Historic Inns

Seattle, Washington

Historic Hotels & Inns in Seattle

Eleven historic hotels in Seattle, from the 1900 Colonnade Hotel across from Pike Place Market to the 1924 Fairmont Olympic downtown and the 1909 College Inn in the University District.

11 historic places to stay · verified October 2026 · by Historic Inns editors

The short answer

Downtown, book the Fairmont Olympic, opened in 1924 on the University of Washington’s original downtown site, or the Mayflower Park, the 1927 Bergonian Hotel, which has direct access to Westlake Station and the airport train. By Pike Place Market, Palihotel Seattle fills the 1900 Colonnade Hotel across the street, and the Moore Hotel, which opened in 1907, and the Kimpton Palladian are each about a block from the Market’s historic district. The Arctic Club, which calls itself within walking distance of the stadiums, and the Alexis, near the waterfront, sit just north of the Pioneer Square district. For ghost stories, the 1909 Hotel Sorrento on First Hill has the city’s best-known lore, and the College Inn, built for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, is across the street from the University of Washington.

Our top picks

Best overall

Mayflower Park Hotel

Built 1927

Stephen Berg's 12-story Bergonian Hotel of 1927, with a terra cotta facade, which calls itself downtown Seattle's oldest continuously operating hotel.

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Most haunted

Hotel Sorrento

Built 1909

Clothier Samuel Rosenberg's First Hill hotel by Harlan Thomas, opened in 1909, the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.

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Compare them side by side

InnAreaBuiltRoomsTypePriceHaunted
Palihotel SeattleBelltown & Pike Place190096Boutique hotel–Rates
The Alexis Royal SonestaNear Pioneer Squarec. 1901–Boutique hotel–Rates
Moore HotelBelltown & Pike Place1907–Inn–Rates
Hotel SorrentoFirst Hill190976Boutique hotel–YesRates
Ace Hotel SeattleBelltown & Pike Place1909–Boutique hotel–Rates
College InnUniversity District1909–Inn–YesRates
Kimpton PalladianBelltown & Pike Place1909–10–Boutique hotel–Rates
The Arctic Club HotelNear Pioneer Square1917–Boutique hotel–YesRates
Fairmont Olympic HotelDowntown1924–Grand hotel–Rates
Hotel ÄndraDowntown1926–Boutique hotel–YesRates
Mayflower Park HotelDowntown1927–Boutique hotel–YesRates

Price is a typical nightly rate: $ under $200, $$ $200–349, $$$ $350–549, $$$$ $550+. Rates vary by season; check the inn for exact prices.

Where they are

The neighborhoods

Where to stay, by area

Downtown

Seattle’s shopping and office core around Westlake Center, where light rail stops at Westlake Station and the 1962 Monorail leaves for Seattle Center and the Space Needle. The Fairmont Olympic opened here in 1924 on the Metropolitan Tract, the University of Washington’s original downtown site; the Mayflower Park, opened as the Bergonian in 1927, has direct access to Westlake Station; and Hotel Ändra, the 1926 Claremont Hotel, is about a block from the Mayflower. All three are about 300 to 380 meters from Pike Place Market’s historic district, and the Seattle Convention Center is five blocks from the Mayflower.

Belltown & Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market opened on August 17, 1907 and covers nine historic acres at the west edge of downtown; north of it, Belltown mixes high-rise condos, restaurants, galleries and music clubs. Palihotel Seattle, the 1900 Colonnade Hotel, is across the street from the Market; the Moore Hotel (1907) and the Kimpton Palladian, the 1909–10 Calhoun Hotel, are each about a block from the Market’s historic district; and the Ace, a 1909 workers’ hotel, is deeper in Belltown, about 500 meters away. Overlook Walk links the Market to the waterfront.

Near Pioneer Square & the waterfront

Pioneer Square is Seattle’s original downtown, rebuilt in brick and stone after the Great Fire of June 6, 1889 and protected since 1970 as the city’s first preservation district, with the Underground Tour and Smith Tower inside it. Neither hotel here is inside the district: the Arctic Club, in the 1917 Arctic Building with its terra cotta walrus heads, is just north of its line at Third Avenue and Cherry Street, and the Alexis, in three First Avenue buildings from about 1901, is about 200 meters north, near the waterfront. Colman Dock, the ferry terminal at Pier 52, is on Alaskan Way between Marion and Columbia Streets.

First Hill

First Hill, which the Frye Art Museum calls historic First Hill, has one of the hotels we list: the Hotel Sorrento, built in 1908–09 to designs by Harlan Thomas and opened in 1909, the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The Frye, free since it opened in 1952, is at 704 Terry Avenue, and the First Hill Streetcar runs 2.5 miles through the neighborhood from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill.

University District

The U District surrounds the University of Washington, founded in 1861; Visit Seattle points to the campus architecture, the Henry Art Gallery, the Burke Museum and Ravenna Park. The College Inn was built in 1909 for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, held that summer on the campus across the street, and fills the top three floors above street-level cafes and a pub in the cellar. U District Station on the Link 1 Line is about a 7-minute walk away, per the inn.

