The City on Puget Sound Is Booming

With record numbers of over-night visitors and cruise passengers, Seattle's tourism industry continues to thrive. To keep up with demand, there are a slew of hotel renovations and expansions underway and new properties set to launch this year and next. 

The Seattle Sheraton is scheduled to complete its new 25-story tower this spring, bringing its total number of guest rooms to 1,253.

The Heathman Kirkland is a luxury waterfront hotel opening May 2007, with 91 guest rooms and suites, a spa and a restaurant.

The Arctic Club Hotel Seattle will open in fall 2007, with 120 rooms, 5,800 square feet of meeting space, restaurant and lounge and fitness center. The hotel, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is in a building that is was erected by adventurers who had made their fortune in the Klondike gold rush.

A mixed-use Hyatt Place hotel will open during the second quarter of 2008. The hotel/condominium project will have 158 hotel rooms and 56 condominiums.

The Hyatt brand is expanding its holdings in downtown Seattle with the construction of Hyatt at Olive 8, a $175 million, 39-story hotel-condominium project. Expected to open in summer 2008, the property will have 231 condominiums on the upper 22 floors and 346 hotel rooms on the lower 17 floors. On-site amenities available to both condominium owners and hotel guests include a spa, pool, maid and dry-cleaning services, valet parking and 24-hour room service, in addition to separate lobbies and elevators for the hotel and condominium components of the building.

Construction of the 21-story, $120 million Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle is well under way. The luxury property will have 149 guest rooms, 36 private residences, a signature water-view restaurant, events and meetings space including an expansive ballroom, and an outdoor infinity pool overlooking ElliottBay. It is scheduled to open in mid-2008.

Starwood Capital Group has announced plans to build a hotel called "1", which the company describes as "eco-friendly." The building will be constructed to meet nationally accepted standards for the design, construction and operation of "green" buildings, as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council. The new property will include 97 condominium units and 110 guest rooms. It is scheduled to open in late 2008.