Review: Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle

Review: Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle

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My “go to” hotel in Seattle is the Hyatt Olive 8. Hyatt’s hotel footprint in Seattle is pretty interesting, given that they literally have two hotels one block part — the Hyatt Olive 8 and Grand Hyatt Seattle actually share one general manager and a lot of amenities.

During my most recent visit to Seattle I spent my first couple of nights at the Hyatt Olive 8, and then switched over to the W Seattle for the last night, given that the Olive 8 was sold out.

The Olive 8 is located at 8th & Olive (anyone care to speculate where the name of the hotel comes from?) and is part of a larger building. Roughly the bottom half of the building is a hotel, while the top half is condos.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle exterior

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle entrance

While the lobby isn’t huge, it does have a sort of “grand” feeling, given how high the ceilings are.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle lobby

There’s plenty of seating on the right side of the lobby, which is also where the entrance to Urbane Restaurant is.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle lobby

Then on the left side is the hotel’s coffee shop. It’s actually a really good coffee shop. It’s never full, and they make killer cappuccinos which are actually quite reasonably priced. I go there sometimes even when not staying at the Olive 8. Even when I’m staying there, it’s a great place to go for a change of scenery.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle coffee shop

I’ve stayed here many times, and the front desk associates are always extremely accommodating and friendly. As a Diamond member I of course get the standard benefits, which include:

  • A room upgrade based on availability
  • Complimentary internet (there’s a code they give you, so you just enter the access code and it connects you for free)
  • Guaranteed 4PM check-out
  • A welcome amenity (I almost always choose the 1,000 points)
  • Complimentary breakfast in Urbane Restaurant (this hotel has an extremely generous breakfast benefit — you can have breakfast for up to four people at $26.50 per person, so it’s basically a $106 per day breakfast credit)

This hotel is also great about upgrading when they have premium rooms available. On my most recent stay I got upgraded to a “Luxury King” room — that sounds like a perhaps slightly larger standard room, though it’s actually their entry level suite.

Most recently I was assigned room 1134. If you were to use a Diamond Confirmed Suite Upgrade Award, this is the room you’d be booked into.

After taking the elevator to the 11th floor and turning left, my room was located at the far end of the hall.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle hallway

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite entrance

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle floorplan

For entry level suites, these are absolutely massive. There’s a huge entryway which leads into the living room.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite entrance

The living room has a comfortable padded bench, which leads to the desk area, which leads to the living room seating area.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room

The desk has a comfortable chair and well placed outlets, which I always appreciate.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite desk

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King outlets

Across from the desk is a small bar with a fridge, sink, and coffee machine.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room

The living area is large, with a three person couch and two chairs facing a coffee table.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room

Across from the living area is a flat screen TV.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room TV

The one major downside of the Olive 8 is that the hotel doesn’t really have views. Presumably the views are better from the condos, but unfortunately there are no views of the bay from the hotel.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite living room view

From the living room, a sliding door leads to the bedroom, which features a king size bed, seat, and flat screen TV.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite bedroom

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite bedroom

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite bedroom

The views from the bedroom are somewhat similar to the ones from the living room.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite bedroom view

The bathroom features double sinks, a huge soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet in a separate room.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite bathroom

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite shower

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite bathtub

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite toilet

The toiletries are the brand standard KenetMD ones.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Luxury King Suite toiletries

All around it’s an absolutely gorgeous suite, and there’s a ton of space. When I stay here for a week at a time I always try to use a Diamond Suite Upgrade Award, as it’s great to have so much living space.

As a point of comparison, the standard rooms at the Olive 8 are also nicely furnished, though a bit on the small side, at least relative to their suites.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King entrance

They feature a king size bed, chair with side table by the window, desk, and flat screen TV.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King desk

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King TV

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King seat

Then on the side of the room closest to the door they have a luggage rack as well as the coffee machine, fridge, etc.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King

The view from the standard room I most recently stayed in also faced surrounding buildings.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King view

Then as you walk back towards the entrance there’s a dresser with the safe.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King closet

Across from that is the entrance to the bathroom, which features a sink, toilet, and shower.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King bathroom

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King sink

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King toilet

It’s worth noting that the standard rooms at the Olive 8 don’t have tubs, but rather just walk-in showers with a glass partition.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King shower

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Deluxe King shower

In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, I really like Urbane Restaurant, where Diamond breakfast is served every morning from 6:30AM till 11AM.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant

The breakfast menu reads as follows:

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Over the handful of stays I’ve made over the past several months, I think I’ve tried just about everything on their menu.

