The welcome
The hotel’s doorway is hard to spot as it sits between two sections of a bar and restaurant. There are stairs up to reception and no lift, but a staff member cheerfully lugs my heavy case upstairs. The reception area features a printed mountainscape behind the check-in desk, and a long desk to the left with a skylight.
The neighbourhood
The hotel is on 1st Avenue, the main street in the Belltown area of the city, which is named after a historic resident and is home to the Art Institute of Seattle. Previously run-down and semi-industrial, the area is now home to trendy warehouses restaurants and art galleries. Close to the downtown, waterfront and Pike Place Market areas, the Seattle Center, with the Space Needle, is about a 10-minute walk. It’s a hip, low-rise section of town with some attractive old buildings: a great location overall.
The scene
The hotel has just 29 rooms, so it has a quiet feel most of the time. It was the first Ace Hotel to open, in 1999 (the group has other hotels in the US, as well as Panama and London) and was designed as an affordable option for the “creative class.” Since then the group has become almost synonymous with hipsters, though each hotel has a quite different feel in keeping with each environment. Previously the building was a hostel for the homeless, and before that it was a mariner’s home. It feels like an upmarket youth hostel, with a communal breakfast space and some guest rooms lacking private bathrooms. But it fits into the area and has a good atmosphere. Other guests seem to mostly be couples in their 30s.
The room
My room is on the ground floor of the building. It has a door that opens onto a small patio but no windows, so lacks ventilation at night unless I use the air-conditioning unit, which is noisy. Unlike most of the other rooms, though, it is protected from street noise and feels very private. There is a desk area and a shower behind the bed, which looks good, plus a small sink and separate toilet.
The service
The staff member who checks me in is polite but deeply engrossed in his screen. Others are more chatty. The mostly Latin American cleaning staff are pleasant and cheerful, and the woman looking after the breakfast room almost motherly. The front door of the building is locked at midnight, but a side entrance can be used by guests with keys.
The food
The hotel has no restaurant, but Cyclops, the bar and restaurant downstairs, does good spicy-salmon tacos and mango salsa for $11 (Dh40), and there are lots of other options nearby. Breakfast is included in the price and is a buffet of yogurt, granola, toast with peanut butter or jam, a do-it-yourself pancake machine and serve-yourself tea and coffee.
Loved
The area and small-scale operation.
Hated
The noisy air con, which could surely be replaced with something quieter.
The verdict
A good and unique Seattle base.
The bottom line
Double rooms with shared bathroom at the Ace Hotel Seattle (www.acehotel.com/seattle) cost from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes and breakfast. Rooms with private bathrooms cost from $195 (Dh716).
rbehan@thenational.ae
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