No N&Kers, this is not a Maxwell song but a review of The Maxwell Downtown Seattle Hotel.

Stay Pineapple is a boutique hotel chain in 5 American cities.  We chose to stay at The Maxwell Downtown. Oh la la.

It is a funky cool hotel, just off of 3rd Avenue North^. The hotel is nestled in a quieter residential-type subdivision. It’s an 8-minute walk from the Museum of Pop Culture, and about 9 minute drive to Pike Place Market.

Their mottos:

• Stay Naked (laundered bed linens so you can just pop into bed, and not have to pull a blue-light-worthy germy bedspread off),
• old-fashioned hospitality and
• pup-friendly (welcome with reservations).

We’d sum up the looks with: bright colours, lots of light and groovy-kinda-retro vibes.

Our room was in the corner, south-facing and on the 4th floor. We had a view of the top of the Space Needle. We had a balcony with some chairs. It was raining, cold and foggy so we didn’t spend too much time out there.

T H E    p R O s:

What first stood out were the non-carpeted floors, the lofty ceiling and big fluffy beds. Though the lobby and hallways were loudly coloured, our stylish room was thankfully muted.

This hotel is chock full of amenities like shuttle buses, in-room safe, microwave, mini fridge, basic beverages and popcorn, on-site gym, pool, espresso & cocktail bars and restaurant. There’s apparently an afternoon teatime in the lobby with pineapple cupcakes. There’s also a secured underground parking (fee).

Gender neutral washrooms!

There are tons of nooks and crannies for cool pictures*.

There are some little eateries within walking distance.

Gym fits 7 people. They have 4 cardio machines, free weights, TV, a bench, towels and water.

TV was a good size and positioned so we could both comfortably watch. We could cast Netflix from our phones to the TV, and loaded music when we wanted. (Wifi is free for guests.)

Saving the best for last… The beds were heaven. Absolute heaven! They were tall, firm, lofty, cozy and pillow filled**.

C H A L L E N G E S:

1. Shuttle schedule and stops are not written anywhere. One can phone the front desk to inquire. The staff are happy to provide a verbal schedule, or make a booking.  So, call the day before if you want to plan around the shuttle sched.

2. Restaurant and cocktail bar weren’t open when we were there (on a weekend).

3. There wasn’t a lot of countertop space in the bathroom or living areas. This was a bit of a problem as we have lots of makeup and girly things. We also require a separate snack stacking area. So things were very tight.

4. In-suite lighting wasn’t wonderful for getting ready. (Usually we share the bathroom, see point 3.) So I had to do my makeup at the windowsill which didn’t work well in the evening.  (Putting on lashes is hard enough in normal lighting!)

5. Pool is small. We didn’t think it would be huge but an average-heighted adult couldn’t do laps. This pool is probably more suited to keep kids busy when the supervising adults want some quieter time.

6. Resort and parking fees.  Nightly rates are reasonable but these fees add another $50/night.

They have fun wood-block games in their elevators.

C O N C L U S I O N:

Yes, we’d recommend this hotel.

Next time we’re in Seattle, though, we’ll probably be checking out other hotels for variety.

FOOTNOTES:

^ Oddly there is a huge mostly empty parking lot across the street in front with an airstream parked on top, like a cherry.
* hint hint… foreshadowing to our upcoming pictures!
** One evening, after traipsing around in the damp cold, I had changed into my jams and was bundled in my bed watching TV. Kells comes out of the washroom and for a moment couldn’t see me. THAT’S how fluffy the duvets and pillows were!