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Fairmont Olympic Hotel

• T+L 500 Winner

COST: $$$

<p>If your preferred aesthetic is grande dame rather than high design, this historic property—which has hosted black-tie galas since 1924—is your only choice in Seattle. Afternoon tea in the Terrace Lounge, outrageously expensive shopping in the adjacent arcade, and elbows-off-the-table dining at the vaunted Georgian all create a sense of old-world glamour that's rare in this city. Extensive renovations, started this year, will refresh all 450 of the rooms, and will replace the dated pastel color scheme with a richer palette of cranberry, gold, and robin's egg blue accents in others. Designer Jinnie Kim plans to update the hotel's elegant interiors without turning them into a postmodern hodgepodge; a dark wood chair with classic Biedermeier lines may be upholstered in lime green, while the modern marble sheen of the bathrooms might be tempered by delightful trompe l'oeil wallpaper.</p> <p><strong>Tip:</strong> Corner suites ending in -42 and -44 are particularly large.</p> <p><strong>Room to Book:</strong> A renovated room; 100 of them should be redone by late 2008.</p>

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From Travel + Leisure , NOV 2005

Fresh oysters and prawns begin the feast at Seattle's Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Choose between turkey with dressing or prime rib with truffled mashed potatoes....MORE>>

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From Travel + Leisure , JUN 2003

Chef Robert Carter of the Planters Inn ships his classic seven-layer cake, drenched in coconut simple syrup, direct from Charleston. Serve it with a scoop of Choc-Olympic-Cherry ice cream—studded with chocolate-covered Rainier cherries—from the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle's secret supplier....MORE>>

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Last updated January 2008