Inn At Harbor Steps

Prob one of the worst hotel experiences in my life.
First off had a reservation for my birthday weekend in Seattle. We pulled up to the front as stated by the front desk and tried to find the buzzer to get let into the hotel. It wasn’t working so I called the front desk only to be put on hold after minutes of waiting I was let In by another customer leaving .
the front desk women had an attitude when I mentioned the difficulty of entering the hotel (sounds like she hears this all the time)
We had reserved a suite which turns out to be right next to the front desk. The room was very warm and I’m not talking comfortable I’m talking temperature. There was an air conditioner which was across the room and was in an. Alcove which didn’t make any sense because there was no where for the cold air to go! Who’ve ever designed this was an imbecile. The décor was late 80’s motif including the sheets and lines which were probably from then as well. The blanket was post modern hospital which was also shedding. I was thoroughly disgusted. We called down to the front desk to try and get a room change but the girl said they were booked. Ugh! So we were forced to stay. now comes the fun part. THE PARKING, oh my lord what a disaster. There are 4 different entrance (I think) and 4 floors southwest northeast northwest and southeast once parked it is nearly impossible to find your car. There is no signage what’s so ever and it took me 30 minutes to find our car. There were also several other people looking for there vehicle also one couple was looking for an hour. And had to get the maintain acne man to take him around to find it. Please whatever you do don’t ever stay here the worst place I’ve ever seen.

One star is for the juice options at breakfast and the great location.
Maybe they would have the others if:
–They provided SANITARY AND CLEAN coffee makers
–They had staff who were not so lazy that they told you to «try back later» when you ask them for things
–They had staff who knew how to BOIL WATER when said coffee maker was filthy and busted
–Had Wifi or, in absence of that, knew what an Ethernet cable is when you asked
–Had a way to turn their fireplaces COMPLETELY OFF in the summer.
–Had keys that worked without having to throw your entire weight against the door
–Had staff that told you ANYTHING about parking when you asked
–They got rid of their HIDEOUS décor. A painting of a monkey STARING AT YOU from right over the toilet? A horse statue with a big hole for the anus looking back at you and whinnying? WHAT. IS. THIS?
Oh, and we are staying in a Suite. And all of this happened on our FIRST DAY.
…I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Noooooo.

