World City Guide

Hotels

Seattle is an expensive city with high local taxes. Hotels now add a total of 15.8% to the bill.

The prices quoted below are the starting prices for double rooms and do not include taxes; they are an average seasonal price, excluding breakfast, unless otherwise specified. During the low season, November-March, the Seattle Super Saver offers up to 50% off regular prices. Reservations must be booked online at: www.seattlesupersaver.com or by telephone at (800) 535 7071. Outside US or Canada telephone (206) 461 5882.

Business

Doubletree Hotels
The Doubletree chain offers some of the best value, upscale business hotels in the city, located in prime commercial centres, such as Bellevue (near Meydenbauer Convention Center, Lucent, AT&T, IBM, Microsoft and Compaq), and the airport, near Boeing’s offices. All rooms have modem points and two-line telephones. The Doubletree Hotel Bellevue has 353 large rooms and suites, all situated around a vast flowering and leafy atrium. Suites have bars and whirlpool tubs. Facilities include 1,530sq metres (17,000sq ft) of meeting space, a lounge with two dance floors, fitness centre, pool and spa. The Doubletree Hotel Bellevue Suites include family suites with refrigerator, while the Doubletree Seattle Airport is a huge convention hotel with bright, balconied rooms and suites with views.

Website: www.doubletree.com
Prices: From US$124.

Doubletree Hotel Bellevue Centre
300 112th Avenue NE, Bellevue
Tel: (425) 455 1300. Fax: (425) 455 0466.

Doubletree Seattle Airport
18740 International Boulevard
Tel: (206) 246 8600. Fax: (206) 901 5923.

Doubletree Guest Suites Seattle South Center
16500 South Center Parkway
Tel: 206) 575 8220. Fax (206) 575 4749.

Grand Hyatt Seattle
One of Seattle’s newest big downtown luxury hotels has 425 rooms and is located near the Convention Center and other major attractions within the business core. With business in mind, the Grand Hyatt is probably the most technologically sophisticated hotel in town, with high-speed Internet access, in-room digital concierges and Internet workstations throughout the building, meaning guests can access e-mail at any time. But off-time relaxation has also been given close attention, with many rooms overlooking Puget Sound and the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. All rooms have over-sized bathrooms and the beds come complete with feather pillows. Impressive original artwork decorates all 30 floors and Willem de Kooning’s Reclining Figure marks the entrance.

721 Pine Street
Tel: (206) 774 1234. Fax: (206) 774 6120.
Website: www.grandseattle.hyatt.com
Price: From US$265.

Marriott Sea-Tac
Famed for its exquisite lounge around a five-storey tropical atrium and waterfall, this 459-room hotel offers business convenience and luxury combined. The Marriott Sea-Tac is located immediately east of the airport and is almost equally accessible to major business centres, such as Bellevue, Seattle’s downtown and convention centre, as well as downtown Tacoma. All rooms are decorated in woody tones with brass fittings accented with green and mauves. They all have voice-mail and offer the use of a Workstation 2000 business centre, while 110 rooms are specifically designed for the business traveller, with concierge service, in-room modem points and data ports on telephones. Hotel facilities include indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, health club, 25 meeting rooms and secretarial services. There is also an airport shuttle, as well as free parking.

3201 South 176th Street
Tel: (206) 241 2000 or (800) 314 0925. Fax: (206) 248 0789.
Website: www.marriott.com
Price: From US$139.

Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Towers
Upon entering the city’s prime Convention Center hotel, there is a lavishly renovated lobby containing works by the Northwest’s legendary glass artist, Dale Chihuly. The hotel has 838 excellent-value rooms, accommodating up to 1,500, 40 suites and two restaurants. All rooms are equipped with modem points, safes and Starbucks coffee. Club Level and Towers rooms on the top five floors are larger and have excellent views, as well as concierge service and complimentary continental breakfast. The health club on the 35th floor offers one of the best views in the city. Ten meeting rooms are available, with 3,150sq metres (35,000 sq ft) of space and TCI Cable hook-up with Washington State Convention and Trade Center.

1400 Sixth Avenue, Seattle Center
Tel: (206) 621 9000 or (800) 325 3535. Fax: (206) 621 8441.
Website: www.sheraton.com
Price: From US$110.

University Towers (Best Western)
Formerly the Edmond Meany Tower Hotel, this 1930s hotel near the University of Washington is just minutes from Downtown and was recently renovated in tune with its Art Deco origins. Most of the 155 compact, non-smoking rooms offer great views of the city, Mount Rainier and Lake Union. They all have contemporary decor, irons and ironing boards, in-room voice messaging and modem points and there is a complimentary continental breakfast. There are five meeting rooms, including a 216sq metre (2,400 sq ft) ballroom, as well as catering and audiovisual services.

4507 Brooklyn Avenue NE, University District
Tel: (206) 634 2000 or (800) 899 0251. Fax: (206) 545 2103.
Website: www.meany.com
Price: From US$99.

Luxury

Bellevue Club Hotel
Winner of numerous awards for its original and innovative design, the Bellevue Club is ranked as one of the Pacific Northwest’s top hotels. The decor is a combination of Tuscan terracotta and trailing vines, light and contemporary Asian and Pacific Northwest influences – all setting off spectacular views. The 64 rooms and three suites are truly artistic, with international collections of textiles, woodwork and pottery, as well as in-room modem points, voice-mail, teleconferencing capabilities and safes. The large Roman-inspired limestone and marble tiled bathrooms have deep-soak tubs. Club Rooms offer vaulted ceilings and landscaped outdoor patios and some have fireplaces. Superb recreational facilities include pool, spa, tennis courts, basketball and health club.