They make a mean cappuccino, for one.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant cappuccino

The oatmeal is quite good.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant oatmeal

The salmon gravlax and toasted bagel are good, though I know a lot of people don’t like it since it’s not smoked salmon.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant salmon gravlax & toasted bagel

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant salmon gravlax & toasted bagel

The Seattle omelet is really tasty, with chives, cream cheese, and salmon gravlax, though I try to stay away from it as much as possible.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant Seattle omelet

While I’m not an eggs benedict guy, people I’ve invited over for breakfast have usually gone for the dungeness crab benedict and raved about it.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant dungeness crab benedict

My “go to” order which I have nine times out of ten is a veggie egg white omelet with multi-grain toast and salad on the side, along with a non-fat cappuccino and water. Certainly hits the spot!

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Urbane Restaurant veggie egg white omelet

Service in the restaurant is consistently very good, and the servers are accommodating about the fact that I tend to sit there for way too long, as I like a change of scenery for getting my work done.

In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, what really sets this hotel apart for me is their spa, pool, and gym complex on the third floor. The hotel has Elaia Spa, which is a fantastic spa — it’s not one of those hotel spas only hotel guests go to, but it’s actually one of the best spas in Seattle.

Most exciting to me is the salt water lap pool they have, along with the accompanying hot tub. The treadmill gets boring, so swimming laps is a nice change of pace.

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle pool

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle pool

Funny story — I was there one afternoon last week, and started swimming at around 5:30PM. At 5:45PM this 20-something girl shows up because she was hosting an aqua zumba class. She sort of arrogantly told me I’d need to switch lanes, because she was expecting a lot of people and they’d need the first two lanes. Fair enough, so I moved over.

Fast forward 20 minutes, and there’s only one lady that showed up for the class, and she was maybe in her mid-80s. More power to her, but I did get a kick out of her being the only person dancing to hits like Iggy’s “Fancy,” Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” etc. 😉

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle hot tub

The hotel also has a nice gym, though somehow I can’t find the pictures I took of it.

Bottom Line

The Olive 8 is a really solid choice in Seattle. Between the generous room upgrades, central location, great breakfast, and pool, it’s one of the most “well rounded” properties in Seattle, in my opinion.

Rates do vary substantially at this property, as Seattle has a very seasonal hotel market. In winter it’s not unusual to see rates below $150, while during peak cruise/convention season, rooms at this hotel go for $300+ per night.

Grand Hyatt Seattle vs. Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle

I’m often asked which of the two properties is better, and for me it’s very much a case of “six in one hand, half a dozen in the other.” I’ll have a more detailed post comparing the two in the future, but in general here are what I see as the major pros of each property:

Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle pros:

  • Amazing pool/hot tub/gym
  • Restaurant breakfast
  • Nicer public facilities (lobby, coffee shop, etc.)

Grand Hyatt Seattle pros:

  • Better views from the rooms
  • Bathtubs even in standard rooms
  • Club lounge with breakfast, evening snacks, etc. (this is both a pro and con, since it means no restaurant breakfast)

Have you stayed at the Hyatt Olive 8 or Grand Hyatt? If so, what was your experience, and which do you prefer?

Conversations (20)
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  1. chenyuetian Guest

    Won't get any breakfast credit as an Explorist. Just called the front desk and the number on my membership card

  2. danny Guest

    Hi Ben

    With the breakfast there for diamonds, can you only pick X amount of items from the menu or is it unlimited?

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ danny -- The limit is based on a dollar amount, which I believe is a bit over $100.

