Talaris Conference Center

The Talaris Conference Center is a wonderful spot for hosting a small conference or group retreat. It’s like staying in an 18-​acre park in the heart of the city just a few miles from the University of Washington. With 31 guestrooms, free parking, and plenty of meeting rooms, Talaris advertises they can host events or workshops up to 150 people.
A small group of us stayed at Talaris Conference Center while attending a conference at UW. It was convenient and the setting was a nice place to meet colleagues. A simple breakfast buffet is included overlooking a small lake and coffee/​tea seemed to always be available. The only real disappointment was the quality of the rooms which seem very dated and felt a little like old dorm rooms.
If I’m planning a team retreat or small training workshop near UW, I will definitely consider Talaris Conference Center again for the retreat within the city experience.

Kyle C. is talking about my wedding in his review! If I could redo my wedding, I would not have not chosen any other place. There were a few hiccups that I wish could have been sorted out, but I understand that they typically do not do weddings so I cannot expect more than what they offered.
It was less than three months when my then boyfriend, now husband, and I decided that we should get married. We’re best friends so we talked about this stuff and he said, well, if we can find a venue, we’ll get married in July. Our situation is complicated, but I won’t get into that. I’m like okay, so we start looking. If you don’t know already, summer is the busiest and priciest season to get married. We wanted it be on a Saturday and hold at least 150+ of our family and closest friends, but not super extravagant. We previewed several places that were available and looked at our date options. Everywhere we looked was a fail. So instead of Googling wedding venues and event venues, I started looking at community centers and conference centers, and that is how I stumbled upon Talaris.
At first glance their website showed pictures of their beautiful gardens and ponds with a lovely fountain. Max capacity is 100 persons. I thought that wouldn’t work, but emailed them anyway and explained what I was looking for. They put me in contact with their event planner and I quickly scheduled a tour on my lunch break. The venue is tucked away near the U. Village. Driving into the grounds I felt like I was out in the boonies like I was going camping. I arrive at the beautiful gardens and met with the planner and one of the managers. They were super friendly. I toured the grounds and could not get over how ‘zen’ it was. I literally fell in love with this place.
In an attempt to make this review not a book, everything went pretty smoothly leading up to the wedding day. The tasting was fantastic. We brought our moms and they enjoyed the food and loved the venue! The view from the dining room had an excellent view of the pond, fountain and the gardens. The chef and staff were willing to accommodate our many requests. Certain colored linens were included in the rate. We chopped our guest list as best we could, the most stressful thing about the entire wedding planning! Seattle had a major heat wave and the day of the wedding was a perfect cool day, but both the fountains were not on. I was told they automatically shut off when there is not enough water in the pond. Apparently most of it evaporated during the weeks of treacherous weather in the 90s. I was saddened that this feature, the major selling point, was not part of our wedding photos. The lush garden, large trees, and pond still made the scenery beautiful though. Best compliments from our guests were the food and service. Food was delicious and the staff provided top notch service! The price point for everything was also very reasonable even with our open bar. There was a slight hiccup with the cake cutting because I had ice cream served with it, but only half of my guests got ice cream and were told we ran out of ice cream when we didn’t. There was a bit of miscommunication with my planner and the staff. It wasn’t until much later that they brought out more ice cream.
We also stayed in the rooms which are quite dated, but clean. I’m not one to complain much and made the best of it. I definitely would love to come back just to eat here. Their free breakfast was one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve ever had. It’s a great place to throw a party or any event.

I came here for my company’s offsite, and we used the one lobby for breakfast, the auditorium for the day, and the dining room for lunch.
A fair amount of the complex is pretty old, and it shows in some places, like the bathrooms and edges of the roof. Didn’t bother me much, but some of my coworkers took note. I was a little more concerned with the pair of bald eagles, as there’s a nest up in the trees nearby.
I liked the garden and the bridge, and the catering staff were very friendly and professional. I didn’t think the food was stellar, but it wasn’t anything less than I would expect.
Hope for the sun to break through; it makes everything much more enjoyable.

I attended only the second wedding ever held at the Talaris Conference Center and it was incredible! It is a somewhat secluded compound that is nestled up in the U-​District. It is complete with everything you need to have an event, have a party, and then sleep off the after effects. The staff is super on point and attentive to your needs. The environment is really peaceful despite being in a busy area of the greatest city on earth. I would take any opportunity I could to go back and do anything up in this place.

Great location. It is nice to walk outside the buildings. It is very peaceful. The rooms are ok, but not great. It has dated bathrooms and a mini fridge. The breakfast was ok. The lunch menu had no vegan options.
Be careful when walking around since some of the walkways had Moss and were very slippery.

