Esther K.
Yelp
It's not what anyone would consider a 5 star hotel ... but it deserves a 5 star review. Let me explain. :)
Top 4 reasons why you should book a room at the Inn at VM :
1. SUPER comfy beds. Even if they cut corners in other areas in the inn (I'll explain below), they didn't go chintzy with the mattresses. My friend and I stayed in a double room (was supposed to be twin beds, but they gave us fulls - YAY!) and we slept SO well! We own our own businesses in NY so we were looking forward to finally sleeping in, for once. And boy, did we ever! Think we slept for 12 hours the first night we arrived (jet lagged much? ;)). We kept the windows open during some nights, and we were never once disturbed by any street noises during the night.
2. I wanted to stay close to where all the action was, without it costing an arm and a leg. 15 min walking distance from Pike Place Market. 10 min walk to shopping and monorail (that takes you to the Space Needle and Seattle Center). Tip: Download the Transit Go Ticket App. You can purchase all Public Transportation tickets ahead of time without standing in line (we STILL don't have this in NYC!) including the Light Rail that takes you to and fro SeaTac airport, as well as the Water Taxi that takes you to West Seattle. With that being said, the cost for the room at the Inn was WELL worth it. Location, Location, Location! We walked to the Pike Place Market EVERYDAY. Sometimes we cheated and took an Uber back to the Inn because we were so tired, but that was a personal choice from exhaustion.
3. It's like a boutique hotel but with a 1920s theme and charm. I've read a lot of complaints in reviews how things just looked too old and they need to redesign, yadda yadda ... If you want a more modern hotel with all the bells and whistles that come along with it, DO NOT stay at the INN at VM. You should stay at this inn if you want to feel like you're staying in a location that is a part of Seattle history. The inside of the elevator still looked vintage; I kind of wished there was an elevator operator (but not really since it only fits 3 to 4 people in it comfortably). I love the decor and even the framed art in the corridors were perfect for the theme.
4. Housekeeping came in EVERY afternoon to tidy our beds, take out the garbage, and give extra toiletries and towels. It made our coming back to our room that much more comfortable and relaxing. We felt very well taken care of.
There were some "iffy" things about our room but honestly, they were made up for because of everything I've written above, but just to be thorough in my review, I'll jot them down.
The carpet had some schmutz (what felt like dried chewing gum) stuck to it in the middle of our room. I always bring slippers with me wherever I stay, not matter how new or old the hotel is, so it wasn't really a problem for me. My friend didn't mind because not a lot of things bother her.
The water pressure in the sink was a bit weak. I believe I've read another reviewer mentioning that, but it didn't ruin our stay. I was still able to brush my teeth and wash my hands+face. I do want to mention that the shower pressure was spot on, even if the sink wasn't. AND, we didn't have to wait for the hot water to kick in. It took only seconds for it to heat up. Lots of safety bars in the bathroom for patients in mind.
We came to Seattle at the end of September, so we didn't need an AC. Opening the windows was enough. There was a full size fan in the closet in case guests need it. I don't know how hot Seattle gets in the summer, but if it's anything like NYC heat, I can understand how guests will be uncomfortable since there was no AC in our room. There was a thermostat of some sort on our wall by the window, but we didn't fidget with it since we had comfy weather, so we don't know if we were able to control the temperature in our room. Small flat screen tv. Does its job. Basic channels.
Guests should know there is a $50 deposit when you check-in, but they return it immediately after your stay. I thought this was fair.
There is one really steep hill coming up from the west side of the inn. I was okay with it. I like the exercise, but it may pose a problem to some/many.
We only ate at the restaurant once for breakfast, and our waitress was so kind and accommodating. We both had the avocado toast with fruit. Nothing spectacular about it, and it may seem pricey to some, but since we're from NYC we thought the prices were fair.
One of the weird thing was the electrical outlets in our room. The sockets were a bit big for our plugs. Every socket was too loose and does not securely fasten our plugs. I worked on my laptop during my stay, and the plug would fall out of the socket even if I moved a bit. This might be one thing I would suggest for the inn to fix, but again, it didn't ruin our stay.
I would definitely stay here again! I felt the location, cost, and hospitality was well worth the stay! :)