Seattle: Homewood Suites Seattle Convention Center Pike Street: (August 2014)

My spouse and I stayed at the Homewood Suites Seattle Convention Center Pike Street for three nights in early August 2014. We booked our room on-line using the Hilton website, but we encountered some issues with our reservation when we attempted to check into the hotel. We had edited our reservation several times before arrival, which may have contributed to the discrepancy. First, we changed the number of nights we stayed by extending our stay for one night. Then, we edited the same reservation to take advantage of a promotional rate. Next time, we will book a completely new stay and cancel our original booking rather than try to edit our original reservation. When we checked in, the front desk clerk encountered difficulty when she tried to make our electronic key cards. After several tries, she created them manually. Perhaps the problem related to our edited reservation and rate change. We also received a bill underneath our door on the morning that we were originally scheduled to depart (one day early), but a call to the front desk and a trip down to rekey our electronic cards remedied the situation.

The Homewood Suites is located about ten blocks (uphill) from Pike’s Place Market. It is an enjoyable 10-minute, 1/2-mile walk down to the market, but it is more strenuous on the return because of the incline. (The hill that you ascend and descend is not very steep, although some San Francisco-type hills exist near the hotel.) The hotel is located in the First Hill neighborhood, on the border of Capitol Hill. A convenience store / mini-market is located within the same block as the hotel that also functions as a deli and grocery store. A Budget / Avis rental car outlet is located on the street level nearly connected to the hotel. The hotel offers valet parking only. A few luggage carts are available to take baggage to your room (although it seems to be self-service).

The hotel is located approximately 20 minutes from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. A taxi from the airport costs about $40; alternatively, you can take public transportation for much less. A small park / green space that contains some Roman columns is located across the street from the hotel; unfortunately, it also houses homeless people and overlooks the busy I-5 freeway that bisects the city.

A small pantry area that sells limited drinks, snacks, and toiletry items is located next to the front desk. The lobby contains a double-sided fireplace with casual seating in front of it and the breakfast / dinner area behind it. Bathrooms, an ATM machine, a rack with tourist brochures, and a function room are located on the basement level. In the dining area, a makeshift business center contains two computers, a printer, and a rack with pocket-size tourist brochures.

The breakfast and dinner area offers different-sized tables arranged in two interconnected rooms. In the serving area, buffet bars contain food at breakfast and dinnertime. Breakfast consists of a cold bar that contains fresh fruit (both cut and whole) and yogurt. Another bar offers breads and pastries, and a hot bar offers eggs, breakfast meats, croissant sandwiches, oatmeal (with toppings like brown sugar, dried fruit, and dried nuts), and beverages (hot and cold).

For dinner on Monday through Thursday nights from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, the Homewood Suites offers a buffet with a rotating theme. Themes include Mexican (serving tacos, refried beans, tortilla soup, and salad bar) and deli (serving ham /cheese / turkey subs, tomato soup, potato chips, and salad bar), followed by four flavors of cookies for dessert (chocolate, chocolate chip, sugar, and oatmeal raisin), two kinds of cold juices (lemonade and mango / passion fruit), and wine and beer. A hotel employee operates the beverage taps. Guests can make a meal of the dinner buffet, which is beneficial in terms of cost and effort. The hotel directory even mentions that you can request a tray to take items to your room.

The fitness center is located on the second floor in an interior-facing windowless room. It contains about five machines (two treadmills, two elliptical machines, and one bike), towels, a water fountain, free weights, and a universal gym. No locker room or bathroom is available.

The outdoor swimming pool and hot tub / Jacuzzi are located on the seventh floor surrounded by a few regular (sitting) chairs and tables. No lounge chairs / sunbeds are positioned around the pool (although some professional hotel photographs show lounge chairs). A hot tub / Jacuzzi is nearby. The heated pool is square, and the compact pool deck does not seem to receive any sunlight until late in the afternoon (however, the pool is heated). Handicapped lifts are present for both the pool and the hot tub. Guests access the pool deck through the “cabana” area. The cabana contains a large table and chairs where guests can play a board game, a lounge area with leather sofas in front of a wall-mounted TV, two video games (one that guests play standing up, and another that guests play while sitting down), a dartboard, a pool table. The cabana area also contains a bathroom with a shower (which is useful if guests want to use the pool before they check in or after they check out). Kids really seemed to enjoy the cabana area; claiming it as their “clubhouse”.

Guest laundry facilities are available on floors 4, 6, and 8 (one washer and one dryer), and ice machines are located on alternate floors 5, 7, and 9. Our room did not contain an ice bucket, nor anything suitable to substitute for one; however, when we called the front desk to request an ice bucket, they were quick to deliver one to our room. Two elevator systems are present in this hotel. The main bank of two elevators serves the basement through floor 8, and a smaller one-unit elevator travels between floors 8 and 9.

We reserved a 1-bedroom suite, which contained a large combination living / dining area and kitchen, with a separate bedroom and bathroom. All suites in this hotel feature a balcony; however, some balconies appear wider than others because of the hotel design. None of the balconies contains furniture, although they are large enough to fit a tiny table and two chairs. We accessed our balcony from the living room area. However, the balcony is located in front of the bedroom. Disappointingly, the chain door guard / lock to our balcony door was broken, and it remained unrepaired during the length of our stay. The living area was large, and it contained a sofa bed, coffee table, end tables, desk and chair, and a small dining table with two chairs. The breakfast bar that separated the dining room from the kitchen included two bar stools. The kitchen did not contain the necessary implements to prepare an actual meal (no pots or pans), but it contained other useful items like a drink pitcher. The full-size refrigerator contained an automatic icemaker.

The bathroom in our suite was small, with a combination bathtub / shower, toilet, and sink / vanity. The hair dryer was tiny, wall-mounted, and not very powerful. The hotel provided toiletries by Neutrogena (including two bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion).

The bedroom area was smaller than the living area, and it held a TV, king-size bed, and two nightstands. The hotel provided only one luggage stand, but when we requested a second one, they delivered it. The living room closet contained an iron and ironing board, although it did not contain any bathrobes or slippers. The bedroom contained a second closet.

We were pleased with our hotel choice in Seattle. We were close to public transportation, it was a quick walk to Pike’s Place Market, and we loved the extra space that the suite-style hotel provided.