Fairmont Olympic, Seattle Washington – Hotel Review
Despite numerous trips to Seattle, Washington in the past ten years, I somehow missed staying at what some have called the “grande dame” of Seattle hotels, the Fairmont Olympic. The Italian renaissance building has one of the grandest lobbies in the Pacific Northwest, complete with gilt metal and crystal chandeliers, oaken walls, and balconies that wouldn’t look out of place in an opera house. It’s not surprising that the Olympic opened in the Roaring Twenties. From what I’ve read, its opening parties and celebrations were memorable and, since then, countless people have celebrated business deals, engagements, weddings, anniversaries, and other occasions in the opulent surroundings.
En route to Tokyo via the first ANA Dreamliner flight from Seattle and in the middle of a two-week trip, I decided to spend a few days in the city and soon found myself flying in on a non-stop from Paris and looking forward to a relaxing and hopefully de-jet lagging experience. Soon enough, my taxi was pulling in at the Olympic and a doorman and bellman were both greeting me. Check-in was accomplished in a matter of minutes and I was soon happily ensconced in my room. A few minutes later, a bellman delivered a box to my room: I had shipped a fresh supply of clothing to the hotel before leaving for Paris since Seattle was the midpoint of my trip.
THE ROOM
My Deluxe Executive Suite had a small but elegantly furnished master bedroom separated from a spacious living room by draped French doors . In the bedroom stood a small wooden chest of drawers with a coffee maker on top as well as a flatscreen television. The marble bathroom was very well laid out and had ample counter space, , There was a bathtub but no separate shower.
The room’s closet, located in the living room, had a tie and belt rack, something that told me that the room’s designer paid quite a bit of attention to detail.
The living room, with a sofa bed, two comfy armchairs, and a desk comfortably accommodated a four person meeting during my stay.
I was unable to find any accessible outlets near the bed and the short story is that the front desk sent up someone from engineering. He arrived with a six-outlet extension cord which was perfect for the job but I was taken aback when he jumped on my nicely-made bed with his work clothes to gain access to the outlet located behind the bed. One call to housekeeping did, however, resolve the issue and the housekeeper was more aghast than I had been at what had transpired.
ROAD WARRIOR SUPPORT
The slightly too small writing desk, paired with a comfortable but non-ergonomic chair, was nonetheless more than serviceable once I removed the hotel’s large binder. I only needed to plug in my laptop and there was an outlet available (albeit not at desk level) but had I wanted to charge additional devices (not that there was room on the desk), I would have been out of luck.
Wi-Fi is available for free to President’s Club members and it’s free to join. The Wi-Fi in my room was speedy and supported video streaming without any problems.
The Fairmont Olympic offers 28,000 square feet (2,600 square meters) of event space, including 15 meeting rooms that can handle gatherings from 12 to 750.