I spent a night at the Hyatt At Olive 8 in Seattle and found the hotel exceeded my expectations with great service and nice facilities. Yes, the hotel is aging a bit, but it’s still a solid choice for downtown Seattle.
Hyatt At Olive 8 Review – Seattle
My nightly rate was $210 plus tax, which is on par with other upper-end chain hotels in Seattle. The Thompson Seattle, another Hyatt property, was cheaper, but the nearby Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency were about the same price. I wanted to try the Olive 8 because it had a sauna and steam room, unlike the massive new 1,260-room Hyatt Regency across the street. That’s the bottom line.
As the name implies, the hotel is located at the corner of Olive and 8th in downtown Seattle.
Check-In
I arrived (via Sound Transit) at about 4:30 pm and was very warmly greeted at check-in and thanked for my Globalist status. I was also informed (and this was not reflected in the app, so it made me think it was done in the moment) I had been upgraded to a suite.
As for breakfast, The Olive 8 doesn’t have a restaurant that serves a traditional breakfast (it has a bagel shop with coffee and light items), but I was offered the choice of utilizing my Globalist breakfast benefit either in the bagel shop or walking across the street to the Hyatt Regency, which has a large breakfast buffet, and charging it to my room (which would then be removed).
This is a nice value-add for those with heartier appetites in the morning (me), though for purposes of this review, I chose to eat inside the hotel (more below).
I was also presented with a sheet noting the hotel’s amenities:
Destination Fee
A daily $25 destination fee is mandatory, but includes:
- $15 daily non-cumulative Food & Beverage credit
- $10 Parking credit (valet only)
- 10% off Elaia Spa Treatment
- In-room Keurig setup with coffee & tea
- Up to 4 bottled waters daily upon request
- In-room access to Google Chromecast
- In-room guided meditations through Headspace
- Premium WiFi
- 24-hour fitness center access
- Local and 800 phone calls
- Postcard postage
- In-room fitness kit upon request (yoga mats, light dumbells, resistance bands, etc…)
- 20% off tickets for Argosy Sightseeing Tours
- 25% off 5th Avenue Theatre
- 15% off Soul Cycle classes
- Monorail Espresso 10% retail discount- available at Pike St and Summit locations
- (Which I totally missed until writing this review, by the way)
- 10% off Flora and Henri
- 10% class discount at Urban Yoga Spa
But the destination fee was removed for me (Globalist benefit) and I was still given the $15 dining credit, which I put to good use.
Room
My suite, room 1747, massive with a large living room, bedroom, and bathroom. The living room included a large couch, two chairs, coffee table, desk, and kitchen area.
For a city known for its coffee, the Keurig machine was a big letdown…
The bedroom included a king bed and another sitting area.
The bathroom had a dual sink, separate tub and shower, and toilet. Shower toiletries were from BeeKind (in bulk dispensers).
O8 Bagel Shop – Blazing Bagels
Breakfast is served in Blazing Bagels daily from 6:30 am to 1:00 pm, a café that focuses on…wait for it…bagels. All sorts of toppings are available, though there are a couple of traditional breakfast dishes available. I ordered an egg frittata with a cortado and berries. The meal hit the spot and I think my body appreciated the lighter meal than oinking out in a buffet.
I used my dining credit for the berries and a bag of coffee, as the Globalist breakfast includes coffee, entree, and juice only.
My one complaint: paper cups only (despite the elevator advertisement). Coffee is not meant to be consumed in paper cups…
I mentioned above that I was offered the choice of having breakfast at the Haytt Regency in the Andare restaurant. This is available to all guests and you do have the ability to charge it to your room at Olive 8.
Tidal+
The hotel’s popular seafood restaurant is open Monday through Saturday for dinner and for brunch on Sundays.
- Monday – Thursday: 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- Friday: 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm
- Saturday: 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm
- Sunday: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
I had other dinner plans, but would have eaten here otherwise…the menu looks great. Menu here.
Room Service
Room service is available daily, but only between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm (with a menu drawn from Tidal+).
Pizza Machine
If you get the midnight munchies, there’s a pizza vending machine the lobby that will dispense hot pizza for your enjoyment…
I was so tempted to try it…but I had Mexican food instead.
