RatherGhastly

Any word on the reopening of the Arctic Club Hotel? There seems to be very little news on the internet, and dead links abound, and I have not managed to find any reviews or reopening announcements. It does seem that rooms are bookable, but the hotel website itself is rather sparse, and has little by way of information.

Gardyloo

It was sold out of foreclosure to an Oregon investor group that runs the Oxford Suites only in late July. Apparently a complete refurbishment is anticipated, so I'd imagine you won't see a reopening anytime soon. They'd probably be shooting for availability in time for the 2023 Alaska cruise season (May '23) if possible. The phone is disconnected, so "bookable" is probably not the case.

RatherGhastly

Hmm... thanks for this. I have not been able to find any evidence of its reopening, apart from the hotel's website itself, which suggests a November 2022 reopening, and a very prominent BOOK NOW button which seems to suggest that rooms can be booked even for this month. Given your local expertise, might I ask you simply to check out their website (below), which is otherwise pretty bare-bones, and let me know what you think?

https://www.thearcticclubhotel.com

mbluecpa

Looks like they’ve reopened. I just saw an ad on a social media channel for their bar’s grand re-opening so checked and the hotel website appears to be accepting bookings.

RatherGhastly

Thanks for the update, mbluecpa. I have seen a few other signs online that the Arctic Club Hotel has indeed reopened. Gardyloo (#17) mentioned that a complete refurbishment was anticipated, but, from the single recent review that I have found, it seems that no refurbishment at all (or very little, at any rate) has been undertaken. The website is scanty, to say the least, and I am surprised that the reopening was done with so little fanfare, so I am not certain that I am willing to chance it.

irvington

I'm glad to hear the Arctic Hotel is reopened - I really like that place. Will need to stay there on my next business trip there.

The Roosevelt Cabins are so cool. I stayed there 20 years ago.

If you like McMenamins, the Kalama Harbor Lodge is a fun place to stop on the way to Portland from Seattle or vice versa. It is kind of tiki bar and you can eat or drink overlooking the water.

Gardyloo

On the subject of historic hotels, I thought I'd mention that the Graduate Hotel in Seattle's University District (formerly the Edmond Meany Hotel, Meany Tower Hotel, University Tower Hotel, Hotel Deca, and probably some more names) is a 1930s era hotel done in art deco style, complete with a rooftop bar/restaurant. Because it's not downtown its prices tend to be less (sometimes a lot less) than comparable accommodations downtown, but one advantage of the Graduate is that it's half a block from the newly opened U District light rail station, with service straight from the airport. There's also fairly direct bus service to Amazonia in South Lake Union if that's a destination.

https://goo.gl/maps/LfEgMdNyyX3rTqEx8

Being the U District, there are umpteen affordable places to eat along The Ave (University Way) or its tributaries, some of which are pretty good. There's a fair amount of street life in the area (but not in proximity to the hotel) but it's generally quite benign. For visitors, the UW campus (including its museums) offers a lot of appeal - it's one of the more beautiful US urban college campuses.

KathyWdrf

The Henry Art Gallery is one of the museums at the U of W, and if you are interested in James Turrell’s numerous and varied Skyspaces, they have one. (I know this is drifting off topic slightly, but I’m agreeing with Gardyloo about the U district and the university itself being worth a visit.)