I alight from the tram from the airport at Westlake and follow the signs for the B exit. That ejects me at street level on 4th avenue. From here it’s only a five minutes walk to the Ändra Hotel, which is a member of the Accor Group under the MGallery brand. From the pictures in the app, the rooms at the Ändra looked attractive and stylishly homey, if that’s even a thing…

Location

The hotel is centrally located in Seattle. The Westlake tram stop, the station for the monorail, and the market at Pike’s Place are all in easy walking distance. By tram is takes about forty minutes to reach the hotel from Tacoma airport.

Check-In

By the time I arrive at the hotel it’s just coming up to 19h on a post-Christmas Saturday evening. Downtown is quiet and so is reception at the hotel. The young man at check-in is friendly and efficient. This must be one of the quickest check-ins ever. He hands me the room key, my drinks vouchers, and breakfast voucher, and wishes me a pleasant stay.

Staff & Service

I don’t really have that much interaction with the staff to be able to say much about them. What is a bit strange, though, is that the young man at reception explicitly mentioned that housekeeping was strictly on demand, and that I should call reception if required. However, during my stay my room is tidied every day. I don’t know if that’s just a mistake, or perhaps something to do with my Accor status.

The Room – One Bedroom Corner Suite

I’ve booked a one bedroom corner suite on the sixth floor. The front door opens into a comfortable looking living room that manages to look stylish and homey at the same time. Off to my left is the walk-in closet. The bathroom is on my right.

The bedroom is separated from the living room by French doors. It’s a good size room. The bed is large and manages to be supportive on the back but without being too hard. It’s a bit unusual that the bed sits fairly low above the ground.

Amenities

When I arrive in the room there are two boxes of still water and a box of gummi bears waiting for me as a welcome gift.

The room has a fully stocked minibar and a Nespresso machine. The capsules are replenished daily. The hotel gets extra brownie points for providing real cream instead of that dreadful creamer powder you get in some places. There’s also a weird kettle that don’t get to work. However, at check-in I’m told that they have a tea service on request, which means that they will bring you a proper kettle with two extra mugs and tea bags to your room, and that’s what I do.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is fairly small and features a walk-in shower only. It’s a good shower that scores highly on the Knight of Malta standard shower test – no spillage, good pressure, and steady temperature control. Two things about the shower are a bit unusual. The first is that the shower head is a bit too low, so I need to duck my head into the spray. The other is that there is only one dial which runs from off to cold and then hot. It’s actually a really good system. After all, why would you not want full volume when you shower? Also, the temperature control works well, and it doesn’t take the water long to heat up. The cosmetics in the bathroom are by a local company called Lather.

Dining

The Ändra is a small hotel, especially by American standards. It has a bar on the first floor (the American second floor) and a restaurant on the ground floor (the American first floor) by the name of Lola. This is also where breakfast is served. Lola’s is a pleasant enough restaurant with a good selection of sweet and savoury dishes to choose from. However, if it’s a light continental breakfast you’re after, you may out of luck.

Conclusion

I rather liked the Ändra Hotel. The central location in Seattle is just brilliant and very convenient to get around. You have several public transport options in close proximity. The room itself was rather nice and spacious. It felt comfortable. I think my only real complaint is with the restaurant’s opening hours, which somehow never quite seemed to line up with my plans. On weekends, they don’t open until eight in the morning, which I think is quite late, especially if you’re jet lagged. As a result, I only managed to have breakfast at the hotel once during the entire stay.