Posted by Marshall Jackson on March 15, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Starwood Preferred Guest | 
I recently completed a 3-night stay at the wonderful W Seattle hotel as part of a business trip to the Seattle area. I really enjoyed the hotel, and am happy to have the opportunity to share my thoughts with you. I did not take any pictures as I only travel with my iPhone, which for all its greatness, is really lacking when it comes to the camera department.
Check in
The hotel was a $35 dollar cab ride plus tip from SEA, and traffic was no issue due to our mid-day arrival. The hotel is located on the corner of 4th and Seneca with the main entrance being on 4th street. The cab dropped us at the Seneca entrance which happens to be the most convenient if you have bags as its on the same level as the front desk. This entrance also happens to host the valet parking entrance.
The only wait for check in was for the 2 colleagues I was traveling with, so no issues there. The desk attendant was quite friendly, took the time to thank me for my Starwood Preferred Gold status, and had me checked into my Fabulous and Cool Corner Room within a minute or 2.
The Room
My room met the expectations that its “sales name” implied, “Fabulous and Cool Corner Room.” Located on the 23rd floor, the room was typical W, equipped with the great W bed, functional and well-lit work area, and comfortable chaise lounge. I had a city and partial bay view from my location. Wireless internet access is $14.95 for 24 hours, and the desk offers a wired connection as well. The bath was large and equipped with the standard Bliss products, but there was no “chi-chi trendy walk-in shower,” just a standard tub, but it did the trick.
The room was well taken care of by the housekeeping staff, and turndown service occurred like clockwork every night while I was away at dinner.
Dining
We made it out to some really great restaurants while in town. I’m not a foodie, so I don’t know how to describe our restaurant experiences except to say that they were good to excellent. Two were within walking distance, and one required a drive. Just a few blocks from the hotel, you’ll find Brooklyn Seafood, Steak, and Oyster House. Located at 1212 2nd Ave, Brooklyn was excellent. All of my colleagues enjoyed their entrees, and my bone-in ribeye was cooked perfectly and loaded with flavor. Our server, Nick, was the best! Directly across Seneca from the hotel, was Shuckers. Located in the Fairmont Hotel, Shuckers provided good food, good service, and it was of course, close by. Salty’s on Alki Beach, was an easy drive from downtown, and well worth the effort. Good food, friendly…really friendly service, and a great view of downtown combine for a great time. Not to mention, I snapped this picture of a Boeing 787 flying over downtown.
A Boeing 787 Over Seattle
While I didn’t try it, the hotel is home to Earth and Ocean. I look forward to dining there on my next visit to Seattle. We did try some lite snacks from the bar one afternoon which were prepared by the restaurant, and they were very tasty.
Around the Hotel
For me, the centerpiece of the hotel was the W Bar and Living Room. Awarded “Best Hotel Bar” by Seattle Weekly, the slightly edgy vibe of the lobby bar and trademark W Living Room was the perfect meeting place to discuss the day’s events and plan for the next day’s business. Great drinks, and great service. Thanks Greg! Note: Unlike some other W’s, the hotel does not offer free wi-fi in the lobby “Living Room,” but there is an option for 1 hour of access for $4.95, which I took advantage of for a couple of quick email checks when the BlackBerry or iPhone just weren’t enough. There’s also a Starbucks directly across the street from the hotel.
I made use of the hotel’s reasonably well equipped gym on 3 days out of my 4 day visit. The gym had modern equipment, and an adequate amount of space. While I was never alone, the gym was never crowded.
Random Observations
- The hotel is one of the older W properties, but that didn’t stop me from liking it a lot. The most noticeable difference for me was the bathroom design. Nothing wrong with it, just not the “trendy” kind of bathroom you might expect if you’ve only frequented newer W Hotels.
- There’s a very large sign by the hotel parking entrance advertising $37 dollar a day valet parking. I do not recall if there was any mention of “plus tax” on the sign. When my colleague, who happened to be our assigned driver/car renter for the week checked out, he noted that he was charged $44.21 per night for parking. The front desk told him that “the price for overnight guests in the hotel was $44 dollars and not $37 dollars.” Not sure what to think about that one. I’ve been searching the hotel’s website to find what it says about parking rates but haven’t had any luck. I’m unaware of any self-parking options nearby. If anyone from the hotel happens to read this, comment to the blog with a clarification, and I will update this information.
