The Fairmont Olympic Hotel ~ Seattle, Washington – If you are a regular reader of The Roaming Boomers®, then you will know that we love to visit historic hotels.  And The Fairmont Olympic Hotel certainly falls into that category.

After our seven-night cruise of Alaska’s Inside Passage, we decided to spend four nights in Seattle, and made the Fairmont Olympic our home for the first night.

Built on what was originally the site of the first campus of the University of Washington, The Fairmont Olympic has evolved from the grandest inn west of Chicago in 1924, with a hotel room rate of $3.50 a night, to Washington’s premier luxury hotel. Fully restored in the mid 1980s and renovated again in 2005, the 450-guest-room hotel, which includes 216 suites, has been lauded for retaining and, indeed celebrating, the old world charm of its Italian renaissance architectural design.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a member of Historic Hotels of America, the hotel continues to receive national and international recognition.

I shot the top photograph above from our hotel room window and it serves to show the juxtaposition of the historic Fairmont Olympic in a forest of modern Seattle architecture.

Seattle was bustling during our July visit.  In fact, the Fairmont Olympic was 100% occupied and it was only by the good graces of our friends in Toronto’s Fairmont headquarters that we were able to spend even one night in this grand dame which stands high above the Pacific in all her Italian renaissance glory.

By night, The Georgian (pictured above), now celebrating its 20th year rated as a AAA 4 Diamond restaurant, features French-inspired Northwest cuisine prepared by Executive Chef Gavin Stephenson.

We, however, enjoyed The Georgian for lunch and savored the most remarkable soup and sandwich combo I think we have ever experienced.

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel has renovated some of their rooms and wanted to share with us their new presidential-style suites.  Who are we to say no to such an offer!

Here you can see our room turned down for the night.  Bath robes on the bed, wicker basket ready to collect my shoes for shining, and warm, comfy slippers standing ready on each side of the bed to soothe our feet.

We also enjoyed a wonderful sitting area opposite our bed, and a newly remodeled bathroom replete with beautiful marble, soaking tub, and a dual-head shower.

Even further, to Carol’s glee, there were large closets and oodles of drawer space for her to unpack her things.

Carol tends to immediately unpack when she enters a new hotel room, where I am happy, other than my hanging clothing, to live out of my suitcase.  In most circumstances, this suits Carol just fine as she then gets all the drawer space.  🙂

With only one evening to experience this AAA Five-Diamond jewel, there is so much more that we didn’t get to experience.  Hopefully, on our next trip to Seattle, there will be more nights available.

If you’re in Seattle, give the Fairmont Olympic Hotel a visit.  And, if your pocketbook can swing it, opt for the newly upgraded presidential-style suites.

Disclosure:  our wonderful experience was provided by the kind folks at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel.  Photo Credit:  the two middle photographs are from the Fairmont Digital Photo Archives.