W Seattle

When the W hotels opened at the turn of the millennium they felt like a late entrant into the boutique-hotel game, but in the blink of an eye they’re suddenly 20 years old. And while the West Coast, and the Northwest in particular, might have felt sleepy at the time, there’s no question Seattle has grown into the sort of city where a W makes perfect sense. No longer is the tech industry confined to the opposite shore of Lake Washington — today’s Seattle is a booming, bustling high-tech capital.

And the W Seattle has changed as well. A thorough renovation in 2016 at the hands of the New York–based Krause Sawyer design studio brought the style up to date, adding trompe l’oeil wood-grain wallpaper and streamlining the décor in a nod to Seattle’s jet-age heritage. And while companies like Amazon are the reason for Seattle’s current boom, the W is full of references to the city’s musical history, from the plaid throw pillows, an echo of grunge’s ubiquitous flannels, to the full-featured recording studio that’s contained within the hotel’s Sound Suite.

The Living Room, the lobby bar, is decorated with oversized record sleeves, and features DJs and live music on weekend evenings. Meanwhile Trace, the restaurant, features a menu of Pacific Northwest–inspired fare, along with Asian accents — today’s Seattle is a more global city than ever before.