I want to be really fair here. The Inn at Harbor Steps looked like a great find — walking distance to Pikes Market, a small boutique by Four Sisters. But in the end it stretches to hit 3 stars in my book. Here’s the rundown:
THE BAD
1. Super hard to find — I know that sounds ridiculous but it’s located in an apartment building. The GPS kept telling us we were at our destination but we would look and say «where’s the hotel» and miss it. So tip to anyone staying there — don’t look for a cute inn, look for an apartment building with «Harbor Steps» sign.
2. Parking to check in is ridiculous. They didn’t tell us to stop in the front loading zone so we circled to find a parking lot. You enter on the backside of the hotel which is down a hill — but you can only get there by going down a few blocks and then circling back. Basically they need to tell you this when you reserve your room as there were others checking in who just gave up and parked in a pay lot. If you park in their lot you cannot enter the building since you won’t have a key so you have to walk back up the ramps and walk around the building until you get to the front. It should not be this hard to just check in!
3. Rooms are outdated. Photos on their site look good but things like broken mini-​blinds, lampshades falling off, it shows that they don’t care about the details. You have to upgrade to get a King bed. Baths are just OK — not spa like, just a standard hotel bathroom. The bed mattress was standard fare, like something you would find in a budget hotel.
4. No wifi in rooms. I think they might have had it right in the lobby as people were on the couch with their iPads but nothing worked in the room.
5. Because the blinds were broken, plenty of light in the room at night.
6. The bathroom has a «not quite clean enough» feel to it, the toilet roll holder was falling off the wall.
7. Traffic getting in and out of downtown is tough. It took us 45 minutes just to get to the freeway at 530. Not the Inn’s fault, of course, but just be prepared.
8. The «pool» is tiny, really tiny, and nothing like the website photos. Forgetaboutit!
THE GOOD
1. Location is close to Pikes so you can walk to dinner or an after dinner drink. We found this hidden gem called The Pink Door
on the last night and stopped in for a cocktail and wished we knew about it for dinner.
2. Happy Hour has free wine and cheese. Nice touch.
3. Breakfast is good enough — no bacon or sausages but lots of toast and egg dishes. They had a weird baked egg dish where they tossed in feta cheese into salsa and baked the eggs. It was tasty but looked horrible!
4. Day staff is very friendly.
THE BAD EXPERIENCE
So I will start by saying you should take this all with a grain of salt as everyone has a bad day. The evening staff seemed to not know much about things to do in the area. We wanted a cozy place to get a drink and after much thought the person sent us out the lobby door and to a nearby bar. It was OK, but like a corporate bar versus a cool local place. This is when a recommendation like The Pink Door would have come in handy. But we went to the recommended bar and had a glass of wine and then walked back the way we came to the hotel.
The lighting at night was dark and when we got to the door IT WAS LOCKED! OK, I get that, but I already told you how hard it is to get around the hotel since it’s built on a hill and I was thinking it sure would have been nice if there were a sign as you exited or if the desk person told us that she would lock the door after a certain time. Remember, as a tourist you leave the hotel and expect to return the same way.
But good thing, the security guard was walking in the lobby. I tapped the glass hoping he would let us in. He looked at us, then turned around and left! What???
We schlepped up back up the hill to the front and there was the security guard. I asked him why he didn’t let us in and he said the doors are locked after 11. I said he could have just told us that and told us how to get back into the hotel and he then said he did not see us. Hmmmmm, seriously? So considering I tapped on the glass with the key and he was right there, he was either not telling the truth or he is the worst security guard ever.
SUMMARY
Would I stay there again? Maybe, maybe not. Now that I know the quirks I would be much better prepared. But for the price point I expected more, better service, nicer rooms. This is no 5 star boutique, it’s a tired 3 star that’s coasting on its location. If you have no other options, it’s good enough. But shop around a bit before settling on this on

Oh Inn at Harbor steps — how do I count your fails?
I have to list these out or you will be stuck reading a 4 pager.
Left out to sea with:
logistics to park,
to haul your luggage in and out,
to get keys,
to take the elevator from the parking area,
to drop off keys,
to get back to the lobby,
and don’t even try to find your car after you parked until you head out at the end of your stay.
The hotel person that has organized these directions must have never done it themselves.
Well beyond inconvenient.
The key chains are ridiculous as they have big metal tags attached to them which I removed so I could fit them in a pocket.
You are supposed to park your car for 3 minutes right outside the hotel. It was full with 2 cars as we were leaving and nobody that owned those cars were in the lobby. I was waiting for my husband to pick me up and the cars were sitting there much longer than 3 minutes.
Suggestion: You should be allowed to leave your keys in your room instead of having to shlep your bags to the lobby, and then shlep them to the parking area and then have to drive your car back and drop off keys.
Pillow shams smelled like they had not been changed in forever so I did not leave them on the bed.
There are these incredibly bright lights that were right outside our window at night from the Harbor steps. If we were in a real harbor I would have thought they belonged to a cruise ship!
The a/​c is crazy as it’s located at the front of your room so it is blowing at the front door instead of the bed.
There is no microwave in the room but a huge fridge.
The bathroom’s tiles are slippery when wet and I had to catch myself twice or I would have fallen.
There is no power in the shower at all.
The sink plug was broken.
When we were leaving, there was a total disinterested lobby person looking down at the computer. All I saw was the top of his head.
Searching for some safe harbor here!
1 star for:
Free food/​drink — happy hour style but the room where the happy hour is has rugs that looked dirty and old.
1 star for:
size of room — huge

Wonderful find. Close to pretty much everything. Room was nice, clean and roomy. The room had a fireplace and cozy bed. Staff was very helpful. I will definitely stay here again. Great price too. Conveniently located to freeways.

