The Westin Hotel in Seattle

Hello readers.
This weekend was very busy for us, more than usual because the kids and I had to go to Seattle for an audition. I took my 4 year old Kalib for an audition and screen test for John Robert Powers modeling agency. You may be wondering what this has to do with the Westin, well calm down and I will tell you.

Anyone who knows me will know that I am no fan of driving long distances. To me, a long distance is more than 30 minutes. That is why planes were invented right, so we would no longer haveo to travel by car over long distances. Anyway, my definition may be a little extreme but it is what it is. So, my husband is deployed so I had to drive the kids by myself. I am a HUGE fan of the dry run so I decided we would drive to Seattle on Friday and stay in a hotel so that we would be fresh and well rested for the interview.

We arrived at the Westin and it is really what you would expect from a 4 star hotel in a big city. It is a very large building with 2 towers and 30 floors in each tower. The first thing I noticed is that all eyes were on me as I entered the lobby. No, I don't think I was looking that good in fact I was in workout gear because I like to travel in comfort. The reason that everyone was looking at me is because they are no accustomed to seeing young black families stay in this hotel. I have become numb to the stares from white people when I walk into a nice restaurant or hotel with my family.

So, I check in and get my keys and the young lady at the desk lets me know that the parking lot is full and I have to use valet but they will charge me the daily rate ($39). So we drive around the block to the valet center and go to the room. I enter into a 300 square foot room with 2 queen beds, 2 chairs a desk and 1 32in plasma t.v. All in all things are well put together and nice. The beds are well made everything looks very clean and the kids love it. By the way, my kids are real hotel buffs so if it were unsatisfactory we would have had to leave.

We all get comfy, remove shoes and watch a little tele. I ran the boys a bath and ordered room service. I know that I should expect high prices at a 4 star hotel but $20.o0 for a BLT is a little over the top. Our order total came to $84.00 with tax and gratuity added for 4 people. Mind you, we had sandwiches and fries not lobster and fillet mignon. That aside, the food arrived and we were hungry. I was upset because they did not send my extra tomatoes, the fries were cold and they did not send my kids anything to drink and we order 4 drinks.

Express service (not room service) was very nice and they did remedy the situation quickly. My thought is when you pay that much for a sandwich it should be done right the first time. Once we got everything sorted we ate, watched tele and went to bed. The next morning we got ready and we sure to check out before noon. The man at the desk was very concerned with our stay and when I told him that we had some issues with room service he took $50.00 off of the bill straight away. I thought this was a very nice gesture.

There were a few other things that could have been better at such a high end hotel. The bedding was subpar and there were not enough extra bottles of lotion and shampoo. Not that we use it but there should at least be 2 bottles of everything. There was not a great variety of channels for the kids to watch on the tele either. The ice machine in my hallway did not work and I had to go downstairs to get ice.

I have stayed at a great many hotels and most of them have been between 4 and 5 stars. Not that we are rich nor are we living outside of our means but we like to stay in a nice hotel where the kids can be comfortable. We like a lot of space and soundproof floors so that if the kids jump up and down a few times we will not disturb anyone below us. My impression of the Westin is not a good one for the reasons I have listed above. I would give it a 2 out of 5 stars because for the price they could have done a lot better.

To date, my absolute hands down favorite hotel is the Doubletree. They have family suites that offer all of the amenities you could ask for. The staff is amazing and the the cookies are fantastic. I feel the staff there will go out of its was to make your stay wonderful. The Doubletree gives you more than you need inthe way of shampoo, soaps and lotions. You get a great variety of coffee and tea in your room and the room service is outstanding. The Doubletree is nice clean and well priced. It is a 4 star hotel with a 3 star price and I would pay a lot more to stay there, though I am happy that we do not have to.

My next favorite hotel is the Hyatt Place hotel. This is also a great hotel with great amenities although a little more pricey than the Doubletree. They offer excellent rooms and excellent service. The decor in the rooms is not overstated and the aroma of flowers and perfume as you pass through the lobby is enchanting. The staff is comparable to the staff at the Doubletree but they could do better.

Many people see a hotel as just a place to lay your head while on vacation. Just some place to close your eyes until the next day of adventure but my family view it as a sanctuary. After a long day of visiting relatives we like to come back to the hotel and be as comfortable as if we were at home. This is why I take such care in selecting hotels, unfortunately this is one time when I missed the mark.