We just stayed here for one night and, though the grounds are beautiful and tranquil, the facility itself is old and tired, desperately in need of upgrades in the rooms and on the ground. That being said, the future of this facility is in question. Understand this property is being fought over by a developer to be made into a huge housing development. This is probably why not much is being done to maintain the facility itself. Sad!

Stayed here for a conference and it was absolutely gorgeous. Felt like I was at a meditation retreat. There was even an eagles next over the beautiful pond with water feature that was amazing to see. The lunch room had floor to ceiling windows for a beautiful view. Rooms are really dated but the overall place more than made up for it.

Great hideaway, excellent friendly staff! Good food. If you are looking for a place to recharge, this is it. Great food and shopping within walking distance.

Very nice work. A beautiful setup with all the basic amenities you would need. A real hidden gem and was very happy with the service.
Getting to downtown via public transport is not the quickest from this location, but the concierge are extremely focused on making your travel plans easier. Have used twice now and plan to use again soon.

What a beautiful property the hotel is located in! Not only are there paths to walk on around the property but the rooms themselves have a cabin-​in-​the-​wood type of feeling. Average to small room but cozy, decent basic bathroom, and great desk staff. I checked in early at the last minute without any issue, and they let me leave my luggage at the hotel for 10+ hours after I checked out so that I didn’t have to carry my luggage to my interview and carry it around while exporting Seattle on foot. My first room looked clean but had some strange urine-​like smell and they quickly changed my room. Each room has an iphone /​mp3/​smartphone compatible speaker so you can listen to your own music. Complimentary bottled water, daily breakfast, and great coffee! There are several restaurants and a dessert place within walking distance, and university village is also within 10 – 15 min walk. Seattle children’s hospital is 1 block away.

Feels like outdoor school for adults.
This hotel is, well, interesting.
The rooms are not traditional rooms. They are outside accessible rooms in big hut-​like buildings (well, big for a hut). In the center each cluster of rooms has a kitchen, though I think you need to pay extra to access it. It feels like a place companies would come for an urban retreat and seminar. The rooms are a bit old and outdated, but the location and green space more than make up for it.
Aside from the odd feel of the room, it’s a great place to stay. It’s in a little tranquil park right next to UW and the U-​Village. It’s a great place to stay for footballs games… er, check that it’s terrible. Don’t stay here, I don’t want you all clogging the space for me. Just kidding, it’s great. But seriously, leave me a room.
From this place to the stadium you either have the choice of walking toward E-​1 and experiencing the tailgaters, or you can walk through the back trails in the swamp and see nice parts of campus few ever see.
I wonder what this place used to be. This big a space so close to campus must be in high demand. It’s nice that whatever it was kept it an open green space.
This place is definitely an interesting and quirky place to stay. Well worth the price.

A day or so after I wrote this review, I got a call from the general manager who apologized that no one had contacted me about my cell phone charger. Apparently they have several chargers that have been left behind at different times and in that box was an iPhone 5 charger, which she overnighted to me. Absolutely wonderful, I can’t wait to go back for another stay!

Talaris is located on beautiful grounds very close to the University of Washington. We enjoyed the tranquil setting there, and the beautiful walks! We found the accommodations adequate but nothing special. We’ll come back in the future.

Nestled in the shadow of Seattle Children’s Hospital (see my review:
), it’s possible to live within close proximity of the Talaris Conference Center and have no idea that this gem of a facility even exists. Covering 18 acres in a gorgeous park-​like setting that includes walking paths, a large pond and tons of manicured lawns, Talaris is a wonderful venue for any sort of meeting or reception or simply a great place for an afternoon stroll. It also features 33 guest rooms and is in close proximity to the Laurelhurst commercial district as well as University Village.
We have hosted receptions at Talaris twice in the past four years and in both cases, the locale, service, food and value that we received were beyond exemplary. (We did not use the guest rooms, so I cannot comment on those.)
In 2009 we hosted a kids’ party, which included 100+ kids, a DJ and kid-​friendly food including a Pasta Bar with Spaghetti and Penne Pastas and Marinara and Fettuccini Alfredo sauces, Caesar Salad, Cheese and Margarita Pizzas, Fruit Kabobs, Chips and Punch. From the earliest planning meetings through the event and final payment, working with Brenna, the planning manager at the time, was everything you would hope — attentive, helpful, patient and personable.
The Pacific Dining Room worked amazingly well for this event. We set the dance floor and DJ up at the far end of the room and from the moment the music started, the kids were in their element. The size of the Pacific Dining Room was perfect and contributed to a «hot» room with tons of energy and enthusiasm.
The smaller Northwest Room which is located just off to the side of the Pacific Dining Room was a perfect place for a small group of adults to hide away and enjoy some wine while sneaking a periodic peak at the kids to make sure they were having fun and behaving appropriately. (Of course they were!)
Just last month we hosted an hor d’oeuvres and cocktail party for about 130. My wife had the inspired idea to put together a southern inspired menu. Working closely with the current Planning Manager, Kimberly, and the chef, they came up with one of the one of the best menus I’ve ever had at a party of this sort. The food included Mac n’ Cheese Bites (perfectly formed squares of mac and cheese — amazing!), Kobe Beef Sliders, Chicken and Waffle Skewers (chicken dipped in waffle batter and then deep fried — oh baby!), Corn Fritters and more. Like her predecessor, Kimberly was amazing to work with and we really felt like everyone at Talaris was committed to the success of our event.
Trying to figure out the quantities of food to order for an event like this was a crap shoot. We ultimately ended up at about 7 servings per person, which was in hindsight far too much food. But, better to have too much than too little. The staff was absolutely wonderful about letting us come back the next morning and pack up all of the uneaten food, both prepared and uncooked. The bounty in our freezer should keep us fed for some time!
For seating, we had a mix of tables and cocktail stands and again, the room worked very well. A portable bar served beer, wine and soda and a full bar was available in a separate location. We actually served very few hard drinks, and I’m not sure if that is because it was an afternoon event or because despite being in a central location it wasn’t obvious that there was a bar there. To the casual observer, it could have been a coat check room. No bother. No one seemed to mind that the main bar only had beer and wine and it helped to keep the overall costs down.
As our recent event was winding down, one of our guests stopped to thank me and stated unequivocally that our party was an «absolute 10». What a great thing to hear, but I can’t take all of the credit, or even most of the credit. That goes to the great staff and facility at Talaris.