  3. Allen Guest

    Hi Ben, avid reader here from Vancouver, BC! Love all the posts about Seattle as my wife and I take roadtrips down south every two months. Though, we almost always stay in Bellevue to avoid the $30+/night parking fees you see in Downtown Seattle. Always been intrigued by Olive 8 & Grand Hyatt Seattle (thanks to your reviews), now I'm on the Hyatt Diamond challenge and having status, do you know if they waive any...

    Hi Ben, avid reader here from Vancouver, BC! Love all the posts about Seattle as my wife and I take roadtrips down south every two months. Though, we almost always stay in Bellevue to avoid the $30+/night parking fees you see in Downtown Seattle. Always been intrigued by Olive 8 & Grand Hyatt Seattle (thanks to your reviews), now I'm on the Hyatt Diamond challenge and having status, do you know if they waive any parking fees for Diamonds? If not, by your experience, any relatively cheap parking locations nearby? Thank you!!

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Allen -- Unfortunately they don't waive parking fees. Don't know of any cheap places to park nearby -- sorry!

    2. JustSaying Guest

      We're going to the Regency next week week for 7 nights........doing public transportation all the way and the Olive 8 burned us last time on parking.......and our carbon footprint will be smaller........

  4. Shariq Guest

    @Lucky; thanks Lucky. I'll give it a shot starting next week.

  5. mark Guest

    Didn't you recently review this property ?

  6. omatravel Guest

    I stayed at both several times last year. Both properties are really great but I lean towards the Grand Hyatt because I liked the rooms better, the shower in the standard Olive 8 rooms just doesn't do it for me. The staff is also good about getting me a view or corner room which is great compared to that crappy condo/apartment complex you get to see from the O8.

    Since I'm not Diamond and have...

    I stayed at both several times last year. Both properties are really great but I lean towards the Grand Hyatt because I liked the rooms better, the shower in the standard Olive 8 rooms just doesn't do it for me. The staff is also good about getting me a view or corner room which is great compared to that crappy condo/apartment complex you get to see from the O8.

    Since I'm not Diamond and have to pay for breakfast it's not something I ate at the hotel. Instead I'd stop at a couple of local spots while walking to my customer's site.

  7. Shariq Guest

    @Lucky: do you prefer the Hyatt Olive or the W? I travel to Seattle every week and usually stay at the W. I am a Diamond member so based on your feedback I may try out the Hyatt. Thanks.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Shariq -- I do prefer the Olive 8 by a bit, I think, between the pool, gym, and breakfast.

  8. Garrett Guest

    You say they're generous with the upgrades--how do you usually pay? I typically will do points+cash on $300+ rates, unless there's a particularly good elite rate available.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Garrett -- I have always booked paid rates at this hotel, since I usually stay in the off season.

  9. David H Guest

    Also: Hyatt Olive 8 is Seattle's only luxury eco hotel. Easier on the environment than traditional luxury hotels.

  10. JustSaying Guest

    I stayed in that exact room during FTU as I am a swimmer and that was the deciding factor.......it is a very nice property.......but next time I have the Grand Hyatt reserved as you have access to walk over to the pool as a Grand Hyatt guest but you don't get Club lounge at Olive 8.

  11. Mike Guest

    I love the location of the Hyatt Olive 8. I think it's less "canyon" like in that part of the city. Always clean and comfortable. Take a ferry to Bainbridge Island to the Streamliner Diner if you want a great breakfast. You can time it perfectly so you can eat and walk back to the return ferry without rushing yourself.

  12. Chris Guest

    I am guessing the name comes from a Hyatt exec who looked down and saw 8 olives in his martini. :)

  13. Joy Guest

    Olive 8 has one of my favorite spas. It's my go-to hangout whenever I have a redeye out of Seattle. Massage, shower, dinner - and I'm ready for a long flight! Not only do they have good snacks (dried cherries make me smile), but you can order from Urbane and have it delivered to the relaxation room.

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chenyuetian Guest

Won't get any breakfast credit as an Explorist. Just called the front desk and the number on my membership card

0
lucky OMAAT

@ danny -- The limit is based on a dollar amount, which I believe is a bit over $100.

0
danny Guest

Hi Ben With the breakfast there for diamonds, can you only pick X amount of items from the menu or is it unlimited?

0
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