Perks of Living in a Condo Above a Hotel

There are only a few condominium buildings in Seattle that are above or part of a hotel. And though they are few, they do have some perks we thought our readers might want to know about if considering buying a condo.

The condo buildings that fit in this category are 2200 Westlake, Olive 8 (pictured to the right), Madison Tower and Four Seasons Residences.

In general the bonuses to living in a building that is combined with a hotel are:

• Spa services are only an elevator ride away
• Room service
• Housekeeping
• Gym
• Business center
• Valet to call you a cab
• Restaurant dining and a bar right in your building
• Discounted hotel stays for you or your guests
• Discounts at the spa, restaurant and bar (at certain buildings only)
• Often times the quality and amount of amenities available to condo owners above a hotel, in general, are bit more comprehensive than most condo buildings because the expenses are supplemented by the hotel so the condo owners benefit from those higher caliber of shared amenities
• The hotel staff are masters at hospitality, so it’s a great feeling to know that you and your family, as well as your guests are take care of

Though the amenities in each hotel and condo are different, most share the basics. At Madison Tower, you also have access to a cool golf simulator that you can reserve and order drinks and food delivered to. At Four Seasons, it is the outdoor pool with spectacular Sound views that is the bonus. At Olive 8 you can send out your dry cleaning through the hotel and, for a small additional fee, you can enjoy the indoor pool, yoga classes, and the well-appointed gym. At 2200 we love that we can run a house account and get billed monthly and receive 10% off all of hotel services used, including visits to the bar for drinks or brunch.  Some HOA’s will charge fees for use of some of the Hotel Amenities, but often time the convenience for this lifestyle is well worth it.

To fully road test this, we thought we would put the full use of the hotel amenities to the test at our building, 2200, to give you a personal breakdown by taking a little “staycation” last weekend.  First we dined and grabbed a drink at the bar in the lobby of the Pan Pacific. We charged that to our house account and received 10% off, sweet.  Before we left we ordered room service to our condo for the following Saturday. Right on time Saturday morning we heard a knock at the door and there was the Mushroom Benedict and Egg Sandwich we had ordered. It was delicious! Then we made our way down the elevator to the Vida Spa where we enjoyed hour long massages and some relaxation in our robes while we read our books by the fireside lounge in the Spa while sipping cucumber water and sampling the nut medley they had out next to a big bowl of fruit.  Then a walk over to the hot tub for more relaxing before heading out for the evening.  We received 10% off the massages as well. All in all it was easy, convenient, and fabulous!

If you think you would enjoy the conveniences that living above a hotel afford, you should consider a move.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle downtown condos.