Great Queen Anne location within easy access of popular sights
Free continental breakfast served in lounge
Hip yet historic ambiance
Rooms all have kitchenettes, convenient for stay-in cooking
Cool bar/lounge for drinks, snacks, and live music
Massage and beauty treatments in the Health and Beauty Corner
Free Wi-Fi
Older property could use some updates, especially bathrooms
Valet parking is expensive
No elevator
Wi-Fi can be slow
Built in 1918 as an engineering school, the
lower-middle-range MarQueen has a distinctive historic vibe and 59 elegant rooms with small kitchens. Situated in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne
district, within easy walking distance of Key Arena and the Seattle Center, this
hotel is best suited to travelers who appreciate historic boutique hotels -- and don’t mind the stairs and signs of age, particularly in bathrooms, that come with it. The property also has a chic lounge/bar that hosts live music. The Maxwell Hotel is another historic boutique hotel in the neighborhood, with a pizza restaurant on-site.
Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.
Scene
Vintage, Art Deco-style with oil paintings and antique furniture
Projecting a 1920s vibe, the hotel was
built in 1918 as the Seattle Engineering School and has maintained many of the original
charms -- and quirks -- of an older brick building. Composed of three floors,
each level with vaulted ceilings, the property lacks an elevator, but
guests can travel from floor to floor via a beautiful, wood-banister Victorian
staircase. There is a vintage Art Deco look throughout the hotel, with flocked fabrics and wallpaper, bold chandeliers, and 1920s-era tables and chairs. The stunning staircase
is visible from the entrance of the hotel, and a
large mahogany counter functions as the front desk. Also in the lobby are a large
antique mirror and dresser topped with tour pamphlets and an ice water dispenser, set off by gilt-framed oil
paintings. The Tin Lizzie Lounge is popular among non-hotel guests, with its old-fashioned wood bar, and hip low-lying couches, stools, and tables in cool grays and black and white leather. Private
clusters of couches and chairs are tucked into corners. There is no elevator in this hotel. The MarQueen tends to draw a younger crowd, though older couples and families also come for the antique, romantic ambience.
Location
Lower Queen Anne neighborhood near Key Arena
The hotel is located in Seattle’s lower
Queen Anne neighborhood with a multitude of street-level stores, restaurants, and bars in the immediate vicinity, a tattoo parlor across the street, and
several residential buildings all around. The location is two blocks away -- a five-minute walk -- from Key Arena and the Seattle Center, and a 13-minute walk from the Space Needle. It's about a mile-and-a-half to
Pike Place -- a 30-minute walk, seven-minute drive, or 15 minutes by bus/monorail; Seattle Aquarium
is along the same route, about 30 minutes by bus/monorail. Downtown can be reached on foot in
40 minutes, 15 minutes by bus/monorail, or eight minutes by car. Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport is about 25 minutes away by car.
Rooms
Vintage vibe, small kitchens, and modern TVs
The vintage theme
continues in guest rooms with traditional wooden headboards, paisley-patterned rugs, and antique wooden nightstands, armoires, and side tables. There are larger suites with separate living rooms furnished with sofa-beds, high-back chairs, and coffee tables. There
are original wood floors throughout, but the rooms do have modern
luxuries, such as flat-screen TVs, (iffy) Wi-Fi, and full
kitchens with small and mid-size appliances and cookware. Certain details
in the bathrooms (bathtubs) and kitchens (cabinets) do show signs of their age -- scuffs, chips, and peeling paint -- and some of the armoires are oddly crammed into bedrooms. Bathrooms have older, white tile floors, pedestal sinks, and shower/tub combos surrounded
by tile that varies in age and condition. Some rooms include ironing facilities
and bathrobes.
Features
Free light breakfast and (slow) Wi-Fi access; cool lounge
Free Wi-Fi is included in rooms, but can be slow and unreliable. A free continental breakfast is also included -- not
buffet-style, but a simple bagel, fruit, yogurt, and coffee served in the Tin Lizzie
lounge. Tin Lizzie also has a full bar with live music at least twice a week, and serves soup, panini, and appetizers throughout the day and night. There is
valet parking for an extra fee, or metered street parking/garages within a
two-block radius.