Spa + Pool + Wellness
Hyatt Olive 8 has a full-service spa with facilities including a steam room and sauna, which I took full advantage of. Such wellness facilities are part of my daily routine at home and I value them greatly in a hotel.
Outside the locker rooms is an indoor pool that is open daily from 5:30 am to 10:00 pm, just like the wellness facilties.
Fitness Center
Another big positive of this hotel is the fitness center, which is open 24/7 and very large – it felt like working out in my own gym, and I appreciated that greatly. Not all of the equipment is brand new (there’s a mix of old and new), but there’s no doubt you can have a great workout here.
The gym was quite crowded early in the morning, but empty by late morning.
Parking
Valet parking is available at $59 per night. There are also garages around the hotel that cost between $32-39/night to park (but have no in and out privileges). Remember, though, that the destination fee discounts parking by $10/night.
CONCLUSION
Some say this hotel is past its prime, but I quite liked it and would not hesitate to return. It’s in a great location and I appreciated the large room, wellness facilities, and the coffee…it’s a good choice for Seattle.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the only Hyatt with a sauna also flys the rainbow flag out front.
Just exactly are you implying Andy K?
Are you a little, I don’t know, retarded,Andy?? What a DF.
@Andy K wrong on so many levels. First, the Grand Hyatt (Seattle) has a sauna – so not the only Hyatt “with a sauna”. Second, no need to bash or impinge LGBT – grow up.
You must be new here.
You all need to calm down. Worry about something important instead of being a hostile person. No one cares about a rainbow flag unless you have deep seated personal issues.
This blog is outdated and stale. This hotel has been reviewed dozens of times and your review adds nothing new. It’s like redundant. Please review new and exciting things or this blog will surely fail.
ROTFL.
Thanks Karen.
Remains the best way to check off the elusive Hyatt brand on the WOH Brand Explorer
Got that checked off at Hyatt Rosemont a few years ago. Interesting indeed.
One of the reasons it has such a big gym and pool etc is that Hyatt at Olive 8 occupies the first 17 floors with another 22 floors of luxury condominiums above and those are shared faculties.
Makes sense!
I’m sure you’re aware, Matthew, but Hyatt made a change to its systems in the last few months that cause a required added step to see upgrades. When looking at the reservation, the room type used to be updated directly when the property blocked you to an upgraded room. That’s no longer the case. You must now click through to “manage my reservation” to see blocked room type.
Usually I see it on the app when checking in. Is that no longer the case?
Dan is correct. Unless you “manage reservation” OR check in on the app the upgrade does not show. Once you click on ‘Manage” it will update, sometimes after 30 seconds.
Matthew,
Stayed there years ago (hotel) had just opened. It was one of the first LEED hotels in the world. Also had an exceptional stay and had the identical suite. Glad it’s still worth the stay!
We like Olive 8. Stayed there using Visa Luxury Hotel program. The FD assigned us a standard room (supposed to get a 1 step upgrade) and the duty manager seek us out to apologize and we got some some extra F&B credit and the waived the pet fee. Is it a new hotel? No. But it is a perfectly good alternative to its Grand and Regency neighbors.
BTW, the next time you are in Seattle, try out the HR Bellevue. That is our go to staycation Hyatt. It is a bit out of the way but it is smackdab in the middle of downtown Bellevue (lots of restaurants, decent public parks, walkable to Lake Washington waterfront and cleaner than dt Seattle). The globalist breakfast benefit is great and the ala carte items are all excellent.
I want to try the HR Lake Washington.
Stayed at HR Lake Washington due to B6 IRROPS. Upgraded to a suite as Glob. Hardware are all new, good room, but breakfast benefit is limited to the lounge. Location is superb for AvGeek, with direct view from the club lounge (or anyplace in the back hotel plaza, towards Boeing Renton factory. There is a nice little park next to the hotel (Gene Coulon) fronting Lake Washington.
But we still like the HR Bellevue better due to breakfast benefit and generous Glob upgrades.
Agree this is stale review. I thought maybe something new or different but nope
Same IP address, idiot. You’re not fooling anyone. I know who you are and I’m just laughing at you.