as much as Like any city, Seattle is synonymous with the tech industry. Over the past 40 years, Seattle and its suburbs have seen hometown heroes like Microsoft and Amazon become some of the biggest businesses on the planet. Around them has grown a diverse network of companies whose work touches almost every aspect of public life, from Redfin to Costco to Wizards of the Coast, to name a few.
Tech culture seemingly permeates almost every aspect of city life here – a fact about which there is something local Mossbacks buzz—and it has completely transformed certain areas over the past few decades. This is especially true in the South Lake Union neighborhood, where Jeff Bezos is parked His powerful forceAnd a new crop of office towers and hotels have sprung up around them in primeval fashion, eager to meet Amazon’s considerable demand.
Seattle is also a distinct cultural destination in its own right, and there are things you’ve seen on TV before—like Pike Place Market (please note it’s not a possession; pike Place, no Pike’s Place) or ferry boats around Puget Sound—well worth checking out while you’re in town. Live sports, live music, an amazingly good comedy and theater scene, great shopping, and great restaurants (especially with fresh seafood) are on deck for Seattle travelers, and I recommend trying them all.
I know you’re here for work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. With the right hotel, a bar or two to decompress in, and a choice of dinner reservations, Seattle offers a high level of enjoyment in a busy professional environment. We work hard, we work hard – try and keep going, and no one complains about the rain, because it’s just a fact of life.
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Where to stay in Seattle
Courtesy of Pallysociety
107 Pine Street, (206) 596-0600
One block away from Pike Place Market, with epic views of the market and Elliott Bay, this Seattle location of California-based Pali Society offers unbeatable location benefits. You can literally use the market as your breakfast pantry, a block outside your door—grab a morning pastry from Piroshki Piroshki or an espresso from Ghost Alley—and be anywhere in town for a meeting or convention center in minutes. Favorite Pike Place Market staples like Athenian Cafe (for seafood), Alibi Room (for day drinks), and Cafe Campagne (for all-day French bistro) are seconds from your door. It literally doesn’t get more Seattle than this.
110 Boren Avenue N., (206) 455-9077
Committed tech travelers to South Lake Union may want to choose a hotel directly adjacent to the action, and with about 10 to choose from, let me make it simple: Level Seattle is where you want to stay. The place is super modern, with blazing fast Wi-Fi throughout the property, a huge, impressive modern gym with peloton bikes and a climbing wall, and a laid-back chic interior design that suits the busy travel environment. This place is great if you’re staying here for a night or two; If you’re staying in the city longer, and really get your tech on, Level Seattle also offers tastefully furnished apartment suites.
700 3rd Ave., (206) 776-9090
The Arctic Club Hotel is epic in every sense of the word. Originally founded in 1908 as a social club for prospectors, financiers and adventurers drawn to Seattle by the Klondike Gold Rush, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the late 70s and eventually became a hotel. Today it is managed by Hilton; Many rooms have sweeping panoramic views of downtown, including the Olympic Mountains to the west and the historic Smith Tower building at the edge of Pioneer Square; And every room has free Wi-Fi, HDTV with streaming and casting, and free breakfast. Eight suites have rooftop terraces, so if you want to splash out on the hospitality suite situation, this is a great option. The best part of staying here is your nightly proximity to the Polar Bar, which oozes history and sophistication, making it the perfect place for a happy hour meeting or catching up with colleagues for a wind-down drink after a meeting or dinner.
@intodustphotographyCourtesy of Fairmont Olympic
411 University Street, (206) 621-1700
Seattle’s Grand Dame Hotel, opened in 1926, has been lovingly remodeled in a series of tasteful modernizations, including a significant $25 million update completed in 2021. They really have it all here: a bustling lobby bar, multiple restaurants including The George, which offers perhaps Seattle’s best brunch, and a complex downstairs. The gym is sleek and bright, but the real work is in the hotel’s glass conservatory swimming pool, set beneath the skyscrapers above. Presidents and ambassadors and dignitaries and rock stars live here, so why not you?
4140 Roosevelt Way NE, (206) 632-5055
The University of Washington—my alma mater (real men wear purple)—is a major hub for several nodes of the technology industry, home to several leading research institutions and a world-class teaching hospital at the UW Medical Center. If you’re in Seattle for work in and around the U District, it’s worth staying nearby, and the University Inn is the best of the local bunch. Open since the early 60s, and now run by hospitality group Stay Pineapple, this spot is bright, clean and modern with a 60s nuclear theme (but not too heavy). I’m constantly impressed with the range of amenities at multiple locations: snacks in the lobby, free coffee in-room, a reusable PATH water bottle in every room and a filtered “water bar” in the lobby, and great customer service. The UW campus is a five-minute walk.
