Grand Hyatt Seattle by Daniel Scott

In spite of having had the misfortune of opening just prior to 9/11, with its devastating effect on the confidence of the American traveling public, the Grand Hyatt is nonetheless already challenging for the title of Seattle’s most luxurious pad.

This Grand Hyatt is fairly typical of the high end of its brand in being both highly comfortable and carefully tailored to corporate needs. Yet the overall atmosphere of the property happily reflects that of Seattle itself in being relatively understated (by comparison with some of its Californian cousins), unpretentious (ditto) and chirpily down-to-earth.

What is good too is that the Grand Hyatt’s central location on Pine Street makes both meetings in the nearby business and financial districts and downtown attractions (such as the Pike Street Market and the Elliott Bay waterfront), museums and restaurants eminently accessible on foot. If you’re in Seattle for a conference, then the Washington Convention Centre is even closer, just across the road. The sense is of being close enough to touch the city vibe but both high and cocooned enough not to be rendered sleepless in Seattle by it all.

Actually the earthy colour scheme used throughout the property is probably just on the somber side of restful. This is especially so in the low-ceilinged lobby area, that gets little natural light from the streets outside. But its clean rectangularity, matte walls and mahogany paneling is perfectly inhabitable and a frosted glass forest opposite the long registration/concierge desk provides a contrast to the prevailing browns and beiges.

Guest rooms are in functional light browns as well with plenty of wood and fabric, and you won’t find a small one among the 425 available. Inevitably, you’ll just do better for views the higher the floor you are on. If you are lucky you will retract your electronic shutter in the morning to look out over a mist lifting from Puget Sound in front of Seattle, with the Olympic mountain range behind that, and the “Public Market” sign above the city’s most famous sight in the foreground. Rooms at the back of the hotel have equally fine views, facing the busy Lake Union, with another mountain range – the Cascades – in the background.

The overall sense of the surrounds is of space, a mood that is amplified in the rooms themselves. King-sized beds are huge enough to challenge even the most tumultuous sleeper to tumble out of them and oversized bathrooms in Carrara marble, with deep cast-iron tubs and stand-alone glass shower cubicles, come as standard in all rooms. Each room, as befits a hotel in the home city of Bill Gates, is also technologically advanced, offering everything from free and fast internet access and video juke box to a digital concierge for theatre and restaurant reservations.

There are many eateries within striking distance of the hotel but the Grand Hyatt’s own “727 Pine” restaurant is good enough to stay in for, with Northwest-inspired cuisine and an understandable predilection for fresh regional seafood. Order a creamy mushroom soup and there’s a beautifully tender seared scallop sitting at its centre like a bulls-eye on a target and even a modest Seafood cobb salad is crammed with local Dungeness crab, giant prawns and squid. There’s an attractive Wine cellar below, from which a delighted sommelier will extract the best of the unsung Washington and Oregon wines from 400 possibilities and above, a street level bar lounge for evening drinks.

In common with most of Seattle’s top properties there is no swimming pool at the Grand Hyatt but there is the next best thing: a largish whirlpool (in the health club) that delivers a powerful, therapeutic massage from its many submerged jets. If you prefer a human touch, that’s available in the Health Club too, with a range of beauty treatments on offer there or in room. The adjacent gym is well equipped and rarely feels crowded. Finally, at lobby level there’s a small arcade of shops including a hair salon and this being Seattle, whose love affair with coffee is well-documented, a Starbucks outlet for breakfast on the hoof.

Enthusiastic staff, who are generous with both time and advice, help round off generally good impressions at this first Grand Hyatt in the Pacific Northwest, and the hotel’s excellent location makes it easy to enjoy the many pleasures of this very civilized and manageable US city.