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College Inn

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  • 4000 University Way NE
     Seattle, Washington 98105
    (206) 633-4441
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El Gallo
El Gallo
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
3
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Editor Pick

College Inn

  • December 19, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by El Gallo from Monkey Junction, Newfoundland, Afghanistan
College Inn

The University District has always had a slight European accent. Don't expect Grenoble or Heidelburg here, but it's a place where people can wear berets without looking silly. This tradition is very much alive in the College Inn. It was originally constructed to serve the Alaska Yukon Expo of 1909, a unique "worlds fair" that put Seattle on the map long before grunge music and "Microstuffed." After the Expo, the Inn became a weekend getaway where Seattleites would click out by cable car for a weekend in the countryside. It's the real thing: the half-timbered gables are actually half-timbered, its odd garrets are actual garrets, and it's a European-style hotel that is actually charmingly, and sometimes even a little annoyingly, European.
You know your not in the Kansas Hyatt anymore when you check in and find that the lobby is on the top floor. Then you look around the intriguing space, with its slanted ceilings and bizarre dihedral spaces, and start seeing un-Holiday Inn stuff, like nice old furniture set for, you guessed it, a continental breakfast. It's the sort of lobby one hangs out in, chatting with other guests in accents. There is always coffee and tea on hand, and as you expected, the coffee is really great. Norwegians would not be disappointed (as they might be in the explosion of Starbucks’ down on the street, but that's another bitter bitch entirely).
The rooms have that offshore look right off the bat. They are small, oddly proportioned, and antiquely furnished, but not in the instant-posh "boutique hotel" way: they just have nice old furniture, quirky sinks and lights, and little oddities, like wide window seats and funny little pillows. It's no surprise that the Inn is generally full of book-bag types, Europeans who prefer it to the more comfy/sterile (and much more expensive) AmeriHotels in the district, visiting profs from across the pond unfurling umbrellas for the one-block walk to campus, and the unmistakably seasoned travelers who have heard this is the place to go.
On the downside for some would be the down-the-hall bathrooms, but they are well-appointed and functional, including more fixtures, towel racks, and stuff that just don't look like they came from Home Depot. But there are those who are used to it and don't mind nipping down the hall in questionable habile. Or upstairs to grab a cup of that coffee. Whatever you think about the College Inn, it's the real thing and it's been that way for a very long time by Seattle standards. And it has one other thing that appeals to seasoned travelers - it's cheap. Once again, by Seattle standards, but the 2004 prices of $45 for a single room to $80 for a big room with two quilt-draped double beds beats the hell out of anything else in the area (there is no hostel in the University area - the one downtown runs $17 for a bunk). And don't forget that you get breakfast.

There are other features in the building. See College_Inn_Pub review.

www.collegeinnseattle.com/

From journal IGO U DIZ

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