I was in Tacoma for four days on business, and thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Hotel Murano. There were a few rough spots, but overall I highly recommend this hotel.

The lobby is absolutely beautiful. The lounge area is very inviting with the wall fireplace, and coffee table books for the guests to enjoy.

The room was perfect. The bed was the best I've slept in in a hotel in a very long time. Nice touches such as a power strip on the desk for all electronics. Spacious and clean.

The best part of the hotel is it's dedication to the glass arts. It is a beautiful gallery. After a long work day of meetings, I don't have the time or energy to truck off to a museum or gallery, and most are closed in the evenings. I came back to the hotel after a long day, changed into jeans, and walked the halls on each of the floors. Each floor is dedicated to an artist, with photos of the artist at work, and one of their pieces on display. WONDERFUL.

Obviously, the majority of the effort was put into the "gallery" features. Some other glitches I'm sure will get worked out as the "hotel" is up and running: No hand towels in the exercise room. Water cooler was there, but no one had bothered changing water jugs despite a fresh one sitting by the empty cooler--I changed it myself. No towels to be found in the jacuzzi area, either.

One aspect that may discourage some is the lack of room service. There are a number of restaurants just a block away, and there is a snack basket and stocked bar in the room, but during a hectic business week, I missed having room service.

I stayed at Hotel Murano with a friend who was staying there for a conference. it was exciting to be staying at this newly remodeled hotel. Formerly a Sheraton property, Hotel Murano is being billed as a boutique hotel. I would describe it as more of a theme hotel. It feels too large and prominent for what I think of as a boutique.
That being said, the theme works for me. I love art glass. The Museum of Glass, within walking distance of the Murano is an exciting art museum dedicated to the art and craft of glass. The Murano takes advantage of this Tacoma destination by bringing the art and craft of glass to every corner of the hotel. The lobby is dominated by a huge metallic colored glass chandelier. The front desk is fronted by colorful glass pieces. The entry from the parking lot has large glass boats floating above. While I was there the front entrance was still under construction. Sea blue/green glass pieces were being installed on either side of the front entrance. Even the light fixtures on the walls and the sink bowls in the public restroom were chosen to reflect the theme and did so nicely.
As we stepped from the elevator on the 20th floor we were impressed to see a large etched glass display featuring artwork and a biography of the featured glass artist. Photos down each hallway gave more insight to the artist's work. The day after check-in I took a trip down each hallway beginning on the top guest floor and down the stairways to view more art. Every floor features a different glass artist. On my visit not every display was finished. Workmen were hard at work everywhere I turned. But the work did not disturb the peace one bit.
Our room was a twin double deluxe. It featured a flat screen TV, a roomy clothes closet, a funky and modern turquoise chaise lounge, and an iPod docking station. Internet connection is available for a fee. The beds were comfortable and a pillow menu allowed me to order a body pillow. I did have trouble getting hot water in the room one morning, but that was during the busy pre-conference period. Since I wasn't attending the conference, I could afford to wait for a shower. Overall the room was clean, comfortable and I slept well.
My friend and I ate at the upstairs restaurant for breakfast and dinner. The advertised fourth floor casual dining eatery was not open due to the remodel. The staff of that grill was serving breakfast and dinner on the top floor, which is home to an Italian fine dining restaurant during the dinner hour. The traditional eggs benedict at breakfast was good. The apple sausage served at another breakfast was bland. The seasonal fruit bowl served at breakfast was fresh and the fresh squeezed orange juice was delicious.
One evening we ordered pizza from room service. It arrived quickly and was hot and tasty.
The hotel is in walking distance to the Museum of Glass, The Washington History Museum, The Tacoma Museum of Art and Union Station. There are shops on nearby Pacific Avenue worth checking out. A couple of standouts are BKB & Company (a gallery of wearable and decorative art) and Hello, Cupcake (a delightful cupcake bakery).
I would definitely stay again and the Hotel Murano.

The previous comments about construction are no longer an issue in my mind - the glass art in this place looks amazing with some of the nicest staff in the Northwest.

We checked in with apprehension after readging the prior comments but were pleased to see virtually all areas of the hotel completed.

we will be back in April

I stayed at the Hotel Murano for three nights while in Tacoma on business in January 2008. My experience was fairly good overall, but there were a few areas that could use some improvement.

I was warmly greeted by the staff upon my arrival late on a weeknight. The lobby is still undergoing massive renovations, which was a little off-putting, but the friendliness of the staff compensated for it. Check-in went smoothly.

I had a room on the club floor. Unfortunately, although the hotel advertised club floor perks of continental breakfast and evening cocktail hours, they didn't appear to be up and running yet - if they were, I couldn't find them. This was disappointing, as it is a big part of the reason why I am willing to pay a premium for a room on a club floor. The room itself was very nice -- everything was brand-new and clean, and there was plenty of space for me to unpack my things. There was a lot of counter/shelf space in the bathroom, which was nice. The bed was very comfortable. I only have two complaints about the room. One is that I was on the wrong side of the hotel to get a good view, which I found strange because my floor was definitely not full -- in fact, I didn't see or hear another guest on the 25th floor the entire time I was at the hotel -- so it seems like a room with a view should have been available. The other is that I could hear noise from the restaurant on the 26th floor late at night -- footsteps, vacuuming, etc. -- which was distracting when trying to fall asleep.

I ate breakfast in the top floor restaurant one morning. The view was great and the food was fine. Service was slow but friendly. I also ordered room service one night. The server was extremely nice and I received the food quickly, but the meal itself left something to be desired. I ordered a salad that was supposed to contain fresh mozzarella, tomato, onion, cucumber, mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese, salami, and prosciutto over mixed greens. The salad I received was mostly a pile of mixed greens, did not include all of the advertised ingredients (there were no mushrooms, onion, or gorgonzola cheese), and the salami and prosciutto was of a poor quality.

I would suggest that the hotel consider providing complimentary internet access (it costs $9.99/day). Also, the hotel provides a complimentary newspaper in the morning -- which is a very nice service -- but it was the local paper. As a business traveler, I would have preferred a paper with some more national news, as the local paper was more geared towards things like local school boards, etc.

In summary, I think this will be a very nice hotel when the renovations are complete. The owners have already taken several steps in the right direction by outfitting the rooms nicely and hiring such a warm and friendly staff. However, I think some of the kinks are still being ironed out as the hotel is in transition, which made my experience only average instead of above average or excellent.