Coworking and meeting spaces
Aerial Seattle Downtown and Capitol Hill SunrisePhoto: Mike Reid Photography/Getty Images
1424 11th Avenue, Suite 400, (206) 739-9004
Every true tech city has a coworking space that’s good for people-watching communication. Such is the view from The Cloud Room, floating above Seattle’s fashionable Capitol Hill neighborhood as part of the Chop House Row development. A $40 day pass gets you high-speed Wi-Fi, printing services, free coffee (and kombucha) and flexible seating throughout the space’s dreamy warren of nooks and snugs. Check the events calendar for TCR’s many activities, from yoga to live music.
92 Lenora Street, multiple locations
A locally owned mini-chain co-working space with locations in Ballard, Belltown, and Tacoma to the south, The Pioneer Collective feels rooted in the Pacific Northwest thanks to a wood-forward approach to interior design—and a collection of people working from around the region. Day passes for your own private office cost $35, or $75, with gigabit Wi-Fi throughout and large office meeting rooms available.
1700 Westlake Avenue N #200
Thinkspace has one thing other coworking spaces in Seattle can’t match, and that’s its proximity to Lake Union. Their Seattle location is set right on the water – you can even rent a stand-up paddleboard if you need to get in a core workout between meetings. A day pass runs $50 and includes unlimited coffee and tea, showers and lockers and phone booths as well as meeting room options. If you want to post those #OfficeViews’ village and make the team back home jealous, this is your place.
Best cafe and co-office
Courtesy of Victola Coffee
411 15th Avenue E., multiple locations
A personal favorite for getting a little work done with a nice cup of coffee. Victola is a long-standing Seattle third-wave coffee bar, and its location on 15th Avenue has seen it all—grab a cappuccino and a cookie and hunker down.
425 15th Avenue E
A bookstore dedicated to STEA(A)M titles and a charming, chill coffee bar with plenty of seating. It’s the ideal place to work, relax and maybe pick up a book for your flight home. Ada’s a short block or so called a great local cocktail bar freedomIf your office hours are converted to happy hours.
754 N. 34th Street
Long one of the city’s best cafes, in a charming neighborhood north of the lake near Adobe HQ. Milstead serves coffee from a variety of roasters, all prepared with “third wave” skill and care. The shop is busy on weekend mornings, but it’s an interesting midweek coffee, especially if the weather is nice and you can sit outside.
472 1st Avenue N
A huge space, perfect for setting up your laptop or even having a chill meeting, with coffee service by local roaster Cafe Vita. This is the lobby of Seattle’s much-loved community supported radio station, KEXP, so you get great points for hanging out here.
1501 17th Avenue E
Opened by former Canelis alums, this spot serves great coffee and makes some of the best pastries in town. The space inside is beautiful, and you can work if you need to, but use this cafe as a jumping-off point for walking meetings or walking phone calls and exploring the leafy neighborhood that calls it home.
4214 University Way NE (in the alley)
Seattle’s oldest continuously operating coffee bar, this place vibrates with history and culture. If you’re anywhere near the U District, I highly recommend stopping by for some laptop time among the students, professors, and various intellectuals who call Allegro a home away from home.
where to eat
Photo: Jordan Michelman
4903 Rainier Avenue S
Brawl, bare-knuckle offal-forward cuisine, for challenge and delight from chef Evan Leichling, who cooked in San Sebastian and Paris before opening his own place in South Seattle. If a chanterelle and wild boar pot pie or ham and cantaloupe sorbet sounds like your idea of a good time, perhaps washed down with some cheerful natural wine or craft beer, this is your place.
1054 N 39th Street
Mutsuko Soma is a James Beard finalist chef, thanks to her work at Kamonegi, where she makes nightly soba noodles and runs one of the best tempura programs in the US. Make a reservation, as this place is small, but if you have to wait, their sake bar next door, Haniyatu, is a good time and has delicious drinks and snacks.
2576 Aurora Avenue N
The godfather of Seattle fine dining, Canlis is unbeatable for its view, ambiance and timeless mid-century live piano vibe. Their beverage program is epic—especially head bartender Jose Castillo’s cocktails (order his Pimento Sherry Martini)—and new executive chef James Huffman’s food shows grit and commitment. Over the past 75 years some unfathomable amount of contracts and agreements and contracts and marriage proposals have been sealed behind these doors, so why not add your Dinner of Great Importance to the historical register?