Seattle has seen an arrival of quite a few new hotels in the past few years.

The conflux of fresh restaurants, retail shops, and convention spaces has led to the need for greater capacity.  The Thompson is one of those new hotels, and those of you who have been to Los Angeles or New York will probably recognize the boutique chain, known for the famous Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.  The style is modern and hip, with a bit of art deco thrown in.

The hotel itself is centrally located next to the historic waterfront quarter of Downtown Seattle.  It’s part of an entire “Condotel” complex, which includes residential units alongside hotel units.  The lobby itself is a cozy affair, with a sitting room right next to the check-in desk.  There is also an expansive restaurant in the lobby which makes incredible cocktails and serves a great Sunday Brunch.

The rooms are well designed, albeit with cold bathroom surfaces, and the modern design has enough character to distinguish itself from the other bread and butter hotels such as the Hyatt or Westin.

Unfortunately, because of the location of the hotel, most of the rooms don’t have views.  There are obstructions on all sides unless you are on one of the higher floors, and this makes for a hard time when choosing a room at the property.

The service is also suffering, with staff that mean well, but appear to be new and not well versed (at the time of this writing in December 2016).  I’m sure this will change as the hotel gets a bit more traffic.

The pinnacle of the property is NEST which boasts itself as the highest rooftop bar and lounge in Seattle.  The views are outstanding up top, but the space is small, with half of it dedicated to an outdoor patio which is unusable most of the year.

Overall, I would recommend this property if you are looking for something hip and unique in Downtown Seattle.  However, if you prefer a more seasoned hotel staff and consistent service, I would recommend the Grand Hyatt, the W Seattle, or the Four Seasons.

PROS: 

• New Rooms, you can still smell the fresh paint (December 2016 writing)
• Rooftop views from Nest are incredible and it’s a great place to hang
• Great food at the lobby restaurant – especially for Brunch

CONS:

• Staff are warm and hospitable, but seem to lack the experience and knowledge of more seasoned staff at other local hotels
• The bathrooms are very cold and sterile – albeit very cool to look

SECRETS:

• Nest is often booked for private events so be sure to check ahead of time before going upstairs or even booking a reservation at the hotel.  This is one of the primary reasons to stay her and you want to make sure you get to experience it!

THINGS TO DO IN THE AREA:

• Check out the BEST clam chowder in the US at Pikes Place Chowder which is just down the street
• There is an oyster reverse happy hour also nearby at Elliots Oyster House and it is exquisite if you love Oysters.  Their selection and freshness can’t be beat almost anywhere else in the country.

Seattle is one of those destinations that everyone should visit once in their lives.  It’s a unique combination of city and forest, set amongst dozens of lakes and rivers and bisected by the very large Lake Washington.  In the summer when the weather is great there’s almost no better place to be.  The high latitudes allow for long summer days and warm summer nights.

For a very long time though, the city had a serious shortage of accommodations – and especially luxury accommodations.  If you wanted to stay at a 5 star resort, you had to look to the Eastside – not Seattle downtown proper.  This all changed when the Four Seasons came in with new construction right at the waterfront of downtown Seattle.

This is a smaller hotel but with luxury condominiums available for purchasers.  It’s got the feel of a boutique hotel but with all the luxuries that you would expect from a company such as the Four Seasons.

The rooms themselves are relatively plain and very Pacific Northwest with light woods and simplistic clean lines throughout.

They are comfortable and materials are high quality but a bit lacking in depth and character.

What the rooms lack in effort though the hotel more than makes up for in its rooftop patio and pool.  I love Seattle in the summer and the rooftop pool with its amazing vista over the waterfront is the perfect place to sit and relax for hours with a beer in hand.

So next time someone says Seattle is always raining remind them that they are referring to Portland or San Francisco, and that the rooftop at the Four Seasons is where you will be spending your summers.

PROS:

• The rooftop pool
• The rooftop pool
• Oh, it’s a Four Seasons – so the service is always impeccable

CONS:

• The rooms are luxuriously appointed but sort of boring
• There’s no grand lobby to hang out in

SECRETS:

• As previously mentioned, the rooftop pool – which many people overlook because it’s Seattle and they just assume its bad weather and no one would put an outdoor pool on the roof of a hotel

OTHER THINGS TO DO IN THE AREA:

• There’s a variety of restaurants up in South Lake Union (they’re constantly in flux), but check out the area and have a nice dinner during sunset – it’s relaxing and fun to watch the seaplanes flying in and out of Lake Union