Over the weekend I spent two nights at the Westin Bellevue while apartment hunting in the area. I had heard good things about the Westin, so I was excited to try it out. Since Bellevue is mostly a business area and I was staying over the weekend, I got a reasonable rate of $149 per night.
A friend picked me up at the airport (since there’s no good public transportation from SeaTac to Bellevue) and I arrived at the hotel at around 3PM. The building housing the Westin is beautiful, with the first 20 floors being the hotel, and the higher floors being condominiums.
Hotel exterior
Check-in was prompt, though as I posted about here, not especially smooth. I asked the agent about the possibility of an upgrade, and she informed me I had been upgraded to a deluxe room. I asked about the possibility of a suite upgrade (given that they were still selling lots of suites online), and she told me my room was a suite. Okay, I figured I misunderstood her the first time around, though as it turns out it wasn’t a suite. As you can see below, it was a pretty standard room, though nicely furnished.
Deluxe room
I was out for most of the afternoon, and upon returning to the hotel made a blog post about the situation. I just found it an interesting story and wasn’t looking for any results, though within 20 minutes of posting the story I received a direct message from SPG on Twitter, and a few minutes after that got a call from the front office manager apologizing and offering me a suite.
I had dinner plans so initially declined, though he insisted on having them make the move for me. He just asked that I drop by the front desk for new keys after dinner. Okay, deal!
Anyway, the next room I was assigned, 1428, was much nicer. It was a “corner studio suite.” Interestingly this hotel also has executive suites, though they’re smaller and less expensive, which is the first hotel I’ve seen that at.
The corner studio suite was awesome, with a Heavenly Bed, sitting area, and TV.
Corner studio suite
Corner studio suite
Sitting area
TV/desk
The highlight of the room had to be the panoramic windows overlooking Bellevue and Lake Washington in the distance. The three days I was in the Seattle area had some of the most beautiful weather I’ve seen in a long time, so I really lucked out.
View from my room
The bathroom was pretty interesting. The first room had double sinks and was spacious.
Bathroom
That led to the shower and toilet.
Toilet
The shower was was surrounded by glass on two sides, so had curtains going all the way around it, which was the first time I’ve seen that. The water pressure and temperature control were excellent.
Shower
The hotel’s gym and pool, located on the 4th floor, were nice as well. The gym was huge and had just about all the equipment you could want.
Gym
Gym
The pool was big enough for laps and there was a hot tub.
Pool
Hot tub
I chose breakfast as the Platinum amenity, and was thrilled to find that they offer Platinum members a “proper” breakfast buffet. This is one of the few Starwood properties in the US I’ve stayed at where that’s the case.
Breakfast is served daily in Palomino Restaurant from 6:30AM till 11AM. You get the continental breakfast buffet as a Platinum, and the upgrade to the hot buffet is a very reasonable $4 per person.
Palomino Restaurant
While the buffet wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, it had all the basics you could want — fruit, bagels, pastries, lox, cereal, yogurt, etc.
Breakfast buffet
Breakfast buffet
Breakfast buffet
Breakfast buffet
Aside from the check-in agent I had the first time around, all the staff were friendly, courteous, and eager to help. I also really like the location of this hotel, as it’s right in the heart of Bellevue (then again, so is the Hyatt Regency, which is the other major hotel in Bellevue). I’m a huge fan of Bellevue, as it has a ton of great restaurants, shopping, and somehow has a big city feel without being hectic.
Anyway, on the whole I really liked this place, and rank it as one of the best Westins I’ve stayed at in the US.
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