A weekend road trip from Vancouver Airport to Seattle, Washington landed my family back at one of our favorite hotels – Hotel Monaco on 4th Avenue.

Hotel Monaco is a luxury boutique hotel located in the heart of downtown and one of four Kimpton hotels in Seattle.

Known for being kid-friendly, pet-friendly and walking distance from many major tourist attractions, Hotel Monaco was completely sold out the weekend we visited (second last weekend of August) – thankfully we had reserved a room months before our arrival.

Our kids were delighted to pick a prize from the treasure box at check-in. Thank you Hotel Monaco staff for thinking of that as the 3 hour drive from Vancouver took longer than expected and the kids were not in the best of moods!

The Rooms

Hotel Monaco has guest rooms ranging from 250 to 350 square feet and 500 square feet suites. Our home for the weekend was a Monaco Queen Queen room.

Our family of four had two queen beds, a desk, flat panel TV, bathroom with sliding door, and of course our very own pet fish — a free perk offered to all Kimpton hotel guests.

The beds were comfortable, very little noise made it from the hallway to our room (beds are placed far from the entrance), and we didn’t mind our room facing an office building (it was the weekend and no one was working).

The Amenities

All rooms and suites at Hotel Monaco have:

• Air-Conditioning and heat control
• Alarm clock-radio with iPhone charging station
• Bathrobes
• Flat Panel TV
• Iron and ironing board
• Mini-bar
• Electronic In-Room Safe
• Desk
• Telephone
• Yoga Mat
• Complimentary in-room Wifi for Kimpton Karma members (Kimpton’s free to join loyalty program)
• Rollaway Bed ($15/night)
• Crib/Play Yard (complimentary and available on a first-come first-serve basis)

Hotel Monaco guests can also enjoy:

• Daily hosted wine reception and complimentary morning coffee and tea service in the lobby
• Onsite 24- hour fitness center
• Complimentary bikes to use around the city
• Same-day laundry and dry cleaning service
• Valet parking ($39 + tax, 50% discount given for hybrid vehicles)
• Concierge Services

The Dining Options

Named after a New Orleans cocktail, Sazerc is the on-site restaurant at Hotel Monaco. It features American cuisine with a few Southern touches. Local ingredients are used as much as possible for breakfast, brunch, lunch, happy hour and dinner.

We unfortunately did not have time to eat at Sazerac (we were always out from morning until after dinner) so can’t comment on the food. The appetizers sampled during Happy Hour from our very first stay at Hotel Monaco two years ago were delicious.

We arrived at the hotel during Happy Hour on a Friday afternoon and the lobby was packed with business people and hotel guests. That’s a good sign, right?

Hotel Monaco is surrounded by many restaurants and coffee shops (Starbucks is right next door) and guests have many options to choose from during meal time.

Getting Around Seattle

Hotel Monaco is located in the middle of downtown Seattle close to many tourist attractions (Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, Ride the Ducks, Seattle Great Wheel, Century Link Field, Seattle Public Library) as well as many restaurants and shopping centers.

Hotel guests can walk, take the light rail, bus or drive to major attractions. We had a rental vehicle with us however left it with valet for almost the entire weekend. We used the car once for dinner as the restaurant we chose was outside of the downtown core.

I would highly recommend walking if possible as traffic was crazy every day, every hour of the day. I’m not sure if it is like that normally but given the proximity to Pike Place Market, I’m not surprised walking seems to be the main mode of transport in this area of town.

Concierge staff can make car rental arrangements for guests and several car rental agencies are located a few blocks away.

Valet parking is the only parking option available at Hotel Monaco and guests with vehicles can expect to pay $39 + tax/night for it.

Overall Impressions of Hotel Monaco

Hotel Monaco is a centrally located luxury boutique hotel for families or travelers wanting to be near Seattle’s major tourist attractions.

We were impressed with the email from the Concierge the day before check-in asking us if there was anything they needed to do prior to our arrival. Although we didn’t have any special requests, it was a thoughtful gesture and set the tone for our stay at Hotel Monaco.

The decor is fun, the hotel is quiet even at full capacity, the service is top notch and what you’d expect from a luxury hotel and the staff go out of their way to please even the youngest of travelers. There were many high fives exchanged between our kids and the front desk staff members. It was a wonderful stay and I’m positive we’ll be back again soon.

More About Hotel Monaco

Address: 1101 Fourth Avenue Seattle, WA 98101
Price Range: $$$
Hotel Class: 4 stars
Reviews: Over 91% of reviewers rated this hotel Very Good or Excellent
Availability: Click here for rates and availability

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