I was disappointed. We spent $ 149 for a Groupon coupon and for another $ 20.00 we could have gone to the Olive 8 and spent our night at a top notch hotel. Or we could have gone to the Westin, Monaco or another hotel.
The best part: the location and it had a fireplace in the room. The worst part: no hot water which meant no showers, apparently the city of seattle was working on water mains and so we had no hot water. Staff could care less that we had no showers and couldnt bathe. So much for the romantic weekend. When we spend 149.00 we want the staff to at least care and maybe offer us something else with hot water? The toilet didnt work as evidenced by the plunger right next to the toilet we had to continually keep using. No wi-fi…and outdated décor. It just wasnt worth $ 149.00. I think they may have actually treated us less because we had the Groupon coupon, but still, it was $ 149 we paid out of pocket. That is alot of money. They should have treated us better because we go for romantic weekend getaways throughout the year in Seattle. So, we wont be back.
Not worth the money and the staff is on autopilot.

Having stayed at two other Four Sisters locations in the past, I had high expectations of the Inn at Harbor Steps. I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.
Just two blocks from the Link Light Rail (University Street) station, it was easy to get to the hotel after we arrived in Seattle from the airport. It was 9AM, so we didn’t expect to check in, just drop off our bags. The helpful desk clerk invited us to the daily breakfast, even though we had not checked in yet. That was above expectations, for sure.
As always, the afternoon wine and hors d’oeuvres were nice. Nothing to write home about, but a nice selection of quality cheese, veggies, and wine. The dining area was a bit underwhelming, but there were also tables offered in the sitting area off the garden patio, as well as outside on the patio (on the Harbor Steps).
The hotel itself is in the lower floors of an apartment highrise. I was surprised to find our room (12) light and airy, with French Doors that opened to overlook Post Alley. You couldn’t go outside from there, but the effect was pleasant.
As always, the breakfast was excellent. Two types of quiche, scrambled eggs, and a baked «fried» egg covered in cheese. Fruit, toast, cinnamon raisin toast, English Muffins, muffins, and oatmeal. Plus coffee, tea and juice. The afternoon cookies were different each day, which was a nice touch.
Overall, the hotel is steps from main tourist attractions (Pike Place, Seattle Art Musuem), a short walk to shopping and dining, ferries and the waterfront, and a moderate walk to neighborhoods like Capitol Hill. Plus, two blocks from the Light Rail. Friendly service, great food included in the price, and a large, well-​appointed room. I’m a fan!

This was the worst hotel experience I have ever had… and I travel a lot so I have had a lot of hotel experiences. When I showed up at the hotel, from the airport in the early evening, to check in, the hotel decided not to honor my reservation. Despite the fact that I produced proof of the fact that I had a confirmed reservation that I had ALREADY PAID FOR the hotel said they did not have a room for me. Instead of offering to help me find another room the representative behind the desk told me I should go to
. Seattle is very busy this time of year and every hotel was booked, which is why I made a reservation in the first place. I am appalled that a hotel would turn a customer that had paid for a room onto the streets with no where to sleep. Bottom line — terrible experience and I will never even consider staying here again.

This is my new go-​to hotel in Seattle. The room was very, very comfortable and in a great location. If you are looking for a chain hotel, this isn’t for you. The room was almost more like something you would find in a B & B. The french doors opened into a garden/​courtyard so the room was also very quiet.
Also on the Harbor Steps is a Tully’s and a small market for snacks and lunch.
I love, love, love this hotel and will stay here on my trips to Seattle from now on.

Nice cozy rooms in the heart of Seattle with a great friendly staff! Within walking distance from Pike Place Market, SAM, and many tasty restaurants (such as Japonessa, check out my review for it!).

Purchased two coupons off
for our stay in Seattle.
The door rate is posted @ $ 250 a night, Groupon deal was $ 149.00.
This included parking ($ 17 a day) & breakfast & a wine reception in the afternoon.
The Inn is half time share & ½ hotel.
Kinda seems like a renovated apartment, but our room (2^nd level) was nice, with french doors that allowed some fresh air in, gas fire place, twelve foot ceilings, nice cotton robes.
The location was the highlight, two blocks from Pikes Market & a short walk to a number of excellent restaruants (Cutters, Oscars).
Dont think I would pay the full door rate, but all hotels directly downtown are in upper price range.
We enjoyed our stay.
If you call the front desk, they will privide complementary bottles of water & sodas.

