Description: On both trips to Seattle, the Sheraton has been the central hotel for the conference that brought me here. On my first stay, I saved a little money by staying up a quarter mile up Pike Street at the Homewood Suites, but this time, my team took advantage of the conference rate ($179; $200 with tax) and stayed here.
That’s a pretty typical 3-star hotel rate for central Seattle. The Hilton down the street charges the same amount, the Fairmont Olympic a little more. I always struggle when the rate hits $200, but the Sheraton did everything they could to make me feel it was worth it. Everyone in our team was impressed by the size and comfort of the rooms; plus (for the first time I can remember) they put all four of our rooms on the same floor and the same hall, which was very nice. Each of us looked northwest up 6th Street, with a small sliver of harbor visible off to the left from our 17th floor perch. (It would have been larger if not for the 30-story office tower on the opposite corner, or maybe if we were closer to the top of the 35-story triangular tower). The weather in Seattle was unexpectedly perfect for all three days, and each morning I looked out to see the sunlight on the harbor and the ferry heading for Bainbridge Island.
I think the increased attention to beds is the most wonderful change in the American hotel industry since the addition of the in-room coffee maker. Both of those features were excellent here, as I struggled every morning to find enough motivation to get out of the super comfortable, pillow-covered bed, but consoled myself after emerging from the covers by slugging down multiple single-serving cups of Starbucks Africa Kitamu java. In addition to the view, the bed and the coffee, the room also featured a LCD TV, a nice desk for working, and (unfortunately) $10/day wired internet. I yearn for the day when upper end hotels match their discount brethren by eliminating this ripoff. In the meantime, I had to head for the lobby for free wireless, which eased my annoyance only a little.
I can’t remember another hotel that had two people at the concierge desk, but that was a nice feature. We made good use of those folks, securing restaurant reservations for each night, obtaining information on the Bainbridge Island ferry, and benefitting from their willingness to keep calling an island restaurant on until it opened, and then notifying us by cell phone after we were already on our way.
The conference facilities were pleasant but standard. After meetings at a few Grand Hyatts where all the meeting rooms are subterranean, it was nice to be on floors 2 and 3 (especially to find sunlight streaming in the windows each time you came out for a break).
The hotel’s restaurant is called the Daily Grill, which strives for a 1930’s feel. Aside from recognizing that in the font, I can’t speak to whether it succeeds, since we didn’t set foot in it. There’s a small coffee and snack shop on the first floor, where you can pick up a quick breakfast, lunch or snack, with a decent combination of pre-packaged and made-to-order items (and prices that were more reasonable than I expected). Like all of its competitors (the Grand Hyatt, Hilton Seattle, W Hotel, Crowne Plaza, Fairmont), it’s in the same few blocks between 4th and 6th Streets, a little farther from the waterfront than you might guess, but still only a third of a mile. It was an easy walk downhill to the Market, a trip I made two or three times during my stay.
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