The Bottom Line
I liked the hotel a lot. If a W is available at my destination, it is always my first choice. The W Seattle is no different. I will be back. If you have any questions, or have your own experiences at this hotel to share, feel free to comment to the blog.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on March 11, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines, Starwood Preferred Guest |
Hello from the A Center Delta Sky Club in Atlanta. Arrived here just before 3PM after a really great flight aboard Delta flight 1052 from Seattle. My Medallion upgrade cleared at the gate, the 757 was equipped with on demand video, in seat power (that was a little spotty), GoGo Inflight Wi-fi, and really great First Class flight attendants. What more could one want in a flight? Alas, it wasn’t to last. My 4:20PM connection to DCA is now a 5:55PM connection and that’s a slight uptick from the 5:45PM departure that was posted when I landed.
I’ve had one of the more successful business trips of the year, and am looking forward to completing the week. I’m also anxious to complete my review of the W Seattle, which was the hotel of choice for this trip. Not only did I have a great stay, but my colleagues mostly seemed to enjoy it as well.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on March 9, 2010 under Starwood Preferred Guest |
Hello from the beautiful W Seattle. I arrived on Monday afternoon for a weeklong business trip. So far, I’ve found 2 great restaurants and 1 great hotel. My stay at the W has been very nice. I’m in a corner room on the 23rd floor with a nice view, and can’t find a thing to complain about. The W Seattle is one of the older W properties, and I’ve seen a couple of signs of age, but certainly nothing that would make me want to stay anywhere else for my next visit to Seattle. I look forward to posting a full review of the hotel when I complete my stay.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 27, 2010 under Starwood Preferred Guest, Travel Tips |
Just completed a 2-night stay at the W Atlanta Midtown. I recently reviewed this property so I will not post a full review, just some observations. Check-in was quick, and polite. I had entered a request for a high-floor city view room in the comments section of my reservation when I booked it on spg.com. I think this was the first time I’d ever had a front desk person mention a request I’d placed in the reservation comments, and I received a 17th floor “Wonderful Room” with a city view.
The stay itself was typical W, and everything was fine. The hotel seemed busier than during my last visit, and I’m always glad to see signs of business picking up. One nice thing I noticed is that I received turndown service each night. Maybe it’s been happening before and I wasn’t paying attention, but I like it. Looking forward to returning to the area in April with stays planned at both the Midtown hotel and the W Buckhead which I will review in full as it’s been quite a while since I’ve stayed there.
I’ll be at the W Seattle the week of March 8th, and I will be sure to post a review of that hotel as well.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 26, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines, Starwood Preferred Guest |
My Delta flight from Atlanta to DCA was right on time tonight. I was feeling so good, I decided to take Metro (DC’s subway system) home, and walk the half mile or so from the station to the house. Remind me not to do that again in the winter with luggage. Brrrr. I have a few things to blog about this weekend. I won’t give a full review of the W Atlanta Midtown since I recently posted one, but I will give a quick synopsis of the stay. I will also post about my Delta flights, which were fine, and offer some thoughts on my Delta Sky Club experience today. They’ve added back some better munchies. Not great, but better and they deserve a shout out. Stay tuned, I think I have more flying planned in the next 2 months than I’ve had in a number of years. My Tripit.com calendar is starting to take up multiple pages!
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 22, 2010 under Starwood Preferred Guest |
Widely blogged about all over Boardingarea.com today, but I felt like getting my 2 cents in.
