consultants and hotels · sheraton hotel and towers seattle · westin seattle · w seattle · redmond inn
consultants and hotels.
the past few weeks have been really really busy at work. mike and i
have been in the lab until the wee hours of the morning, at which
point we apparently become slightly abnormal. in any case, after
working so many hours, it's just so nice to go "home" to a nice
bed. unfortunately, not all hotels are created equal.
mike after midnight (those are almonds)
people who are not consultants always think that travelling is so glamorous. and honestly, i thought it was too for a while. one of the most common things i hear is, "i loooove staying in hotels!! isn't it fun?!?!" it's been 2-3 years now, though, and i can assure you that, although being able to throw your used towels on the ground is nice (i sometimes forget when i am at home), living out of a hotel has its fair share of downfalls. the classic example being the 20/20 episode with the black light. if you don't know what i'm talking about, you probably don't want to.
so there are different classes of hotels, right? they usually are ranked by the star system, but the highest amount of stars seems to vary depending on who you ask between 4 and 5 stars. sometimes you'll get a hotel that is so nice that they don't give it any stars and simply call it "luxury"... or so bad that they just "forget" to give it any stars. we usually stay in 3-4 star hotel chains with which we have a corporate discount, and that usually ranges from $90 - $140 per night these days.
for a while on this project, we were staying in downtown seattle. we tried out a number of hotels, including the 3 starwood hotels ~ the w, the westin, and the sheraton. i have to preface this by saying that the w hotels are a personal favorite of mine - modern, chic, luxurious, trendy, and high quality. i've never had a bad experience at a w hotel, except maybe that my wallet was hurting a little bit - the room service charges an arm and a leg (albeit for very very good food). i also loooove ian schrager hotels. here is a brief review of the hotels we stayed at in downtown seattle:
:: sheraton
seattle hotel and towers : 1400 sixth avenue · seattle,
washington 98101 · 206.621.9000
they have high speed internet connections, but not in all rooms so you have to ask for it. i think the biggest plus for this hotel is the the gym. they have an indoor swimming pool, sauna, treadmills, weights, and various machines on the 35th floor. unfortunately, it seems that you have to pay for it. it's a little bit unclear, because you're supposed to sign in but there's not always someone working the counter. another major plus for this hotel is that it's right across the street from our office, and also in a very prime location in the middle of the downtown center.
on the down side, the rooms are hit or miss right now, as they are in the middle of renovating. you might get internet, or you might not. you might get new carpet, or you might not. the concierge desk also closes early, and the particular lady that we encountered was not exceedingly friendly. she basically yelled at me for not bringing a wamer jacket. "this is not san francisco, honey."
it is also nice to have a vending machine on the floor so that when you are thirsty, you don't have to pay $5 for a soda in your minibar. a lot of hotels are starting to remove their vending machines to force guests to call room service or raid their minibars. i thought i found a little gold mine when i saw the vending machine here. "hmmm... $1.75 for a bottle of water... that's not tooo bad, i guess." then out popped this tiny little bottle, smaller than i have ever seen a dasani. oh well.
$1.75
food. oh, and ixnay on the breakfast. you can either order a la carte (expensive), or get the (very limited selection) breakfast buffet for $15. no thanks.
they have starbucks coffee at the coffee machine in every room. nice.
bathroom. towels are plentiful and of good quality. shampoo makes your hair feel dry, and does not smell good. another great thing was the shower curtain rod. the curved rod allows you to have more room in the shower and helps the curtain stay away from you while you shower (big plus!). i think they are trying to get these in all starwood hotels eventually.
:: westin
hotel seattle : 1900 fifth avenue · seattle, washington
98101 · 206.728.1000
they also have great food! :) they have a cafe where you can get hot food, fresh fruit, baked good, and various made-to-order drinks (both caffeinated and not) in the morning. they also have the *awesome* japanese restaurant, nikko. btw, they are not open on mondays. roy's is also at the westin, another one of my favorite restaurants in seattle.
the thing i really didn't like about this hotel was the "heavenly bed". i think i either got screwed and they gave me a room that was supposed to have a heavenly bed but didn't, OR the heavenly beds are just plain not heavenly. compared to the w beds (which are supposed to be the same), this bed was terrible.
they also didn't have anymore high-speed internet rooms. booooo!!!
:: w
hotel seattle : 1112 fourth avenue · seattle,
washington 98101 · 206.264.6000
ooooooh... niiiiiice. i love staying here. i feel so pampered. the gym, although small, is sufficient for my needs, but was a problem for my colleagues. everyone that works here wears all black, so i feel right at home. :) and they have an unlimited supply of fresh shiny green granny smith apples in the lobby at all times.
the w is a little bit farther from the center of downtown than the other hotels, and it's even on a hill so you better leave those heels at home unless you're taking a cab.
:: four seasons hotel
seattle : 411 university street · seattle, washington
98101 · 206.621.1700
holy mole-y. everyone loves to be pampered, and oh do i feel pampered. right across the street from the w hotel, the four seasons olympic hotel is an exquisite getaway.
where do i start? when i first checked in, the lady at the counter was very pleasant and didn't say anything when i checked in this morning at 9am. after she got my room key ready, she walked around the counter to hand it to me and then walked me to the elevator, while describing the hotel's features along the way... including free high-speed internet?!?!?! oh man, i love this place already.
bathroom.
my room is huge. all of the bathroom products are by l'occitane.
food.
i ordered room service today, and not only did it arrive 4 minutes
before they said it would, but it came in a table with a foldout so it
became like a personal size half-circle real table. and then the guy
told me that my hot food was in the "hot box" underneath the table for
whenever i am done with my salad. and they have the best fruit
selection! everything about the food was awesome except the bread.
it was the hard kind.
room service!
the bed is great. down everything. even though the style of this hotel is older and more ornate, it is still extremely clean and new.
gym.
great gym. although there is only one elliptical machine, there are
6-8 treadmills, 4-5 stairmasters, a big pool, a big hot tub, and
plenty of free weights. they also give you headphones and a receiver
that is connected to the monitors located throuhout the gym. there
are bowls of fruit, and water always available.
:: redmond
inn : 17601 redmond way · redmond, washington 98052 ·
425.883.4900
this is the place mike and i refer to as "the crack house." in actuality, it's not all that bad. the staff is quite friendly, they have free cookies at night, free local calls, and free "continental breakfast" at the "family pancake house" right across the way (coffee, juice, and one bread item - or $2 off a menu item). the best part was that it was so close to work. if i had to be close, though, i think i'd pick the marriott residence inn (if they had rooms available) any day over this place.
speaking of ghettoness... check this out... in the (only) elevator, we saw this... just so happens mike was on the second floor. hehehe.
the elevator @ the redmond inn (2.14.03)