Boutique Hotels

For the past 6 years, our sons have lived in Seattle while attending the University of Washington.  Our children have been our favorite people with whom we love sharing our time.  But, to be honest, college dorms and apartments are NOT the boutique hotels that call to us.  Instead, we started out on a search for lovely places to stay in Seattle.  One of our very favorite places is the Hotel Vintage Park.  It is an ideal place for the Gaileys to rest their heads. 

The Hotel Vintage Park, a Kimpton Hotel - a Wine Based Hotel

http://www.hotelvintagepark.com/index.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand-Local%20Offer-Exact&utm_term=hotel%20vintage%20park%20seattle_50805780-VQ6-23424427135-VQ15-1t1-VQ16-c

We love this hotel and we have many reasons for our love affair.  First, (and maybe foremost?), this hotel offers a complimentary wine tasting every afternoon from 5 to 6.  It is held in their quaint and small parlour.  The parlour has a beautiful fireplace and very comfortable couches.  Each night, the Vintage Park staff chooses a Washington Winery to pour.  They showcase a white wine and a red wine - the best that the winery has to offer.  The chef at Tulio (the lovely restaurant attached to Vintage Park) provides a tasty appetizer or tapa to pair with the wine.  

Interesting People You Meet

Imagine sitting down with a glass of Cabernet,relaxing while you gaze at the gently burning logs in the fireplace.  You are seated next to a woman who is a linguistics expert from Iceland.  You introduce yourself and ask what brings her to Seattle.  A captivating dialogue ensues and you find yourselves exchanging e-mail addresses and promise to keep in touch.  This is one of the very many experiences we have had during the wine tasting hour at the Vintage Park Hotel.

Jasmine

The Kimpton Hotel chain is not just dog friendly, but they are dog enthusiasts!  As you enter the lobby and turn toward the receptionist desk, you look to your left and you see a welcome sign - not for you - but for your dog, Jasmine!  Welcome Jasmine!  When we book a room at the Vintage Park Hotel, they know that Jasmine will be joining us.  The bellmen have a jar of treats for their canine guests and Jasmine knows this fact all too well.  She sits (like a well behaved guest) and everyone fauns all over her!  Up in the room, there is a special bed and bowl, complete with a treat, waiting for Miss Jasmine!

Facebook Specials

Another thing that we love about the Kimpton Hotels is that they have facebook specials.  They will reveal a code word that you are to say upon check-in and the concierge will send a special treat up to your room.  My favorite has been 2 glasses of port and sea salt caramel chocolates!  

Library Hotel in NYC

Several years ago, Doug and I took a lovely trip to New York City without our, then, young sons.  We knew that we wanted to stay at a boutique hotel.  Don’t get the wrong idea.  Boutique is not just synonymous with small.   Boutique hotels are usually smaller.  But, they are more exclusive, intimate and luxurious.  And the staff to guest ratio is a huge bonus!  It has been our experience that boutique hotels have many amenities that make them very pleasurable.  

We decided upon the Library Hotel.  http://www.libraryhotel.com  The hotel is obviously a library themed hotel.  The rooms are set up on the Dewey Decimal System.  Each floor is dedicated to one of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System including Social Sciences, literature, Languages, History, The Arts, Religion, etc.  The rooms have extensive supplies of books and the art explores a topic relating to the floor’s category.  This hotel offers a daily Wine and Cheese Reception as well as a complimentary continental breakfast.  We were so enchanted.  We worked closely with the concierge to arrange our trip.  One evening, upon our return from a Broadway musical, the concierge asked us if we would like our complimentary bottle of champagne set up in our room or up in the roof-top garden.  What luxury!

Boutique hotels offer a grand and personalized experience to your travel adventure.

As music teachers, our travel is often coupled with concerts and live musical performances.  We know how much music enhances everything.  So, with that in mind, we’d like to offer a pairing of music to each blog post.  Billy Joel’s Scenes from an Italian Restaurant offers us a “bottle of red, a bottle of white.”  And after all, we drank our bottle of champagne on the root of the Library Hotel after seeing Twyla Tharpe’s Musical, “Movin’ Out!”  Enjoy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au74rR9lIYQ

Next up:  Tipping!