The inns

Hotel SorrentoJoe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0

Built 1909 · Italian Renaissance Revival · First Hill · Boutique hotel

Hotel Sorrento

Why stay Clothier Samuel Rosenberg's First Hill hotel by Harlan Thomas, opened in 1909, the year of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.

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.

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College InnJoe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0

Built 1909 · Tudor Revival · University District · Inn

College Inn

Why stay Charles Cowen's 1909 Tudor-style inn for Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition visitors, across from the UW campus; economy rooms share baths.

The ghost story A Seattle Times guide to haunted bars tells the story of Howard, a sailor said to have been murdered while staying at the College Inn, who is said to haunt the pub in the building's cellar, mostly its back 'Snug Room', where people glimpse him at the edge of their vision and hear him play the piano.

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The Arctic Club HotelDifference engine / CC BY-SA 4.0

Built 1917 · Beaux-Arts · Near Pioneer Square · Boutique hotel

The Arctic Club Hotel

Why stay A. Warren Gould's Beaux-Arts clubhouse for men who made money in the Alaska gold rush, with terra cotta walrus heads, and a hotel since 2008.

The ghost story The Seattle Times' guide to haunted hotels ties the fifth floor to Congressman Marion Zioncheck, who died in a fall from his fifth-floor office window in 1936; visitors report elevator doors opening and closing on their own, footsteps in empty halls, and pacing and a freezing breeze in room 517.

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Hotel ÄndraJoe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0

Built 1926 · Downtown · Boutique hotel

Hotel Ändra

Why stay Stephen Berg's 1926 Claremont Hotel, which housed shipyard workers and the Women's Army Corps in World War II and became Hotel Ändra in 2004.

The ghost story The Seattle Times' guide to haunted hotels says guests at the former Claremont claim to hear jazz and shattering glass from empty upper floors and to glimpse a woman in 1930s dress in the halls; some whisper that her story ended in a fall from the ninth floor, though no one knows for sure.

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Mayflower Park HotelJoe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0

Built 1927 · Downtown · Boutique hotel

Mayflower Park Hotel

Why stay Stephen Berg's 12-story Bergonian Hotel of 1927, with a terra cotta facade, which calls itself downtown Seattle's oldest continuously operating hotel.

The ghost story The Seattle Times' guide to the city's haunted hotels tells of an older gentleman often seen in room 1120, where visitors report objects shifting and a feeling of being watched; it calls him more prankster than poltergeist.

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Before you book

Planning your stay

Getting around

From Sea-Tac Airport, the Link 1 Line reaches downtown in 38 minutes, per Sound Transit, for a flat $3.00 adult fare, with trains every 8 to 10 minutes most of the day; Visit Seattle puts a taxi or rideshare downtown at $50 to $70. Link stops at Westlake, with direct access from the Mayflower Park, at Pioneer Square and at U District, a 7-minute walk from the College Inn. The Monorail runs from Westlake Center to Seattle Center in about 2 minutes for $4.00 one way, the First Hill Streetcar ($3.00) runs from Pioneer Square through First Hill to Capitol Hill, and Washington State Ferries leave Colman Dock for Bainbridge Island (about 35 minutes) and Bremerton (about 60). Downtown is walkable, though about 100 feet of elevation change separates the waterfront from the core; public elevators bridge it.

Parking

Street parking is paid Monday through Saturday and free on Sundays, apart from posted Sunday time limits (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) in Pioneer Square and on the waterfront; rates vary by area and time of day, up to $8.00 an hour on the waterfront in the afternoon. Most downtown historic hotels park by valet: published overnight rates are $55 plus tax at the Mayflower Park, $62 plus taxes at the Alexis (no self-parking) and $65 plus tax at the Fairmont Olympic, whose Olympic Garage self-park is $45 overnight on weekdays; the Sorrento’s was $65 plus taxes in early 2025. The Palihotel has no on-site parking but offers $33 a day at the 3rd & Stewart Garage, and the College Inn rents a reserved lot two blocks away for $18 a day.

When to go

Summer is the dry season: NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for Sea-Tac give 0.60 inches of rain in July and 0.97 in August, with highs near 77 to 78°F, while October through April brings 83% of the 39.34-inch annual total. Summer also brings the Alaska cruise season (the Port’s preliminary 2027 schedule runs homeport sailings from April 14 to October 17), Seafair, whose 2026 Torchlight Parade and Seafair Weekend ran from July 25 to August 2 (2027 dates aren’t posted), and the Mariners, who open at T-Mobile Park on March 25, 2027 and play their last home game on September 19. Fall and winter bring Seahawks games at Lumen Field, the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena and Argosy’s Christmas Ship Festival, which opens November 27, 2026.

