The Alexis Royal Sonesta Hotel Seattle — Hotel in Seattle

The good: the hotel is cute, not overwhelmingly nice. No, it is the definition of a boutique hotel. This isn’t the four seasons by a long shot. They have neat touches like the Alexa in the room (get it, Alexis — Alexa, cute) and I love the pay it forward amenity where if you opt out of room cleaning every day and you get a $10 credit. They slip a little card under the door that you are meant to present at checkout, apparently. This is where it goes bad. Upon checkout I mentioned that we couldn't find our little cards, and frankly - out of the three nights we stayed there we only received one card even though we never requested room cleaning services. Out of the three ladies at the front desk the one who booked us into our room originally (and played the whole “oh I’m going to upgrade your room for you since you’re staying so long with us” bit and stuck me and my fiancé in a 2 full size bed room. The room didn’t appear to be an upgrade. We had a view of an office building across from us? Is that an upgrade? Most likely it’s because they were out of king beds, or didn’t want to give us one since we booked through Priceline - that’s not an upgrade.. but nice spin on that) so out of the three ladies she stepped in to help us checkout. She said “well, we need the cards to offer the credit, sorry”. But i insisted we hadn’t required room cleaning services, i just couldn’t find them in the room after packing and cleaning up (since no one at the hotel ever did!) At this point I almost asked if she was insinuating that I was lying.. because why cause such a scene over $30 when we just spent over a $1,000 with them. She finally said.. “I shouldn’t but I’ll credit you the $10 card” and then proceeded to start the checkout process with the $10 credit. I said “No, we didn’t require any room cleaning services ANY of the nights. We stayed three nights so that would be a $30 credit!” After what seemed to be a hostile stare down lasting 2 minutes she finally relented rolling her eyes and huffing and puffing about how “it’s a one time thing” to which i almost replied “yes it is, because I’ll never book here again because of your attitude”. Being in the service industry myself I understand that there are rules in place for a reason, but when dealing with a customer you should always maintain your professionalism and most importantly always be polite. Especially if you’re telling a customer something they don’t want to hear. She could have even politely said, “I’ll send a bellhop up to the room to retrieve the cards” or.. “if you’d like to search for them I’ll hold your bags for you here” SOMETHING. And honestly if she had been the slightest bit polite and professional when telling us they couldn’t credit us without the cards I would have understood. But she wasn’t. More realistically, the housekeeping staff needs to keep record of who requires their services and who doesn’t so that checkout is seamless. Or, don’t offer the service unless you intend on actually following through with it. It makes me question if they do it like this on purpose. Betting on the fact that most guests will lose the card, that’s IF they even get them in the first place! Whoever this woman is, (if someone from the hotel contacts me I’m happy to give a description) she made our final day in beautiful Seattle a little sour and ensured I’d never book with Kimpton...

This was, by far, the best hotel experience I've had in a long time. Booked on the fly, I lucked into arguably the best room in the place (1537). It took me by surprise by how large it was. There is parking and valet available if you're bringing a vehicle. The staff, from housekeeping to front desk to the valet, gave nothing but excellent service. I bought flowers from the Market and asked if there might be a vase available and within minutes, there was a knock at my door and a smiling woman with a vase. There wasn't a request I made that wasn't accommodated quickly and exactly.||The room is a one bedroom suite with spectacular views. The pictures of the room from hotel management are close to what the room looks like, just with some of the furniture moved around. In the bedroom, there is a low-rise king bed that is very comfy. There is also a small bluetooth speaker, tv, many plug-ins, and a small dresser. There is a large closet in the entryway of the room so no worries about where you're going to keep things! In the closet is another small dresser, the safe, a steamer, and an iron and ironing board.||The bathroom is massive with a very large shower (no bathtub). Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion are provided in large quantities and are nice quality. There is a hair dryer and a rubber shower mat if you have the need. The vanity is spacious and there are drawers for your items. This is the bathroom most people wish they had in their house. There is a small step up into the shower if this is something that might be an issue for you, although it is quite a small step.||The living room contains a couch, armchair, some small tables, a tv, and the minibar. There is also a 6-person dining table so don't be afraid to order in! The minibar has a small fridge, a Keurig, and snack options along with an ice bucket - the standards. It is a very open, light-filled, and large space. Perfect if you've got a few people with you or invite a few over for drinks.||Speaking of drinks, I cannot give enough praise to the servers and bartenders at the onsite bar/restaurant, The Bookstore Bar & Cafe. Every single time I went in, the service was impeccable. The food was above average for a hotel restaurant but the drinks were much, much better. They have an expansive selection of alcohol so pick your pleasure - they can make it and make it well. I give endless thanks to my late night bloody mary maker!||The location is unbelievable. Just a few blocks away from the waterfront, easy access to transit, and only minutes away from everywhere you'd want to go. Uber/Lyft/taxi pickups and dropoffs were a breeze. There are other food/drink places nearby, even right across the street or one door down, including a coffee shop and an Indian place. But, in Seattle, there are no shortages of great places to grab a bite and you'll be close to most...

I am leaving this review after coordinating an 18 group party stay at the hotel and a plated dinner hosted by the Alexis Hotel. in order to secure the number of rooms required, I was asked to sign a contract that should have guaranteed me a discounted rate. it came to my group's realization that the discounted rate was actually worse than what we would have been able to secure online. The coordinators refused to honour the online better rate and forced us to continue using the rate they had provided. They said that we should have told them we found a better rate online beforehand and that the onus was on us. This was my first problem in my engagement with this establishment. Secondly, for the plated dinner, we were also asked to sign a contract that would stipulate a minimum spend. Due to personal challenges, a few members of the group were forced to drop out from the dinner. I attempted to communicate this to the booking, but to no avail. The conversation shifted from what we needed as a party, to them mandating that we must meet the minimum spend or we would have to pay the difference regardless. These arrangements were made months out and the reduction of members at the dinner would not have forced the hotel or staff to change plans or materials. Yet, they did not offer any amendments, but only tactics into how we can meet the minimum spend. We ended up meeting the minimum spend by purchasing additional drinks. When it came time to pay the financial obligation, they did you not recognize our drinks as counting and insisted that we pay a penalty which was for not meeting the minimum spend. After numerous emails they finally agreed to respect the drinks purchased that they had failed to log in our bill and honour our original contract. While the dinner was tasty, it was definitely not worth the price and headache in coordinating. If you are trying this route, save yourself money and time and just go to a regular restaurant instead - there are plenty of better options in the surrounding area. You'll receive better food, service, and ambiance. While the hotel itself is beautiful, I caution anyone that is planning a corporate or group event at the Kimpton establishments. After over 30 e-mails back and forth and trying to coordinate and argue, I can guarantee that I will not be returning to this establishment or recommending that anyone do any sort of hosted...