Seattle ยท First Hill
Hotel Sorrento
Clothier Samuel Rosenberg's First Hill hotel by Harlan Thomas, opened in 1909, the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.
- Built
- 1909Constructed 1908-09 to designs by Harlan Thomas; opened 1909.
- Style
- Italian Renaissance Revival
- Architect
- Harlan Thomas
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Rooms
- 76
- Area
- First Hill
- Credentials
- Local landmark; Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The story
Clothier Samuel Rosenberg built the Sorrento on First Hill in 1908-09 to designs by Seattle architect Harlan Thomas, who drew on Italian models. It opened in 1909, the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, and is one of Seattle’s oldest operating hotels. The city designated it a landmark and it was added to the National Register in 2021.
The ghost story
Local lore holds that the ghost of writer Alice B. Toklas, who grew up in Seattle, drifts past room 408 in white gowns; guests also report flickering lights and phantom footsteps, though the Seattle Times notes she probably never visited the hotel.
Source: theticket.seattletimes.com
Good to know
- Address: 900 Madison Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Things to do
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Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.