What a treat: the W Hotel Seattle is across the block from Rem Kolhaas' Seattle's New Public Library. Originally I was given a room that faced a parking garage (nice assignment; so much for being a "Prefered Guest"). I asked for a room re-assignment, with one that gave me the Library as my view and was granted one. As you can see in my accompanying photograph above, that Library looked so close that I could have touched it if I had been able to pry open the window.
W is for the younger, hip, and cool crowd. The atmosphere of the lobby area confirms this: in terms of business attire, this would have fit well with the label "smart casual." They call their lobby area the "Living Room." From the front entrance on 4th Street, you could go left and up to the mezzanine for the check-in counter, or you could go to the right for the bar and restaurant areas. One could also use the "backdoor," the one from the garage entrance and valet services (on Seneca street, I believe) to approach the front desk or check-in counter. The elevator areas in W Hotels are identical: darkened area with 24-hour thumping house music.
I did not find out more about the building where this hotel resided, but the building looked like an old architecture that had been acquired and renovated by the hotel group. The air-conditioning vents betrayed the ultra-hip ambient of the hotel: it looked very dated, but it worked well, except that you could not really aim the air anywhere. It blew in one direction and one direction only. The rest of the room was signature W, complete with the exorbitantly priced Scandinavian bottled water. All furnishings were dark wood, and the bed, although not as "heavenly" as Westin's, was comfortable.
Bathroom amenities were among my favorites compared to their counterparts from other hotels. They were the product of the in-house spa, so more of the same items could be purchased from the spa, although this Seattle location lacked such facility. Massage could be arranged with an outside contractor, done through the "Whatever, Whenever" desk.
My companion and I sat at the bar one late afternoon, which was very relaxing and enjoyable. The bar itself had a tall shelves of liquors that were cleverly lit. Peopl huddled over peanuts and drinks, while some were seen working with their laptop, taking advantage of the WiFi connection.
The W Hotel Seattle
1112 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
U.S.A.
Tel: (206) 264-6000