Pavement was sticky from the tree sap. Nice location near university. Very basic breakfast. Bathroom is outdated and lacks counter space. Showerhead is positioned for small child. Bed was comfortable. Two moths got into our room and the light fixtures are dirty. This isn’t a traditonal hotel. THe rooms are accessed from outside and are in small one story buildings. I saw several dogs so it looks like a dog friendly place and there are lots of places to take them for walks. Our room was quiet and the bed was against the window. THe blnds didn’t block all the light.

The registration area was a bit hard to find in the dark but we found it. The gentleman was nice and told us all there was to know about this hotel. They’re even dog friendly.
The grounds were pretty and it was in a nice area. They had a nicely stocked snack room: coffee, tea, juices, water and pastries. My room was on the 2^nd floor, it was big and simply decorated. Everything with my stay went well so I’d have no problem staying there again.

Never going back. Was expecting something a lot better after looking at the photos they advertised. But doesn’t seem even close. Especially wouldn’t want to stay on the first floor room again because the windows were covered by only a paper thin sheet– not only did it seem like it wasn’t enough privacy, at night car lights would shine into the room since we were right next to the parking lot. I called for towels one morning and the front desk asked if I’d be in the room in the next couple of minutes. Waited for about a half hour and no one ever came– so called the front desk as we were leaving to let them know we do NOT want the towels anymore and put the privacy sign on the door since we left some valuables in the room, but someone still came into our room while we were gone. Also, we had the privacy sign on our door the next morning– but the maid still knocked on our door at 8 in the morning– told her we didn’t need service since we were checking out that morning, but she still came back later before check out. Then we realized our do not disturb sign had magically disappeared from our door– so much for privacy. Also, the television kept having «connection problems» and was just annoying after about 10 times there was a connection error. Been to MUCH nicer places for a lot better prices– wouldn’t stay here again.

We stayed at Talaris for our son’s UW graduation. Here are the positive experiences and reasons we selected Talaris.
— able to reserve for just 1 night
— proximity to UW
— gorgeous grounds!
— VALUE! You will not find a larger, cleaner, nicer room in Seattle unless you stay at a $$$$ property
— continental breakfast plus
— comfortable linens and bed
— SUPER QUIET locale! No freeway or university noise
We are travelers on a budget and appreciated everything this great place offered.
Stayed June 2011

I have been to Talaris quite a few times and will continue to return. While I love being in the city, it’s nice to go back to a quiet place to get some rest. The staff our exceptional and are willing to go out of their way to help you, yet, the hotel is set up so its more independent living.
I highly recommend staying at Talaris for its serenity, location, and exceptional staff.

Our family of four stayed here during spring break while touring University of Washington. It was a wonderful stay and we only wish we had more down time (and less rain) to enjoy the resort.
Bob Stricker the night concierge was incredibly helpful with all aspects of our stay, and he know UofW so well that he answered a lot of our questions.
The UW special rate of $ 119/​night was also pretty terrific. Free parking, safe, close to campus, near restaurants. The only downside is that this is not a traditional hote. They hold conferences here, and they rent out the excess rooms.
We would absolutely stay here again, especially when visiting this part of town.