Accessibility

Seattle’s hills are real, with about 100 feet of elevation change between the downtown core and the waterfront, but four public waterfront elevators and the step-free Overlook Walk connect Pike Place Market to the water, and Sound Transit’s trains and buses are fully accessible. The Sorrento and the Mayflower Park offer accessible rooms and the Palihotel lists accessible rooms and pathways; the College Inn has no elevator and all its rooms are up stairs. We didn’t check the other hotels, so ask before you book.

Before you book

Book early for summer weekends: in the Port’s preliminary 2027 schedule, Saturdays and Sundays carry the most cruise calls, and downtown hotels court pre-cruise stays. Check the Seattle Convention Center’s calendar too, five blocks from the Mayflower Park: Emerald City Comic Con runs March 4–7, 2027 and PAX West September 3–6, 2027. On Seahawks game days the Lumen Field garage and North Lot are sold to season passholders, and app-booked spots nearby for a January 2026 game ran from $25 to $100. The Moore Hotel has no air conditioning, and the College Inn and the Ace have rooms that share bathrooms.

Things to do

Tours of historic Seattle

Tours from GetYourGuide

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Questions travelers ask

What is the oldest hotel in Seattle?

Among the historic hotels we list, the oldest building is Palihotel Seattle’s, the 1900 Colonnade Hotel at First and Pine, though it spent decades as the Gatewood Apartments; the Alexis fills three First Avenue buildings from about 1901, including the Hotel Cecil. The Moore Hotel opened in April 1907 under the name it still uses, and the Mayflower Park says it has operated continuously since opening as the Bergonian on July 16, 1927.

What is the most haunted hotel in Seattle?

There’s no official ranking, but the Hotel Sorrento has the best-known story: the ghost of writer Alice B. Toklas is said to drift past room 408, though the Seattle Times notes she probably never visited. The same Seattle Times guide tells of a ghost in room 1120 at the Mayflower Park, a woman in 1930s dress and phantom jazz at Hotel Ändra, and fifth-floor stories at the Arctic Club tied to Congressman Marion Zioncheck’s 1936 death, and the College Inn’s cellar pub has a ghost story of its own about a sailor named Howard. These are stories, not documented fact; the Moore’s ghost stories belong to the theatre, not the hotel.

Is it better to stay downtown, in Belltown or near Pioneer Square?

Downtown’s retail core (the Fairmont Olympic, Mayflower Park and Hotel Ändra) is the transit hub, with Westlake Station for the airport train and the Monorail to the Space Needle. Belltown and the Market edge (Palihotel, the Moore, the Palladian and the Ace) put Pike Place Market and the waterfront on foot. Pioneer Square, Seattle’s oldest neighborhood, has the architecture rebuilt after the 1889 fire and the stadiums, but none of the hotels we list is inside its district: the Arctic Club and the Alexis sit just north of its line, so expect game-day crowds and parking prices nearby.

Where do you park at a historic hotel in Seattle?

Downtown historic hotels mostly park by valet: published overnight rates run from $55 plus tax at the Mayflower Park to $62 at the Alexis and $65 at the Fairmont Olympic, and the Fairmont’s Olympic Garage self-park is $45 overnight on weekdays. The Palihotel sends guests to the 3rd & Stewart Garage at $33 a day, and the College Inn’s reserved lot is $18 a day. Street parking is paid Monday to Saturday and free on Sundays, apart from Sunday limits in Pioneer Square and on the waterfront.

Which historic hotels are near Pike Place Market?

Palihotel Seattle, the 1900 Colonnade Hotel, is across the street from the Market, and the Moore Hotel (1907) and the Kimpton Palladian (1909–10) are each about a block from its historic district. The Mayflower Park, Hotel Ändra and the Fairmont Olympic are 300 to 400 meters away in the retail core, the Ace is about 500 meters north in Belltown, and the Alexis puts the Market 0.5 miles from its First Avenue door.

Keep exploring

Port Townsend →All of Washington →

How we chose these inns

Every place on this page is at least 50 years old, holds a credential we can check (National Register listing, a listed historic district, landmark status, or Historic Hotels of America membership), and takes bookings today. We verify each one against primary sources before it goes on the list, and last checked this list in October 2026. Read our criteria.

Planning details on this page (parking, transport, seasons and events) come from: seattle.gov, pikeplacemarket.org, undergroundtour.com, smithtower.com, spaceneedle.com, washington.edu, fryemuseum.org, visitseattle.org, soundtransit.org, portseattle.org, seattlemonorail.com, wsdot.wa.gov, wsdot.com, lumenfield.com, mlb.com, kiro7.com, seafair.org, seahawks.com, argosycruises.com, downtownseattle.org, thepopverse.com, gamingtrend.com, theticket.seattletimes.com, axios.com, komonews.com, fairmont.com, catalog.archives.gov, mayflowerpark.com, historichotels.org, sonesta.com, palladianhotel.com, palisociety.com, moorehotel.com, acehotel.com, collegeinnseattle.com.

Sources (24)

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