Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle

Great stay. We stay at the Fairmont Olympic a couple of times a year. This includes every Thanksgiving. Last year we had some small issues. Those issues were resolved this year. The Fairmont staff went above and beyond. Staff reached out prior to our arrival to discuss upgrade options due to me being a All Accor Platnum member. We ended up with a large suite as the upgrade for good value. The Pool was warmer than usual which was good and the hot tub was actually hot. The place was busy but staff were attentive to our needs. We ate at Shuckers for Thanksgiving. The wait was too long and kids were getting hangry, but Shuckers made up for it with a complimentary glass of Presseco. Our kids loved the hotel as usual and we all had an incredible time. Read less

Overall, not impressed. Was just expecting more from the Fairmont name and for the cost. Would never stay here again in Seattle (or probably elsewhere) based on our experience. We were traveling with our two boys (7 and 5) and my parents. - Room was average. Nothing wrong with it but nothing that stood out. We typically get suites and the layout of the king suite was just ok. Felt small and dark. We had two adjoining rooms and even with the blinds open they just didn’t get a lot of natural light. - Valet upon arrival was quick and we had a ton of bags that they helped with. But otherwise they never held open the doors or stood out. We stayed at a similar brand of hotels during a recent trip to New Orleans and every single time we left or arrived they held the door, offered us water, greeted us etc. One day I asked to throw something away and the valet reluctantly made me follow him to a trash can and held out the can for my coffee cup. But upon leaving they did get our car ready and got our bags from our room to our car at 5 am which was super helpful. - I believe the hotel was super busy because of their anniversary and just a busy holiday season weekend. That was reflected in the service. At no point was anyone at the hotel friendly or helpful. Except the morning we left at 5 am was the first time someone said good morning to us our entire stay (a man walking by in a suit as we got off the elevators). - Dirty water was left in the ice bucket. Only one of our adjoining rooms had a pull out bed and then they wanted to charge us for a rollaway. - The day we arrived we did order room service right away bc of a super long day of travel. We asked the concierge if it was typically quick and his answers were weird and evasive. Basically he seemed like we were bothering him (so we never once asked him another question during our stay). Luckily, the kids food came super fast and was perfect for them (burger, chicken fingers, grilled cheese). However, the person taking the orders was super unhelpful (said “I’m just pushing buttons” when we asked for anything to be adjusted on a menu item.) Since we decided to stay in, we later called again ordered dessert and were told the “seasonal” ice cream was strawberry. After ordering vanilla and strawberry for the kids the person who delivered the order just brought up two chocolate. We said that wasn’t what we ordered and he just said they didn’t have strawberry. My husband was super confused and asked why they didn’t call us and ask what we wanted and he had no answer. He said he’d take back the one chocolate and bring strawberry sherbet but we tried to explain we ordered vanilla and he was insistent we ordered chocolate and that we were wrong. I heard my husband call, and know he ordered vanilla. The correct flavors were delivered a few minutes later and I hear him tell my husband he was taking the side of strawberries because “we didn’t pay for them”. I was so confused at this point because if we didn’t pay for them why did he bring them in the first place? But regardless he never apologized and the whole interaction was annoying - to try and take back three cut up strawberries was just insane. My husband and I went to Vancouver for a night and my parents stayed with the kids. They must have missed the first ice cream debacle because they again ordered ice cream and it was brought up wrong AGAIN. So this clearly wasn’t a random issue but is reoccurring. My husband did get our room service credited because of this BUT it shouldn’t have happened. - The kids did love the small robes, that was a nice touch. - We were near the elevators and we couldn’t hear a lot in the hallway (which was great) but could hear the elevators from the bathroom. Not a huge deal. - Went to the Teddy Bear suite which was underwhelming. - My husband and one son went to the pool one night (my parents tried to take the kids a different night and it was closed) and he said it was nice but cold. - Rooms were cleaned well and no issues with housekeeping. - I also didn’t love the location. Even if there were no issues with the hotel we just had a bit of a longer walk to get anywhere we were interested in and enjoyed other areas of the city better. There are couple restaurants nearby but really nothing else. - Overall, we expected a retreat after busy days traveling and we didn’t feel that at all with this experience. I’d look elsewhere in Seattle. Read less

Hotel is beautiful and restaurant staff are quite attentive, but the front desk is full of the most negative, least helpful attitudes I have experienced in hospitality. I have stayed here a few times in the last year, thinking the front desk negativity was an anomaly, but now after my third consecutive interaction with a rude, hostile and utterly unhelpful person at the front desk, I have come to understand it must be the culture of the establishment and/or the front desk manager. If you want to be met with arrogance, hostility and an overall attitude of “I could care less about being helpful,” stay here. Otherwise, see the lovely people at the W across the street. Read less