What service can you provide to groups that they normally might not receive?
I think the fact that our concierge desk is open seven days a week, from 6:30am-11pm is a service not received at many hotels. During the evenings and weekends, once Sales & Catering teams goes home, we are always here to assist groups and their contacts with the requests normally handled by the sales or conference services manager.
What are your bar or nightclub recommendations?
Close to the hotel, I recommend the Triple Door. Great cocktails in a casual yet upscale lounge environment, often accompanied by live music. Also close to the hotel is ZigZag Cafe - tucked away along the Pike Place Market hill-climb, the bar has an immediate coziness to it, with mood lighting and jazz music, it’s a perfect place to enjoy a drink with friends or on your own.
For a true Seattle nightlife experience, I recommend a short cab ride to Capitol Hill. Live music, great DJs, great cocktails - there are many great recommendations. One of them is Tavern Law - a prohibition-era themed bar difficult to find, with blacked-out windows and a simple sign overhanging the sidewalk, it looks more like an office building. An impressive food and cocktail list makes Tavern Law a local hotspot, complete with a secret hush-hush bar upstairs.
Can you recommend a good place to take a stroll?
A stroll along the Seattle Waterfront is really lovely - great views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains, and the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park, about a mile north of the hotel, is a great destination.
Another idea is to take in the scenery of our waterways onboard a Washington State Ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. Onboard the ferry you can walk the circumference of the ferry on the outside desk (dress appropriately). The desk is about 250 meters around, from here you can take in a 360 degree view of the mountains if they are out, the skyline and the water. The ride is 35 minutes each way and eases you into the pace of the Pacific Northwest, you may continue strolling when you arrive to Bainbridge Island in the small town of Winslow or just return to Seattle.
Lastly, just one block away from the hotel, you will find Pike Place Market. I recommend strolling through the market early in the morning, grabbing a pastry and a cup of coffee from Le Panier and making your way toward the Seattle Waterfront. At the Seattle Waterfront you can watch the ferries come in from Bainbridge Island and view contemporary artwork at the Olympic Sculpture Park, which is outdoor art installment from the Seattle Art Museum.
Are there any quirky places we should check out?
Seattle is full of quirky places. The Capitol Hill neighborhood in general is very eclectic.
In the Fremont neighborhood, there is an 18 foot concrete Troll clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle that was sculpted by local artists under the Aurora Bridge. It transformed what used to be a somewhat seedy location into what is now a well-visited unique point of interest in the city.
Bill Spiegel's Underground Tour is an extremely quirky look at Seattle's strange history. The 90-minute walking tour takes you underneath the city streets for a look at a layer of city that was built on top of at the turn of the century, after a fire nearly destroyed the entire city.
What is an unusual request from a group you’ve had?
A Middle Eastern group requested copies of Al Ahram, the most widely-circulated Arabic-language newspaper, with very short notice. Instead of trying to find it at a local international newsstand, I was able to find it in PDF format online, and used our printers to print and staple it onto 11" x 17" paper.
A party of 12 wants to have dinner right away. What restaurant can accommodate last-minute requests of this size?
We would love to first know more about what the group would be looking for in terms of cuisine or ambiance, there are a number of restaurants in Seattle and we have very good working relationships with them. Some of the restaurants I have had the best luck with this type of request are; our restaurant, ART, for Pacific NW Cuisine; Wild Ginger for Pan-Asian; Aqua by El Gaucho and Flying Fish for Seafood; Metropolitan Grill for steak.
Just last week I was able to get a party of 26 in for lunch to Wild Ginger, 25 minutes before their requested dining time. The other benefit is that it is only two blocks from the hotel - so we can avoid the nightmare of trying to organize transportation for a large group.
At ART, there is a Private Dining Room, which can seat 12; or the more casual Chef’s Communal Table in front of the wine wall.
What’s a unique event that has taken place at your property?
We recently had a team-building event that a group held here where they constructed small boats in the ballroom and then took them to the pool to see if they could float. The boats were judged – the group had so much fun.
Another unique event is Market to ART. Also great for team-building, spouse programs or fun event for a small group of friends, Market to ART involves five teams of two, each responsible for purchasing certain ingredients for a course: Cocktail & Snack; Vegetarian Appetizer; Fish Course; Main Course and Dessert. The pairs are given $60 and 40 minutes to shop at neighboring Pike Place Market. They find out who they are paired with and which course they will be shopping for that evening.
After shopping, everyone heads back to ART, where the chefs unveil the ingredients purchased and take over making each course. The guests are given free range to be as creative as they want with the ingredients and if they are stumped the chefs do give a suggested list with each course. When the dishes are almost ready, each pair heads into ART's kitchen, plates the dish, and then presents it to the group. Is it what they expected? Did the chefs use all the ingredients? The group also brushes up on their wine and cheese knowledge with three mini-challenges in between courses.
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