What Happened to the Olympic Hotel, Seattle?
During The Roaring Twenties, in 1924, The Olympic Hotel opened setting “new standards for lavish social affairs, previously only found in large East Coast cities”. Eight times this millennium the Fairmont Olympic has been ranked one of the 500 top hotels in the world.
Their public areas are second to none in my hometown, Seattle. If I had an event here, it would be at The Olympic.
So, it made sense that Allyn and I booked a room here for our visit this week. I mean it’s the grande dame of Seattle and now a Fairmont.
Unfortunately it seems they haven’t changed a carpet in 20 years. The toilet was plugged and the shower just dripped water. The rooms, even those upgraded to suites, are tiny. They don’t even have turn down without requesting.
And how low is this? I spent some time in the beautiful lobby and noticed that everybody who checked in was told their room wouldn’t be ready for a couple hours but for a $20 upgrade they could get immediate access. Sorry Fairmont. That’s embarrassing.
