Four Seasons Hotel Seattle ★★★★★

Pike Place on One Side, Elliott Bay on the Other

NBBJ drew the building into one of the tightest and best corners in the city, where the downtown grid runs out and drops toward the water. The interiors came from several hands, among them KES Studio, BraytonHughes, Susan Marinello and Wimberly, and the common thread is Pacific Northwest material rather than international hotel gloss: volcanic basalt on the walls, local artwork in the rooms, custom furniture drawn from Northwest traditions with a quiet Asian influence running through it. The house holds 134 guest rooms and 13 suites, which is small for a property of this standing and shows in the service.

Why It Works

We kept this one for the deck. Seattle is a city of grey afternoons and startling clear evenings, and the hotel answers both: the only outdoor infinity pool in town, a firepit, cabanas and a bar arranged to face Elliott Bay and the Olympic range beyond it. When the weather turns, the spa takes over with eight treatment rooms. That combination is the reason to pay for this address rather than a comparable room elsewhere downtown. The second reason is the front door, which opens onto the two things most visitors came to see.

Why This Location

Pike Place Market is the immediate neighbor, close enough that the morning trip for coffee and fish is a walk rather than an outing. The Seattle Art Museum stands across the street. Below and to the west, the waterfront runs along Elliott Bay with the Great Wheel and the ferry terminals, which puts Bainbridge Island within a day trip on foot and by boat. The views run west over the water toward the Olympics, and the rooms facing that way are worth the difference.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Pacific Northwest, understated, materially serious

• Rooms: 147 in total, 134 guest rooms and 13 suites

• Best For: a first visit to Seattle, waterfront views, travelers who want a spa and a pool in a city hotel

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the outdoor infinity pool, the only one in the city, pointed straight at the Olympic Mountains

• Dining: Goldfinch Tavern, restaurant and lounge, with Ethan Stowell as consulting chef; two private dining rooms for up to 20

• Amenities: spa with eight treatment rooms, fitness center with Technogym equipment and personal trainers, outdoor infinity pool with bar and cabanas, firepit, jetted tub

• Attractions: Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum, the Elliott Bay waterfront and the Great Wheel, the ferry terminals

Goldfinch Tavern and the Ethan Stowell Connection

Ethan Stowell is the chef most closely associated with the way Seattle eats now, and his involvement as consulting chef is what keeps Goldfinch Tavern from being a hotel dining room. The cooking leans on what the region grows and lands, the pastry section is run by Danielle Grogan, and live music comes in toward the end of the week. Two private rooms seat up to twenty, which matters for the business traveler who needs somewhere to take six people without leaving the building.

The Deck, the Pool and the Spa

The outdoor deck is the property’s signature and it is unusual for the latitude. An infinity-edge pool looks west over Elliott Bay, with cabanas, a bar, dining service and a firepit for the hours when the air turns. The fitness center faces the same view through Technogym equipment, and personal trainers are available. Indoors, the spa carries eight treatment rooms in a contemporary Pacific Northwest register, with a menu built around regional ideas, from a Puget Sound meditation massage to an evergreen aromatherapy treatment.

What to Know Before You Book

Ask for a bay-view room. The difference between facing the water and facing the city is the difference between this hotel and a very good one anywhere else. Check-in is from three in the afternoon and check-out is at noon, which is later than most and useful on a last day. Children are accommodated and the property is listed as pet-friendly, so confirm the terms when you reserve.