Another great stay in Seattle! The Hyatt is right in the downtown core and close to all the attractions. The rooms are spacious and clean, and I loved their restaurant and happy hour menu. The customer service here is wonderful and overall this hotel was a great experience!

I debated if I should post a long review or just a short one, but decided to post a long one in hopes to help some people debating if they should stay at the Grand Hyatt or this new, Eco-friendly Olive 8. Something to note is that I am Hyatt Diamond, and also elite with SPG and Hilton, so my expectations are different than most regular customers(Free breakfast, internet, upgrades etc.). That being said, this is the best property I have stayed in North America. I'll write the review on the 8 things Tripadvisor grades properties by. I'm here right now.

I booked two rooms, one for 5 nights and another for 2 nights in between. I used Diamond suite upgrade certificates for both, and that entitled me to a Luxury King/Suite.

Service: Check in was a breeze, they have a dedicated elite check in line. Front desk was extremely friendly, told me about the breakfast/internet and if I wanted points or amenity(which is usually some food/beverage in room). I asked if the governors suite was available(Next suite level up), and it was not. They told me the presidential was.

Without asking, the FD young lady asked the front desk manager to give me a tour of the presidential suite. I asked about the governors suite as I wanted to treat my dad and possibly upgrade him if the price was right from the normal suite I would have got with the suite upgrade, but I knew the presidential suite would be out of my price range. He still gave me a personal tour, and told me that he will have the front desk call me with an offer, and that the hotel takes care of it's diamond members.

Soon after, I received the call and the same FD lady gave me a reasonable offer for the room for the two nights that my dad would be here. Although the price was more than fair enough, I didn't find the value to pay for it because I thought the suite he was going to receive anyways was more than sufficient and I'd rather take him to nice dinners/lunches the whole time he was here. When I told her that, she said that the concierge would take care of reservations and recommendations, and that they will put him in the prez suites for no charge. Wow!

Value: I'm here in winter so it's excellent value. I have paid double, even triple for best westerns in the past if that puts it into perspective ;).

Sleep Quality: The Grand bed is nice, but I did have some problems with people above me jumping around and listening to loud music. Not the hotels fault, and they were quiet within an hour or so(I didn't complain but someone probably else did).

Cleanliness: 5 stars. From the Gym to the change rooms, everything is clean.

Location: In my opinion, the best in seattle. Walking distance to the Market, space needle, and the Westlake Link station. Also walking distance to department stores and malls like Nordstrom and Barneys NY. It was also a nice surprise to be here during thanksgiving and watching the parade from my suite.

Rooms: The Luxury King/Suite is very large, a lot of hallway space. The furniture is very modern and new compared to the Grand Hyatt, and the room is also very large. It had a deep soaker tub, a separate walk in rain shower, dual sinks w/ a TV built into the mirror and bose speakers in the ceiling of the bathroom. Marble throughout. View was OK on the 15th floor, but the Olive 8 isn't known for it's view. Grand Hyatt does have a better view, but that's basically it.

The Presidential suite... It's actually not that much larger than the Luxury King(I think about 1800 compared to 1000), but it is beautiful. Not the biggest prez suite, but it is appointed very well. Hardwood floors, Fire place, dining table for 10, smaller dining table for 4, a wet bar w/ a espresso machine(Espresso=Luxury in my opinion), a guest bathroom and an office with an iMac. The master bathroom is basically the same, except it has a marble vanity with vanity mirror, a much larger walk in shower and a very large walk in closet. Of course the size of the bathroom is bigger. The bedroom is basically identical. There is tons of closet space throughout, a safe and also a microwave. I don't think I would pay $1500 a night compared to the standard suite that goes for $300~, but the upgrade was really appreciated as my Dad really deserves it(Works hard and rarely goes on holidays). It would be an excellent suite to host a small party, a meeting or interviews.

Spa: I haven't used the spa yet, but it is a luxury Spa. The gym is state of the art(nicer than a real gym I use at home), and the pool is a salt water lap pool. Even the change rooms/showers are very nicely appointed and extremely spacious.

Breakfast: This is where Hyatt Olive 8 is different from all other Hyatts and makes it the best. They don't have a lounge for continental breakfast like most other Hyatts, just the restaurant Urbane. As a diamond member, I received complimentary breakfast for myself and guests registered in my room, up to 4 people. The breakfast is anything off the breakfast/brunch menu in Urbane, juice and coffee, tax+gratuity included. The gratuity is REAL gratuity, 20%(I always make sure as I believe you should still tip for a free breakfast), so there is no out of pocket expense for the Diamond breakfast. Unbelievable.

I also inquired if it were possible to have breakfast delivered in room for the diamond breakfast the morning my dad flies out, as he has a very early flight and it would take too much time to go downstairs and order. I wasn't expecting it to be OK, but they said no problem, and specifically noted to have it delivered on time. Tax + Gratuity included. This is not a published benefit of the Hyatt Diamond breakfast, but it shows how Hyatt Olive 8 goes above and beyond for their guests.


In conclusion, there is nowhere I would look but the Hyatt Olive 8. Although the Grand Hyatt and Olive 8 are managed by the same people, the room, service, breakfast and almost everything except the view is superior at the Olive 8. I won't name call but everyone that I interacted and spoke to at the front desk, the front desk manager that gave me the upgrade and tour, the bartender/waitresses at urbane, and the house keeping/maintenance staff, thank you for a memorable stay and the top notch service. I'd like to say they set the standard for all Hyatt properties, but they are too far above it so it doesn't seem realistic ;).

Oh and one last thing, it is a Regency property(Which is considered not as luxury as a Grand or Park Hyatt), but it reminds me of an Andaz. I am very surprised it isn't an Andaz, it probably has a few requirement that it does not fulfill but it deserves to be one for sure.

What a great hotel! The location is superb - right off of a major shopping area and close (if you enjoy walking) to many of Seattle's attractions. The room was clean, large, and modern. The hotel offers two Happy Hours daily (one in early evening and the other late night). Since we arrived around 10:00pm, we took advantage of the $4 drafts and reduced price bar food ($2 sliders, $4 decadent mac and cheese, etc.). It was a perfect way to take the edge off. A wonderful breakfast was included daily in our room rate - Urbane Restaurant offers a selection of local and traditional fare (highly recommend the omelette with smoked salmon and the tall stack of blueberry pancakes). The presentation is wonderful and the taste is sublime. Service was friendly and efficient. We did take the light rail from Sea-Tac to hotel. It was simple (took time to get from terminal to rail platform) and cheap ($2.25 one way). We would have used it on the return, but the light rail's hours of operation didn't work with our very early departure time. On the last night, we had a group of partiers next door who were obnoxiously loud, but we did not let that spoil our two perfect days in Seattle. When we return, we will definitely stay here.

If you ever need to travel to Seattle for business or holiday the Hyatt at Olive 8 is a really good hotel. Close to everything, with good facilities the hotel was fine except for Room 662. This pigeon hole they called a room was more a laundry cupboard than a room you would expect at a Hyatt