11200 SE Sixth Street, Bellevue
Tel: (425) 454 4424 or (800) 579 1110. Fax: (425) 688 3197.
E-mail: hotel@bellevueclub.com
Website: www.bellevueclub.com
Price: From US$255.

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel
The 1920s Italianate architecture suggests the understated elegance of old New York apartment buildings and is completed with impeccable service, oak panelling, potted palms and chintz and velvet drapes. The intention is to make guests feel at home, with cosy furnishings, desk space and reading lamps in all 450 rooms – in addition to high-speed, fibreless optic Internet connection and complimentary goodies. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel is situated in the heart of Seattle’s entertainment and financial districts. There is a sumptuous health club with indoor pool, whirlpool, saunas and massage room, 1,800 sq metres (20,000sq ft) of meeting and function space, as well as two superb restaurants – the formal The Georgian and Shuckers.

411 University Street
Tel: (206) 621 1700 or (800) 257 7544. Fax: (206) 682 9633.
E-mail: Olympic@fairmont.com
Website: www.fairmont.com/seattle
Price: From US$299.

Sorrento Hotel
Tucked away atop Capitol Hill, the Sorrento Hotel is Seattle’s oldest operating luxury hotel. It prides itself on first-class service and old-school opulence, such as white marble bathrooms, plush old style furnishings, a container of fresh Starbucks coffee for brewing, and ‘mood music’ compilation CDs, in order to provide a haven from boardroom stress. But the hotel also offers the latest high-tech necessities, such as dual-line telephones with data port, voice-mail and high-speed Internet access. The Fireside Room, decadently kitted out in Honduran mahogany, is a tea room by day and a ‘gaming parlour’ by night, with cribbage, Seattle Monopoly and Mah Jong to help guests unwind with a martini. The pianist plays Broadway and jazz on the weekend. A complimentary hotel car and driver is provided to chauffeur guests to their in-town destinations.

900 Madison Street
Tel: (206) 622 6400 or (800) 426 1265. Fax: (206) 343 6155.
E-mail: mail@hotelsorrento.com
Website: www.hotelsorrento.com
Price: From US$295.

Moderate

Gaslight Inn
This turn-of-the-century Seattle mansion has been lovingly restored and is now a nine-room, seven-suite bed and breakfast, combining period detail and the comforts of modernity. A large living room and library on the ground floor retain original oak panelling and fireplace fixtures. Each guest room is different; some have view decks, one has peeled-log furniture and Pacific Northwest Indian textiles, while another has a blown-glass chandelier and a view of Elliott Bay. All rooms have refrigerators and offer the use of the laundry room. Guests in suites receive free off-street parking. There is also a heated swimming pool in the private gardens. There is an excellent collection of works by Northwest artists, including glass sculptor James Nowak. The hotel has three rooms with a shared bathroom, which are substantially cheaper than en suite options.

1727 15th Avenue East, downtown
Tel: (206) 325 3654. Fax: (206) 328 4803.
E-mail: innkeepr@gaslight-inn.com
Website: www.gaslight-inn.com
Price: From US$78 (shared bathroom).

Executive Pacific Plaza Hotel
The Executive Pacific Plaza Hotel is by far the best in-city value for the independent business traveller, with a canopied entrance and a bit of historic class. The hotel is within walking distance of the entertainment district, the Convention Center and retail/financial district. Completely renovated in early 2001, most rooms still retain their claw-foot bathtubs and are simply decorated in a European style, with cable TV, voice-mail, coffee-makers, iron, ironing boards, and electronic security locks. ‘Business’ guest rooms are slightly larger and offer computer and modem points. All rooms are en suite.

400 Spring Street, downtown
Tel: (206) 623 3900 or (800) 426 1165. Fax: (206) 623 2059.
E-mail: info@pacificplazahotel.com
Website: www.pacificplazahotel.com
Price: From US$99.

Other Recommendations

Hotel Monaco
For travellers sick of stuffy business atmospheres, the Monaco offers a happy, modern style with a nod to 1920s beach resorts – candy striped walls, costumed bellboys and one of the liveliest hotel bars in town. Decor in the high-ceilinged lobby is based on a fresco of dolphins at the Palace of Knossos in Crete. Geared for the casual dotcom generation, the hotel is pet friendly (complimentary live goldfish, with names, are available in case guests get lonely), with 144 rooms and 45 suites, 11 of which boast Fuji-jet baths. All rooms have voice-mail, fax machines, in-room modem points, irons and CD players. Every night, the hotel offers a complimentary wine reception.

1101 Fourth Avenue
Tel: (206) 621 1770 or (800) 715 6513. Fax: (206) 621 7779.
Website: www.monaco-seattle.com
Price: From US$175.

Hotel Vintage Park
Shades of grape, rose and chardonnay pay tribute to Washington’s wine industry in this refurbished 1920s apartment block. Every evening there is complimentary wine tasting around a large fireplace. Each of the 126 rooms is named after a Washington winery or vineyard and furnished in custom-made cherry wood; some have fireplaces and two-person Jacuzzis, while all have in-room modem points and refrigerators. Suites include two-line telephones with private voice-mail, data ports and speakerphone capabilities. Staff will bring guests books of their choice from the local library and guests may also use the exclusive Gateway Athletic Club nearby or have exercise equipment brought to their rooms.

1100 Fifth Avenue
Tel: (206) 624 8000 or (800) 853 3914 Fax: (206) 623 0568.
Website: www.hotelvintagepark.com
Price: From US$199.