Recently, we decided to spend a night in a Seattle Hotel that we had actually toured some 20 years ago...thinking we would stay there sometime during that 1996 summer. At that time, we were relatively recently married and we were enjoying different romantic places to stay throughout the Northwest. If I recall correctly, the places we were exploring were from a book titled "The 50 Most Romantic Places To Stay In The Northwest". We stayed at the "Inn At Langley", "The Channel House", (in Depot Bay) "The Sorrento Hotel", (in Seattle) and the "Four Seasons River Inn" (in Leavenworth) just to name a few.
I recall that none of these places were cheap. In fact, they were all quite exclusive and like most things, you get what you pay for! So, when I called and booked our 1 night stay at the "Inn At The Market", a half block away from the Pike Place Market, I found myself wishing I was paying the 1996 rate!
We arrived early on a Sunday morning and were able to check in early. We loved the location of this place as everything that we would be visiting or doing, would be within walking distance of the hotel. If you are spending the day in and around Pike Place or Post Alley, there is no better Hotel to stay in. The bed was ridiculously comfortable, the room modern and spotless, and the bathroom was the nicest I had ever stepped into! During the summer, the outside, 5th floor terrace gives a fantastic view of Pike Place and the entire Bay....looking all the way across to Alki.
View from our room
Later that afternoon our daughter and her boyfriend met up with us and hung out. We all enjoyed some fresh market food...clam chowder, fresh crab, some french pastry's...good stuff! I had planned on getting over to Alki Beach around sunset, to try to capture a night skyline photo of Seattle. It was raining, but I had never photographed Seattle from Alki and I figured since we were so close, why not take 30 minutes and get a few photos! We got into my daughter's car and drove to Alki, where I snapped off a few photos as the cloudy skies darkened over the Emerald City.
Seattle skyline from Alki
We then spent 20 minutes trying to decide where to have dinner. My daughter's boyfriend, Darren, said he had heard great things about an Italian place called "The Pink Door" near our hotel. We all agreed we should give it a try and within about 20 minutes, we were back in the area of Post Alley, and walking into the restaurant thru it's pink door! We enjoyed a truly fantastic meal at this highly regarded Italian restaurant. Fresh pasta, fantastic sauces, Limoncello...perfect little doughnut things with a hazelnut dipping sauce for dessert...amazing! We congratulated Darren on his highly successful recommendation!
My daughter and her boyfriend said goodbye and headed back home, as we walked back to our Hotel room. It had been a very pleasant day, rain or not...and we still had the next morning to shop at the Market and pick up flowers...something Sandi never leaves Pike Place without!