Starwood Preferred Guest announced today that SPG Platinum members will now receive complimentary in-room internet effective March 1st. You can read Starwood’s announcement about the new benefit here. I think this is a great enhancement to the program. Now I’m even more motivated to earn SPG Platinum status this year. Next Starwood stay: W Atlanta Midtown beginning 2/24.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 1, 2010 under American Airlines, Commentary / General Info, Starwood Preferred Guest |
Hello from the Disney Swan Resort at Walt Disney World. Mrs MJonTravel and I arrived Sunday afternoon to kickoff my 40th birthday extravaganza! Mrs MJonTravel is running a tight ship this week, insisting that I explore every possible square inch of Disney, and leaving very little time for blogging! I expect I’ll have a series of posts about the trip, and may try to get the first full post up this week before setting sail on Monarch of the Seas this Friday, we’ll see.
In the meantime, our flights down to MCO aboard American were fine. Nothing special, but no issues, and that’s always good. We were pleasantly surprised by flying a 767-300 from Miami to Orlando after American did an equipment swap from the usual 757. We enjoyed the lap of luxury in an international business class seat for a whopping 30 minutes!
I’ll have more to say soon. In the meantime, standby for a few Best of MJ on Travel posts this week as well.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on January 28, 2010 under American Airlines, Cruising, Random Musings, Royal Caribbean, Starwood Preferred Guest, Travel Agents |
Blasting off for a little R&R on Sunday morning. Actually, it’s more than a vacation. Some of you may know that on February 6th, I turn 40, and I intend to celebrate a bit. Starting with 5 days at Disney/Epcot and the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel. Yes, even at 39, I’m a little old for Disney, but I’ve never been and I can’t think of a better time to go, can you?! Two cheers for Starwood Preferred Guest’s 5th night free program!
After our Disney visit, we will travel down to Port Canaveral and board Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas where we are hosting my 40th birthday party with 24 friends and family attending. Putting together a group cruise has been interesting and fun. It’s been great working with our fabulous travel agent, Michelle, at McCabe World Travel in McLean, Virginia. Can’t wait to go, even if it is a short weekend cruise.
As is always the case, work has been extra busy this week in preparation for my departure, so I apologize for the dearth of posts. Even though I’m on vacation, I intend to post about the Disney experience, the hotel, and the entire trip. I hope the Admirals Club is serving Mimosas early Sunday morning, because I intend to start the party early!
Posted by Marshall Jackson on January 22, 2010 under Restaurants, Starwood Preferred Guest |
I recently completed a 3-night stay at the W Atlanta – Midtown. This was not my first stay at the hotel, and I have reviewed it previously. But given the time that’s passed since that review, I thought it would be nice to give you an update.
Getting There
The hotel is located in the trendy Midtown section of Atlanta. I typically use Atlanta’s rail system, MARTA, for transportation to/from the airport, and this visit was no different. Although located in Midtown, the closest MARTA stop for this hotel is actually the Arts Center station. From there, it’s less than a 10-minute walk to the hotel.
Check In
Arriving at the hotel, I was warmly greeted by bell staff stationed out front, and offered assistance with my luggage. I politely declined and proceeded to the front desk. The front desk representative was wrapping up with a customer just as I walked in, so I had no wait for check in. The gentleman working the desk was very courteous and professional, noted my Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status, and that I had several prior stays at the hotel.
The only wrinkle in the transaction was once again caused by my Chase Corporate Card. For the second time in 30 days, my card was declined when attempting to check into a hotel after purchasing a MARTA ticket at the airport. The front desk rep was even kind enough to offer to call on my behalf, but I told him I’d handle it as another guest was waiting behind me. A phone call resolved the issue in a few minutes, and my card was working again, allowing me to complete check in.
The Room
My 23rd floor “Spectacular Room” was a typical W room with modern furnishings, 37″ LCD TV, a comfortable king bed, and an awesome view of Atlanta’s great skyline. The desk area is well lit, comfortable and both wired and wireless internet are provided for a pricey $14.95 plus tax. (Note: If you only need to do a quick email check, take advantage of the complimentary wireless internet in the public areas of the hotel including “The Living Room.”)
The bathroom was large, and equipped with a great walk-in shower that I can only describe as very “Euro-trendy.” I’m sure there’s an actual name for the design, but I know you won’t be disappointed.
