Hudson News

The roommate gets a magnet every time we go on vacation. We never found one in Seattle while souvenir shopping, so we dropped by Hudson News on the way to our gate. It was Wednesday, January 20^th, a little after 4pm.
They have a decent selection of magnets. We ended up getting a Seattle Sunset 3D magnet for $ 2.99. I also picked up a few magazines: Entertainment Weekly ($ 4.99) & Nylon ($ 4.99) and a bottle of Dasani water ($ 2.59 for 1 liter) for the plane.
Cashiers were nice. We were rung up fast. If you need some water and magazines for the flight, Hudson News would be the place to grab them.

I stopped at Hudson News in the Hartford, CT airport to buy water before boarding the plane. The clerk asked if I’d like to buy a gift for our troops, and held out a basket of small bags of chips, pretzels and phone cards. I said yes, and took out my wallet — and then she told me it would cost between $ 5 – 12 depending on what I chose! We’re talking about bags of chips that would sell for 50 cents! I was too shocked to say ‘no thanks’, and bought a $ 5 bag of chips. What a shameless scam — disappointing.

Poor service, I asked the person who was checking inventory if they had any dried fruits she said around there. The stuff she pointed to was fruit snacks far from dry fruits. I figured she was busy and I continued to look with my friend. Then we decided to ask again since we walked around and thought maybe we are just missing it. You know it could be right under our nose and we don’t realize it. This time when we asked she was not kind and face a little huff attitude. She told her there and there. I said we don’t see it. She just ignore us after and continued with her inventory on the step ladder. I tried to see her name but couldn’t so I took a picture of this no customer service person. She could just say we don’t have dried fruits or say I am not sure what you are looking for but this is all we have in fruit snacks.

There are a few Hudsons in SEA, so it’s tough to know which one this is. But they’re all the same — high priced candies, soda and water plus books and magazines at full retail price. But if you need to get a «Sleepless in Seattle» nightie as a present when you’ve been in a conference all weekend and didn’t have time to do a proper shop, then Hudson’s the place for you!

Located inside security screening. Has a great selection of NorthWest specific foods n cooking supplements n kids stuffs n wine n chocolates n coffees etc.
Great for last minute gift shopping.

No Pepsi. Dam.
SITREP
To survive the night at SeaTac, I like to have my favorite soda of choice. Pepsi One is that item. But most retail shops — especially in SeaTac airport — do not have Pepsi products, let alone Pepsi One.
THE SETUP
However, in this instance, Hudson News does throw me a bone in that they do have Coke Zero, which is far better than Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi. So for that, I’m grateful.
Yeah, the 20 ounce bottles are not the best deal at $ 1.99 each. They are only $ 1 at my place of work. But we’re not at my work. And, to be fair, I’ve seen them vended at stadiums or amusement parks for a full $ 3. So this is deal by comparison.
THE LOWDOWN
Hudson News carries a soda option I can handle that won’t make me too cranky.

Value: 2
Customer Service: 5
Quality: 4
The prices here are outrageous, but what can you expect at an airport!
I recommend avoiding the tourist trap items, and sticking with a magazine if you need one.

Loved their «Life is Good» gear that they have!

This Hudson News, located in the C terminal of the Seattle Airport, does sell books, magazines, and newspapers, but it also sells so much more. i wandered in here with time to kill before a flight home to LAX and walked out with a little bag full of goodies.
If you’re looking for souvenirs to bring home for friends to let them know that you were thinking of them while you were away this is a great place to stop in and browse. Never mind the fact you totally forgot about buying them anything while you were actuallly in the city — shhhh!!! They carry a variety of t-​shirts, hats, glasses, and all kinds of little knick knacks that say Seattle all over them.
They also sell sunglasses, hats, ties, socks, all kinds of clothing and accessory items without the word Seattle on them so if you’ve forgotten to pack something for your trip, you may be able to pick up something last minute here. The sunglasses were actually pretty cheap at 2/​$ 25 and there was a pretty good selection of them.
I made a visit up and down the candy aisles. Yes, there were candies and snacks in more than one area of the store and I picked up a few goodies to keep me going on the plane. There were candy bars and single serving bags of candies on all sides around the cash register fixture. There was also an entire snack corner filled from floor to ceiling with chips and many different types of bagged candy.
There was a large wall section devoted to magazines designed to appeal to many different types of travelers.
There was a technology section where they carried not only headphones and chargers but all types of electronic devices and accessories. There was an entire wall of them.
There was even a small section with over the counter medications and toiletry items for those in need of them.
All of these items were on one side of the store, but there was a small passagelike hallway at the back lined with books that led to the other side of the store which was a bibliophile’s dream. This was a full on bookstore, not just a book section in a gift store like I usually see in airports. I’d already brought a book to read on the plane, but I lost myself for about half an hour browsing and discovered a number of books I’d like to read soon.
This Hudson News is larger and carries a much more diverse selection of merchandise than I usually see in airports. I’m definitely a fan.

Good for what it is

Everything you could need to keep you busy in the air.
Friendly staff and reasonable prices. No additional markups like others have said. From snacks and books, to drinks and mags they truly had it all.

Generally, airport bookstores are pretty sad… a wall of magazines, a rack of business books and tons of paperbacks that appeal to the lowest common denominator (aka 10 million copies of 50 Shades of Gray or Marley and Me or whatever drivel is popular).
This bookstore has all of that, but goes above and beyond by adding in a fairly robust travel section (surprising how few airport stock this!) full of Lonely Planet guides. There’s also a pretty decent selection of general non fiction, and a whole section of classics. That’s right… Jane Austin, Charles Dickens and an unabridged copy of Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo at about 1400 pages. Color me impressed.
Look — you’re going to be in the air for a good long while. Is that Cosmo or People magazine really going to cut it? This bookstore offers some great alternatives to the norm, and yes they do have your 50 Shades (if you must).

Very friendly, and they offer military discount! :)

This is the Hudson in the C Terminal.
By far the best magazine selection at seatac. I travel a lot. This might have the best mag selection of any airport. From soldier of fortune to The Nation to Real Simple to New Jersey Bride to Hustler, its got most mainstream niches covered. And unlike most things at the airport, there is no additional mark-​up on mags.

Hudson News is a staple in any airport. It may be named something else but it’s the little corner store that will carry basics you’d want. and for a high mark-​up.
But what can you do when you need some water as you wait for your flight?
Only one cashier worked and line was a bit long. Add another cashier when it’s a busy time to reduce wait time.

The selection isn’t extensive but the variety for what they have is perhaps so. Just poked in here for some energy bars.

Surprisingly, this Hudson is open pretty darn late and one of the few hangouts when you’re on late flight out of Concourse A.

This place has an S-​load of magazines! On practically every topic you could think of… For your pleasure while flying, they also have candy, soda, film, batteries, health & beauty aids, traveler convenience items, tobacco products, candy, souvenir apparel and regional gifts… Oh, and did I mention candy? The cashiers are always helpful, asking where you’re going and where you’re from, it would seem a prerequisite for working there is that they have to have a sense of humor. My only complaint is that they don’t have toffee covered peanuts in their candy selection, which is extensive…