While I was attending the Pike Chocofest last weekend in Seattle, we stayed at Hotel 1000. It was picked by me based on its proximity to Pike Place Market- which is only a few blocks. In addition, the price was reasonable, and it had great reviews on Tripadvisor, one of the my main sources in researching trips.
It came down to this hotel and Inn at the Market, but reading about how each room had a big tub with a little rubber duckie and the tub filled from the ceiling was unique enough to have me choose Hotel 1000. Yes, I did have fun in the tub with that duckie too, it was much a needed soak to soothe my feet after walking the hills of Seattle and a lot of standing to taste/drink at the Chocofest. The way the tub is placed with a view of the main room when the privacy screen is up, I could even watch TV.
F was impressed by the hotel- we were greeted with glasses of sparkling wine on arrival to make us feel like a VIP or like we were on our honeymoon, and when we came back later there were robes waiting and our beds were turned down with chocolates and the TV set to the sound of a beach at sunset. The Molton Brown products smelled great- and I confess when I was in the public restroom on the lobby level, they had all the soap and lotion scents available to choose from and I tried several.
The bed was comfy- we thought about extending our checkout to lazily eat our brunch as room service, but in the end went down to eat. Thanks to the fact they provide ice in little ziploc bags by the elevators, I was even able to procure little baggies for some of the small bites I wasn’t able to finish at Chocofest and ate the next day back in Portland. When we left, we also discovered a hot cider station right by the concierge, which kept me warm as we walked out into the cool rainy Seattle weather. The only disappointment is that they also had a Surface in their Studio 1000 lounge, but it was out of order even though I really wanted to try it out to see what it was like.
On the hotel first floor is also the trendy and hipster looking restaurant Boka, which we stopped at for happy hour and breakfast the next morning.
F was quite pleased because they had several vegetarian options that he was interested in. For happy hour there were lots of options, and we had to hold ourselves back knowing our next stop was Pike Chocofest. We started with Crispy Kale with grated parmesan, lemon zest. The kale on top was great, but as we got lower down the bowl they became soggy- they should perhaps think of serving that on a flatter serving dish. I could not resist the Dons’ Truffle Fries with truffle oil, truffle salt, and parsley, which came in an adorable little fry basket and did not need those sauces you see on the side at all as they were perfectly tasty and crispy and needed nothing else. We both shared the Mac + Cheese with caramelized onions in a mornay sauce, though we didn’t think there were any onions at all until we found out they were all at the bottom of that baby cast iron dutch oven.
The next day for breakfast while he enjoyed oatmeal, I indulged with Boka’s Breakfast of a Lumberjack omelette stars applewood smoked bacon, onions, golden glen creamery cheddar, sausage, country gravy and includes roasted potatoes + choice of bacon, ham or veggie sausage (egg whites or egg beaters are available upon request). Here you see egg beaters and choice of bacon… because I rationalized that the egg beaters were a credit so I could have my bacon side.
Overall, I liked the bartender, who served us on both our visits. While we were there for happy hour, he made sure we had water and our food quickly, but then gave us space to chat. During breakfast, the bartender also served us very efficiently, again making sure to check in on us so we knew he was available, but still unobtrusive. Only the hostess gave us a negative impression as for a while, there was only a few other tables as it was a late Monday morning but she sat other patrons very close in the corner and even lifted up one of our bags in order to make room for the next table to slide in. This was even though 75% of the restaurant was empty and yet many of us were seated immediately next to each other in a very tight corner space that seemed more like the bar/lounge area, even though the restaurant also has a main middle area that had more open seating (and spacing between tables) as you would expect in a hotel restaurant. All of us glanced at each other because we were conscious of our proximity and lack of conversation privacy and being all cornered together.
That whole area was almost like we were all sharing a sectional couch space, it was weird. I can see how it works theoretically as an extension of part of the bar, but not as well for restaurant meal service if all the tables are occupied. Good thing I didn’t change my mind about getting coffee or a bloody mary to kill some more time before our Bolt bus. We paid our check and headed to Studio 1000 to relax (and paw sadly at the non-working Surface) for the remainder of our time. Studio 1000 actually is a great space with the same upscale modern ambiance and that middle fire pit and spacing between seatings still giving it some cozyness- it seemed like a better lounge area than that corner of Boka too. Since that lounge is also served by Boka I think, consider it an option.
