W Seattle — Hotel in Seattle

Do Yourself (and Your Family) a Favor — Stay Elsewhere!!!

As someone who has stayed at Marriott properties around the world, I can confidently say this was by far the worst hotel experience I have ever had. The W Hotel in Seattle failed in every aspect of hospitality, and what should have been a comfortable and smooth stay quickly turned into a nightmare — largely due to their Rooms Manager, Trinity.

The hotel’s mission statement proudly proclaims: "Whatever, Whenever. Feel the energy our team brings to every interaction, making your experience unforgettable, personalized, and unique." Well, I’ll agree with that — the experience was certainly unforgettable, just not in the way they intended.

I called a week in advance to confirm an early check-in because I was flying in for a very important board meeting at 3:00 PM. I was told that, although standard check-in is at 4:00 PM, the hotel STATED they would accommodate my 2pm request. I appreciated the flexibility and booked my reservation.

Fast forward to check-in day: after an 8-hour flight, I arrived at the hotel exhausted and needing to prepare for my meeting. I was told that I didn’t have a room available and would likely have to wait until well after 4 PM. I calmly explained what I had been told when I made the reservation, and was met with a blank stare. No apology. No empathy.

When I asked to speak with a manager, Trinity came out. Before even asking for details, she led with, “There are no refunds, and you’ll be charged for the first night — $328.” I tried to explain the situation, but instead of listening, she dismissed it entirely and essentially accused me of lying — insisting that no one on her staff would promise an early check-in. Her attitude was condescending, combative, and utterly unprofessional.

I told her I would still pay for the night to avoid further confrontation, because at this point her goal was to be right and make me wrong, her entire staff including the bellman was behind the counter with her and they created a hostile situation in which I no longer felt safe or welcomed staying there. At that point, she offered to charge my card “just $1” — but why would I trust anything at this point, after being insulted, dismissed, and treated with blatant disrespect?

Thankfully, the Fairmont Hotel across the street came through. Not only did they accommodate me immediately, they also upgraded our room — just because they heard about our negative experience at the W. Now that's hospitality.

The $328 you gained from charging us for a room we never stayed in pales in comparison to the long-term damage you’re doing to your brand.

I made it to my meeting — and I shared this experience with my colleagues and many vendors that used W for business and they assured me they would not support your hotel in the future. Our company will not use this hotel for future conferences and/or business trips. Seattle has many options — and this will no longer be one of them.

Trinity, if your goal was to make the experience unforgettable — mission...

Our experience with holding our 10-year vow renewal at W Seattle was very positive, with just a couple of hiccups taking place during the event. The hotel, itself, is great! The hotel is modern, clean, and the staff was very pleasant and accommodating. We booked the E-WOW suite for our entire 4-day stay at the hotel and it provided a large, well-appointed space for us to relax leading up to the event and a great place to unwind and recover afterwards. We ordered room service a few times while staying at the hotel and each time our food was delivered quickly, accurately and was delicious. The hotel does not have a large restaurant but, instead, has the Trace Market. Its atmosphere was casual and cool, and the food was unique and very good. Next to the market is a really cool place to hang out for drinks, food and entertainment which we enjoyed a lot. The Friday before our event, the hotel even hosted a couple of local performers, which we enjoyed very much with our family.

The vow renewal, itself, was phenomenal. We worked with Kiki, the hotel’s Event Manager, on the event space planning and catering and she was exceptional! She was friendly, knowledgeable, professional, proactive, and thoughtful. All the way through the process, she was quick to answer our questions and coordinated all our requests with the different departments supporting our event. Although there was a lot to planning for the big day, Kiki made it bearable and fun. There was plenty to choose from when it came to the food, providing either a plated or buffet option. We chose the buffet option as it provided a large selection to choose from, and the process to convey our choices was easy and painless. We had several outside vendors supporting our vow renewal, and the hotel staff worked well with them and made execution day go smoothly. The space was great and the set up by the hotel was simple but nice, and all the outside vendors did a great job of doing their part. Unfortunately, the up-lighting that was supposed to be provided by the hotel was forgotten and not set up, but our guests were none the wiser. The wait staff and bartenders did a great job throughout the event. Unfortunately, the food during the main buffet was barely warm; however, the taste was good, and there was plenty of food for all our guests. It didn’t keep us from having a great time. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our vow renewal, working with Kiki, and recommend you consider holding your special event at...

the hotel could not accommodate our early check-in which is understandable per their policy/cleaning measures during the pandemic. the front desk attendant checked us in early, allowed us to stow out luggage in their office which we appreciated as we waited. the same attendant also took my cell # saying they would text me as soon as there was a room available w/ queens as we had 3 in our party (also which is the room style i booked) after approx 2.5 hrs of sitting/charging up/caffeinating I went to the front desk & asked how much longer to another employee. he looked visibly upset as he told me its been ready for awhile & he was incredibly sorry, i was irritated but no ill-will towards the gentleman. the fridge, 1/3 party said, was out of order. Unfortunately, the hotel didnt have ANY type of soda machines/little niches you see in almost every single hotel where little things like small packaged snacks. This was relatively irritating to the 1/3 in my party & we ended up having to make a very expensive doordash order, which to our luck, flaked. Since we didnt have a properly working fridge, and we have a different kind of sleep schedule than most (including convenience stores and cafes) we ended up having to stay up until 3am just so we could receive the minimal amount of food for the evening. The bar downstairs would not serve soda? which I find incredibly odd considering you find said soda within the hose taps at every bar for drinks like rum & coke, vodka oj, etc. the wifi is spendy to pay for when its on top of the valet parking($68), the room fees with the wait, & then add on we had gotten trapped in the elevator the morning of check out. an employee let us use the stairwell but 16 floors up isnt the greatest so we called the front desk & they graciously extended a late checkout for us at no cost due to the inconvenience. We called the front desk again around our late check out time & asked if the elevators were working, got a yes! valet service was friendly & fast. Even though I ultimately have no giant irks w/the $$ of the safe space overnight for our only vehicle, its rather expensive considering the hotel was basically at cap - it was a financial hit we werent super prepared for but again, safety was valued! Overall however the room was stellar. Great beds, nice amenities, awesome bathroom. Loved the toiletries, light up mirror, robes, and amount of towels! No fan in the bathroom but didnt seem to be a big...