TBy — Hotel in Seattle

Their 4:00 PM check-ins and 11:00 AM check-outs ate quite strict, understandably for room maintenance. However, I was really shocked with how dirty the room is when I got there. It was clear that someone had definitely cleaned, but when taking a closer look by turning on and off appliances to make sure they were working, I found multiple stains and hairs on the bed sheets and pillow casings as well as under the pillows, grimy wall corners and stained towels in the bathroom. The shower drain was plugged almost all the way. It would take about 2 hrs to fully drain the water my partner used after showering. More on that later because this drain was apparently a recurring problem that was never fixed... The plates and bowls had small specs of food still stuck on them, the pans had dried black oil or whatever that stuff is under the pans; I think it's not hard to clean the bottom of pans. Overall, it looked like a scam.

Nonetheless, I paid a substantial amount to get the studio space which I was happy with as far as I could tell, but the shower drain posed a huge problem because we couldn't shower together to pass the drain problem, nor could we use the plumbing tools to solve the problem ourselves. So, we called for maintenance. They replied rather quickly (within 15-30 mins) and told us that we could temporarily move to another room while maintenance took a look at it and fix the problem. Low and behold, the next day when moving our items back to the original room, the drain was not fixed. We then called again for maintenance, and they again said they would go and check it out. We spent around 4 hours outside to give ourselves a good vacation as well as time for maintenance to fix things up. We were greeted by a shower that was a little cleaner than before. So, we knew someone had looked at it. We turned on the water and let it on for a bit, but unfortunately, the drainage was not fixed.

Overall, we gave them 2 days and 3 large chances to fix tbe drain and nothing but a little scrubbing was done, which btw doesn't even begin to solve the drain problem, so we decided that my partner can use the shower for a little, and I would clean my parts using the sink and put the (already) dirty towels on the floor. We decided that it wasn't worth the effort to continue having to call maintenance and have nothing done so we left it as is.

If you happen to rent a few days at this place, be prepared to either buy tons of water from outside or boil and clean your water inside. The only source of safe water they have is from the tap, which tastes really bad and probably isn't safe. I'm glad I didn't drink more of it because I probably would've gotten sick. Although I was told that the tap was safe, I believe the pipes in this place aren't regularly checked which could affect the safety of the water. I know this might be a huge allegation but I don't really want to get too far into it.

In conclusion, place seemed nice at first, but is an actual nightmare to truly live in. The location is nice though, it's close to the Pike Market which is a huge yourist attraction ad well as other spots. Bounce luggage holders are also within 7 minutes of walking. Very good location, but very unfortunately,...

Staying at the Kasa The Oxford Seattle was the best choice I made. As a solo traveller, I chose the 1 bedroom and double bed pull-out couch with a fully equipped kitchen and it was more than spacious (even if I had my partner with me!). The furniture, ambiance & amenities truly felt like I was at home. The best part about this place is the location; it was in walking distance of every single one of my itinerary items: Pike Place Market, Underground Tours, Space Needle, Chihuly Garden & Glass, Seattle Centre, Seattle Christmas Market, etc. just to name the main attractions I visited. I did not have to take mobile transportation once during my entire stay.

I am a relatively young solo female traveller and was nervous but the security measures truly made this place the right choice. A unique code is required to enter both the building and your individual unit. You can also call or text the Virtual Front Desk 24/7, and on the 2 occasions I made a call they were quick to answer and were helpful.

Every stay is not perfect however and there are a few things I do want to call out (although I would still stay here again despite these few notes): The unit was freezing and I'm from Canada where I'm very used to the cold, however this was an unpleasant cold. I did bring it up to the Virtual Front Desk and they offered me a space heater to make my stay comfortable. Unfortunately, I could not access the Concierge Closet that they gave me a code to retrieve the heater (not their fault; I also didn't bother to call back and let them know this), but instead I found a blanket in the closet of my unit and used that to keep me warm for the rest of my stay. The fragrance in the hallway is a tad bit strong. I love fragrance, but for those who are fragrance sensitive, this is likely not an ideal stay for you. However, it is mainly in the hallways which you will probably spend minimal time in. The unit was relatively clean however, I did find an entire eaten bag of chips under the couch which made me slightly concerned about the lack of detail in the cleaning & sanitary procedures. However, this was the only cleanliness issue, and it was under the couch, so I'm not too concerned. They also had a surface cleaner in addition to a broom and dustpan so I was able to clean the unit myself if required.

In summary: Pros: -Walkability/Location (close to popular Seattle attractions) -Safety (Access codes for entry into building and unit) -Amenities (Fully equipped kitchen, blankets, towels, shower products)

Cons: -Temperature (too cold!) -Fragrance (too strong) -Attention to detail in cleanliness (under couch garbage)

Overall however, I had a 5/5 stay and I would certainly recommend Kasa The Oxford Seattle to other groups and...

Unsettling Experience – Especially for Solo Female Travelers

My stay was from Mon. 5/19 - Sun. 5/25. The location is great—just a block from Pike Place Market & close to other attractions either walking or via scooter. But there’s no on-site parking, & the nearby garage (Stewart between 2nd & 3rd) is a couple of blocks away & the elevator is often broken it seems. Street parking is scarce, if any, & I didn’t feel completely safe walking in the area at night due to catcalling from a large homeless group, next to the parking garage entrance, where the bus stop is as well in addition to a nearby shooting during my stay. I think every big city has this issue though.

Communication from the hotel was poor. I never received a confirmation email or check-in details until an hour before check-in. I had to email them myself to confirm my reservation as the process is unclear. When I arrived, I couldn’t enter the building until the maintenance man let me in & assisted with checking me in using Google Translate, as there was no staff at the desk & messages had gone unanswered for hours, not just for me but another guest as well who was also waiting to be let in & checked in.

The real issue came with that same maintenance man. He repeatedly complimented me in a way that became uncomfortable (2 days straight with every other sentence about maintenance or check-in being a compliment), asked me out to dinner (which I declined), & then later entered my room without my permission or knowledge. I discovered this after finding a can of WD-40 left behind in my bathroom—something I hadn’t seen earlier in the day. Management couldn’t explain why he entered or how long he was inside. They claimed it was a mistake, but never followed up with security footage or a proper explanation, as they said they would. Days after my stay had ended, the staff would say that that maintenance went into the wrong room while trying to fix the rust in the shower but when maintenance came by to pick up the bottle of WD-40, he motioned that it was for the door hinge… Staff would also mention that the maintenance man had been working there for years now & was very nice. Hotel management has still not followed up with an explanation about security footage to see how long he’d been in my room before the “mistake” was realized. I felt extremely uneasy for the rest of my stay & avoided calling for maintenance again, even though the shower drained slowly.

The room itself was clean, cozy, & included a full-sized fridge, but the lack of professionalism & poor handling of my complaint made my stay stressful. If you’re a solo traveler—especially a woman—I would strongly urge caution before...