I noted on entering the room that the air conditioning vent had a bit of a rattle when air was flowing through. I thought about trying to ignore it, but I knew that come bedtime, things like that tend to keep you awake. I called the Whatever / Whenever desk where the very nice person apologized profusely and said they’d send engineering right up. Within 5 minutes, a technician was knocking on my door. Turns out some insulation had gotten loose inside the vent, and that was causing the rattle. Big time MJonTravel gold stars to the hotel for taking care of that super quickly!
Fitness
The hotel is equipped with one of the better gyms I’ve seen at any hotel. It has a W-esque name: Sweat. There’s enough cardio equipment that I’ve never had to wait for a machine, and there is plenty of strength training equipment too. Cardio machines are wired with cable, like a good gym should be, so bring your earbuds.
Not much of an opportunity to use the pool in January, but it is a nice one. Here’s a link to the hotel’s website with a description.
Around the Hotel
There are a number of restaurants within a short walk from the hotel. Two of my favorites happen to be very close by. Shout is just around the corner and serves up great food with a menu as varied as sushi to tapas to pretty darn good steaks. I’ve tried a little of everything, but this week, I went for the double grilled pork chops. If you don’t have a problem with pork, I recommend you try them! Just across Peachtree St from Shout is another great restaurant, TAP. Great beer AND great wine, great food, great vibe.
The dining highlight of my trip however, was Tamarind Seed Thai Bistro. I’m not the biggest Thai food fan on earth, but I don’t mind it. I’ve been thinking about trying this restaurant since my first trip to the area a couple of year’s ago, and one thing I’ve always found there was a crowd whenever I passed by. Now I know why. I had the shrimp and scallops. Sounds basic, but it wasn’t. This was inspired Thai food served by gracious hosts. Give it a try if you’re ever in the area.
The W Atlanta – Midtown is also home to a great restaurant all its own, Spice Market. I didn’t visit this time, but based on past experience, dining here is worth the visit. Biz travel tip: Dining alone? Take your laptop and dine at the bar. You can access the hotel’s wi-fi and get a little work done too.
My favorite place for a cocktail after work, or a night cap is none other than the hotel’s Living Room Bar. Grab a seat at the bar, or ensconce yourself in one of the comfortable couches, and enjoy a drink and the great W scene. This week I actually got a little work done in “The Living Room” where the wireless internet is complimentary.
Random Observations
There is no in-room coffee, but the W Atlanta – Midtown serves good coffee (as opposed to the typical in-room swill at more mundane hotels) in the lobby. I like to work out early, and by the time I’m done, the coffee is usually set up and ready to go. Grab a cup on the way back up to the room and enjoy it with the morning paper.
Every employee of the hotel that I passed in the hallway, lobby or anywhere went out of their way to smile and say hello. Even the morning front desk clerk made a point to say good morning when I passed by on the way for coffee. It was like they’d been trained by my favorite cruise line on how to treat people. Maybe life in DC has jaded me to the point that I notice the least bit of “niceness,” but I thought everyone did a great job of having that little “W” edginess about them while somehow managing to be pleasant at the same time, and I liked it.
The Bottom Line
If you couldn’t tell, I like this hotel a lot. For whatever reason, I’ve been trying to stay very close to my Atlanta work site lately. That has it’s good points, but I think staying at a hotel I actually like means more to me. For future trips to Atlanta, you’ll find me at the W Atlanta – Midtown. See you there. And don’t forget to register for Starwood’s first quarter bonus promotion.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on January 20, 2010 under Starwood Preferred Guest |
I will post a more complete review over the weekend. As I’d previously posted, I’m camping out at the W Atlanta – Midtown this week. This is my 4th or 5th stay at the hotel, so I obviously like it. However, my most recent stays in Atlanta have been in the downtown area closer to my work site. I’ve been focusing on being closer to work, as in walking distance. But this week’s stay reminded me how much I love the W brand, and this hotel and surrounding area in particular. Yes, I know there’s now a W in downtown Atlanta, and I will likely take my next opportunity to give that one a try, but I think the W Midtown is my new fav! I like it a lot, and I’ll fill you in on the details with my full review over the weekend. Heading home tomorrow.
