W Seattle

I arrived at the W Seattle, the valet quickly took my car to the garage, I was met by one of the staff who showed me to the reception area, where I was greeted by Malia. The lobby was fairly busy, the art and design of the entry way was hip "Seattle esque" and welcoming. Malia escorted me to the hotels restaurant Trace. The restaurant had a very Pacific Northwest/ Seattle vibe. The wood beams mimic totem poles and the metal design depicting an aviation feel (Boeing). I found the ingenuity of the custom design to be stylish and fun. It had a nice cozy atmosphere. The W Hotels TRACE restaurants are farm to table that use locally grown, farm fresh ingredients. In Seattle and in many cities, sustainable, local organic is the standard. The bread presented before lunch/ dinner, is baked fresh daily and they churn their own butter. I took the recommendation for the sushi and salad which was outstanding (being a extremely picky about my seafood especially sushi, outstanding is really phenominal). The service and the food presentation was excellent. The menu has many great options from salads to seafood. Just outside of TRACE is the, Living Room that has a large fireplace, deep couches, a DJ booth with DJs Wednesday through Saturday and two nightly happy hours. During the morning and afternoon hours, its the perfect place to work, relax with a game of chess on one of the custom made tables, or just hang out. The W Gym has various cardio machines and weights, I was informed that they could get a personal trainer in house for guests as well. They are updating the gym in the near future, expanding the size and will offer yoga. The guest rooms I found to be well designed and decor is modern and trendy and its geometric prints lighten things up. The bed linen and pillows looked comfy. The bathrooms were large and had a soaking tub and separate shower. The bath products were Bliss brand of course, although I haven't had the opportunity to try these (yet). There were gorgeous views from the hotels rooms of the Puget Sound and the Space Needle. The corner suite was more like a spacious apartment than a hotel suite, I was pleasantly surprised by this property. Meeting spaces include one great room 4550sq ft, two ballrooms 2250sq ft ea., 8 studios 500 800sq ft. and one boardroom. Studios can be joined together to create larger spaces as well. I think this is great property for a lot of different group types with the diversity of the hotel, as well as it's location. It is walking distance to Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market and the Monorail. Its in a safe neighborhood near Macy's and retail shops.

The W Seattle is a sleek, highly stylized property with a fantastic location right in the heart of downtown, within blocks of Pike Place Market, Seattle Center, Seattle Waterfront and Benaroya Symphony Hall. This is a beautiful hotel It is not as eccentric as many other W hotels (it is a bit more subdued, given the subtly of the Pacific Northwest culture) but still has dramatic decorative flare, such as a giant metal "fireplace" sculpture in the main lobby and a off lobby restaurant meant to emulate a 'dark forest'. They also sport many feminine decorative elements, such as an abundance of pink ribbons and pink lamps woven into the interiors, which give the hotel an overall "fun, flirty" vibe. The rooms are also lovely and sleek and far less elaborately decorated than the lobby (primarily a warm beige color). This is a great place to host an event if it is a social one (meant to be fun, as opposed to a serious, business oriented one). They have several great, bright spaces that can be decorated to match the overall vibe of the hotel (Stephanie showed me a picture of a wedding reception being held in one of the spaces, all decked out in bright pink lights). They also have a live DJ in the lobby in the evening and serve drinks, which I was told makes the hotel a bit of a social hotspot. I would recommend this hotel to any group visiting the city, but would certainly push social groups to the hotel much stronger than I would suggest it for any business only groups wanting to stay focused, with no enticing distractions. Make sure to take full advantage of their "whatever/whenever" policy while staying there! (tried and true they will provide you with whatever you want, whenever you want it, if it is in their power to make it happen!).