Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle

Washington
United States

The Experience

Since opening in 1924, the 12-floor, Italian Renaissance-style Olympic has become a local landmark, with its ostentatious old style that favors Oriental carpets and highly polished wood fixtures (the Olympic was restored in the mid-1980s and spiffed up in 2005). Accordingly, this National Register of Historic Places honoree has served as Seattle’s go-to for honeymooners, politicos and families, whose kids receive cookies and milk upon check-in. But location, not sweets, is the lure: The Fairmont is perched near the Space Needle and Pike Place Market.

The Rooms

Cramped, molasses-slow elevators lead to snug, embellished rooms that start at 350 square feet. Crown moldings and mahogany furnishings transport guests to an earlier era—as do non-flat-screen televisions. The 450-square-foot Executive Suite features draped French doors, overstuffed pillows and a living room appointed with a loveseat and armchair. Still, high rollers should opt for the 3,450-square-foot Cascade Suite. Massive picture windows overlook the lively Financial District, and the marble bathroom is equipped with a jetted tub.

The Service

Though the busboys are bumbling, the staff goes to extremes: If your room lacks a coffeemaker, you’ll receive one on a silver platter. Plus, you receive a nightly card listing tomorrow’s weather forecast—a necessity in this rainy city.

The Highlights

Start the day like a Seattleite, sipping free java in the classic lobby bedecked with Oriental rugs and wood aplenty. Keep the caffeine flowing during tea service in the Georgian Room, decorated with lounge-able green upholstered chairs and hand-carved plasterwork. Break free from caffeine’s clutches with an organic basil martini in the Terrace lobby bar, where a piano player tickles the ivories. Tin ceilings and carved-oak paneling outfit the Shuckers Room, where you’ll sample 13 different oysters and heady local microbrews. Work off overindulgence in the fitness room, equipped with saunas, indoor pool and a covered solarium, before engaging in retail therapy at the hotel’s Coach outlet.

 

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