggested it. The whole wedding party went to it a few years ago with all of her Australian friends and they said it was really great. So maybe I was expecting more, but I was really disappointed. He explained the underground, and that was a good history about Seattle and was interesting, but our tour guide was absolutely horrible. Adam. I was being supportive and smiling and nodding, but then, for some reason, he turned on me when I wasn’t paying attention (not my fault he was being boring at the time )and in front of the whole tour, basically belittled me and was very condescending to me.. that is not very professional. Basically, he said,” oh, do I need to draw a picture?” “You don’t know the answer to the question?!” I think I was just his target because I was a blonde woman. Very sexist. So rude! I have never in all of my travels, have ever had a tour guide do that to me so begrudgingly in public. He should be fired! Absolutely awful and horrible! By the way, no tour guide, comedian or any person should ever make fun of a woman or try to make blonde jokes in this day of age. It is very offensive and sexist. And it’s also not very funny anymore because those jokes have been OVERdone for 100 years or so so it just means the comedian has nothing else and he’s not very good at his job because if that’s what he relates to that’s really sad. As a person who has heard these jokes for her whole life, and then trying to go on a tour for fun, and then hearing those kind of jokes again, it’s really upsetting, offensive, and not very funny, and also not original. It’s old and tiring and needs to be thrown out. Come up with newer jokes. Then he also tried to hustle us out the door when we were trying to take pictures for our video and content creation. I’m a content creator. Just because he doesn’t like his job doesn’t mean he has to hustle us out at the door. He was only trying to hurry us up because he wanted to get off the clock sooner. His name is Adam and he is absolutely horrible.

I finally did the famous Seattle Underground Tour while my friend was visiting from out of town because somehow I’ve lived in Seattle for years and never went. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. Was it interesting? Sure. Was it super memorable? Not really. A big part of the tour was jokes about poop and Seattle’s old brothels, especially stories about Madame Lou Graham, so at times it felt more like a stand-up comedy show than an actual historical tour. The tour guide was funny, though definitely a little odd in an entertaining way. I also got the feeling that there isn’t that much to physically show underground, so a lot of the experience relies on storytelling and marketing. That said, I still think it’s worth doing once if you’re genuinely interested in Seattle history or want to check off one of the city’s iconic tourist activities. I probably wouldn’t highly recommend it as a must-do attraction, but it was a decent experience overall.

This tour was the perfect combination of cheesy and interesting. The tour guide was very entertaining as well as knowledgeable. And full of dad jokes. I went with my dad (age 75), twin brother (43) and now we and nephews (ages 15-20), and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. I lived in Seattle most of my life, thenoved away 17 years ago. I can't believe it took me this long to do the tour. It's not just for tourists -- Seattlites will love it too!

This was an interesting tour but, we really didn't know what to expect, except we thought it would be more. Not sure it's was worth $30 per person for us but, don't let our experience deter you. There is some really interesting history overall to glean from the tour if you are not already familiar with Seattle's history.

Lisa our tour guide was so great. She shared all the right jokes but very informative. I really appreciate the dry humor but it all hit at the right times. Group was a bit large so not a very intimate tour.