The stench of fried grease from the restaurant kitchen directly below was a huge turnoff. So was the heat. The room was not very clean (don’t look close in the dim light — you won’t like what you see). Wifi and hardwire dsl didn’t work. Many ‘repairs’ and ‘upgrades’ were amateurishly done. Sink was cracked. Cheap toilet barely flushed.
But the location is terrific. Find another hotel near this one.

So lovely! We got a discounted rate for a fantastic two-​double-​bed room for less than $ 200/​night for 4 people. (I recommend checking out their Special Offers section on the webpage because there are surprisingly good deals.) I can’t even describe how spacious and charming the room was!
The receptionist who checked us in led us to our room (64!), which was in another part of the building (in fact, I believe it’s a complex of several interconnected buildings), but very close by. Since the room was right next to the entrance to our building, we thought the noise of people coming in and out would be disruptive, but we hardly noticed. Judging by other reviews, however, the experience varies quite a bit depending on where the room is located within the complex, so maybe that’s something to inquire when making reservations.
The service was very helpful, the breakfast was scrumptious (great cheesy hash browns!) and, though we were not able to connect to the wireless Internet, we were immediately provided with an Ethernet cable. The large windows and the balcony were great… we had a view of the Harbor Steps and there was a lot of light. And last but certainly not least, the location is IDEAL: right next to Pike Place Market and all of the hotspots in the downtown area, only a few blocks away from both the historic Pioneer Square (to the right) and the up-​and-​coming Belltown (to the left), and a mere five minutes from the actual Harbor, from where the harbor tour/​cruises depart (which I also recommend!).
It’s overall just a very unique, quaint, and highly recommendable hotel in the heart of Seattle!

The reviews are a bit more glowing than we found the reality though this is a decent and well situated place to stay in Seattle.
— Location was great. We could walk to the waterfront, pikes place and the underground light rail and transit around the city and to the airport.
— Service: The check-​in was smooth and everyone was friend. The included breakfast scene was a bit of a free for all. It seemedly that everyone was there at once and they were running out of food on each of our two mornings. The afternoon «tea» was pleasant but a bit thin on snacks as well and had been basically wiped out when we arrived one day at 5:45.
Room: The room was decent. I liked the big size but it was very dark. The rooms appear to be on the several lower floors on a large apartment building. I was feeling a little bit of a basement vibe. The beds are mentioned as comfortable but we found our King bed was tilted to one side. Our double bathroom sink had a drain that did not drain and a hot water handle that was broken. Details that need correction. I liked the big jacuzzi tub! Very relaxing after a long day on the Seattle streets.
Overall: Pretty good place with a great location.

This has been my annual Seattle stop for a number of years. The location is prime, a great base for operations with the Pike Place Market, some extraordinary good eats in the downtown and Belltown districts, and one of the best espressos I’ve had the privilege to imbibe just an enjoyable stroll away. (I’m not sharing more details, as these businesses are doing just fine already.)
A couple of very big pluses are the reception staff, and the condo/​apartment residents themselves. With respect to the latter, I’ve met some wonderful, fascinating natives, and their canines, while I was just riding the elevators and navigating the lobby and halls. In regards to the former, I have to say that the staff at the front desk are the best, genuinely warm, hospitable, and delightful.
This hotel offers a per day flat fee self-​parking for your vehicle, no valets and no in/​out fees. A hot breakfast and very nice wine/​cheese/​cake offering in the early afternoon are also included in price of the room.

Best place to stay in Seattle, steps from the market and the water. Beautiful rooms, a chic and understated atmosphere, excellent and unobtrusive staff.

What a lovely hotel. Husband and I spent the weekend getting away from all those awful chores at home. The staff was great and helpful. This was the biggest hotel room I’ve ever seen. Comfy, comfy beds and extraordinarily clean throughout. We had to skip the afternoon wine & appetizers because we had dinner reservations, but we enjoyed breakfast in The Garden Room.
I highly recommend this close-​in urban boutique hotel very much. I will be staying again and will encourage all my out of town guests to give it a try.
They have other hotels in California as well. Going to try them and will let you know.