98121 Travel Guide
Valentine's Day Hotels
A Valentine's Day Pajama Package That's a Little Cheap
February 4, 2008 at 9:13 AM | 1 Comment
Chocolates, rose petals, champagne and strawberries are standard fare for the current round of Valentine's Day special packages every hotel dishes out around this time of year. And at the Pan Pacific Seattle several of these are included, too, in particular the champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries, as well as brunch in bed, extended check out time, and a room with a view of Seattle's Space Needle from the bath tub.
While you're lying in bed, you'll have something to watch as the package also includes free access to all of the romantic in-room movies (really? Only the romantic ones?). And what do you think you'll be wearing in bed? Probably half a set of pajamas.
Yep, this package includes one pair of pajamas to share: they suggest top for her, bottoms for him. We presume they're trying to come up with a cutesy idea but really, can't we decide for ourselves which bits we want to wear, if any? The package starts at $390 per double but we'll only book if we get a pair of pajamas each. And no cartoon ducks or chickens on 'em.
[Photo: betsyjean79]
Hotel Hell
Guess What Caused These Stains at the Ramada Seattle
January 10, 2007 at 11:23 AM | 0 Comments
When you wind up with a bad hotel room, you tend to whinge to your pals about it for a while. Some people even mention it to management. And others write really long detailed letters that get published all across the world, thanks to the modern wonder of the internet. Blogger Propaganda Sifter had plenty to say about a stay in the Ramada Downtown Seattle, starting with a too-small TV and a broken airconditioner. A discovery of cigarette burns in the blanket led to further investigation:
Having kicked off the comforter on the bed, I turned and encountered the biggest, most horrible-looking, unsavory stain on the box spring. In all my life I have never knowingly slept on something so disgusting.
After a sleepless night, this unhappy guest checked everything more thoroughly and found a few more less-than-perfect points to his room:
The bathroom wall had unsightly stains next to the toilet, at eye level, where someone had apparently used the wall as a snot rag ... The shower had some disturbing-looking reddish stains on the back wall. There was also a filthy stain on the entry wall, where someone had apparently spilled a soda or something. Finally, when my fiancee decided she needed to iron a shirt that next morning, she was treated to a stained ironing board that looked as if someone had used it as a toilet.
Hmm, sounds a bit less than appetizing.
Related Stories:
· Ramada Downtown Seattle reviews [TripAdvisor]
Anti-View
Room with an Anti-View: The Ace Hotel
November 9, 2006 at 9:20 AM | 0 Comments
You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.
The Ace Hotel in Seattle is a pretty cool hotel, but we always deemed it to be a step above a hostel. So we can't really expect that much from the room views.
Related Stories:
· Bradley Allen's photostream [Flickr]
· Ace Hotel reviews [TripAdvisor]
Hotels
Andra's "Contemporary Woodsy" Decor
February 28, 2006 at 11:45 AM | 0 Comments
Hotel Andra is the Pacific Northwest version of a boutique hotel--one that can still be a little crunchy and woodsy without being too rustic. Located in Seattle on the edge of a Belltown neighborhood that's going through some revitalization, the hotel was formerly the Claremont until it reopened a year and a half ago as Hotel Andra.
The Los Angeles Daily News has more than the full report on the hotel's combination of midcentury design and log cabin decor, along with a bit of everything from across the globe.
That window above the fireplace? It's a flat-screen TV in a frame, alternately showing camels in the Sahara, London's Tower Bridge, a starfish and Rome's Colosseum. The three-paneled aquarium behind the front desk? It's real....And, just to keep everyone guessing, the hotel's restaurant, Lola, is Greek-themed.
Andra is not what you would expect of Seattle--Would Kurt Cobain stay here?--yet somehow it is.
Even better, the staffers were reported to be "friendly and accomodating" and not your typical "We're here to look cool but do no work" sometimes found at other boutique hotels.
Related Stories:
·
Seattle's Hotel Andra reflects world as well as Pacific Northwest [Inside Bay Area]
· Hotel Andra reviews [TripAdvisor]
Hotels
Seattle Downtown Hotel? We'll Try The Ace
March 15, 2005 at 8:27 AM | 0 Comments
We were recently asked for a hotel recommendation in downtown Seattle.
The hotel reqs? Centrally located, $100-$150 a night, funky/arty yet reasonably nice/romatic, centrally located, and clean/private.
Sounds fair enough.
We would go with the Ace Hotel. We have been wanting to check this place out for some time. The Ace is a classic budget boutique. A basic room with some style, a step above a hostel, but a step below a full service hotel.
The Ace is located in the converted Belltower in the midst of Belltown, where grunge rock was born. Sure there are reports citing the Ace is not the cleanest or most service oriented hotel in Seattle, and this property definitely is not for those looking for a night in the lap of luxury. However, for just over $100 you can get a boutique basic room smack dab in the middle of downtown Seattle. Sounds good to us.
Furthermore, the Ace was featured in Wallpaper*, Details, InStyle, and other popular mags, and you know we are suckers for a little glossy press.
Here is what Wallpaper* said:
Eric Hentz transformed it into a basic yet brilliantly appointed hotel that is destined to be a bolt hole for aspiring young web designers, documentary directors and Sapporo club kids. Boasting an array of sassy street level businesses that ensure guests invest in the immediate community. With rooms starting at $65.00 a night, it's affordable for one night or nine weeks.
The $65.00 rooms come with a shared bath, so we would double our bill and secure a room with a private bathroom.
One last note: All the rooms come with a copy of the Kama Sutra, the Bible, and a couple of condoms.
