Vance Hotel Seattle

Unusual But Nice

Obviously this hotel is great for a solo traveler or a couple. Families should stay away in my opinion. If three people want to share a room, this is not the hotel for you.

As people below said, the room is small, the restroom is small, the shower is small. When staying at this hotel, think small with great location.

The only thing I'll add is regarding the in-room fridge (stocked with coke, juice, water) and snack bar (stocked with chocolate, salmon, cookies and some extras).

They are not free, but are on a "honor" system. It's assumed you will fill out the form with that you consumed and they will charge it to your room.

Be careful though as the hotel left the form all the way in the back of the shelf. A person whom doesn't search carefully can easily mistaken this as complimentary, especially if that person has stayed at one too many all-inclusives. If you do bring kids and they see the goodies, well you know what can happen. As you can expect, these items are horribly overpriced.

Two small blocks away is a Ralphs market so make sure to drop by there to pick up any snacks you need for the rest of your stay and avoid paying $3 for a can of coke.

Style, convenient, small

Hotel Max is located in downtown Seattle, three blocks from the

convention center and close to shopping. The Pike Place Market

is farther but still a feasible walk. The interior is newly

remodeled in sleek grays and reds. Everyone I dealt with on the

staff was friendly and helpful. I arrived at 11 AM, expecting to

drop off my bag and check in later in the day. Instead, the desk

clerk took the initiative to verify that my room was ready and

checked me in. She also offered me maps, directions, and dining

recommendations.

My room had one queen bed, a nice flat-panel TV, a CD player in

the clock radio, and a safe. On top of the CD player was a

three-song sampler disk, which I thought was a nice touch. A

card on the desk advertised wireless internet access, but I

didn't try that out. The room was attractively furnished,

definitely a step up from a standard chain hotel decor. However,

the room was small, and there wasn't much storage -- just a

closet and two small drawers. The bathroom was especially

cramped. It had no counter space, only a shelf above a small

wall-mounted sink and another empty shelf above the toilet. The

shower stall was only about 30" x 30". My sixth-floor room faced

Stewart Street, which has frequent bus traffic. The noise was

definitely noticeable, but it didn't keep me awake.

Since I was traveling light and stayed only two nights, this

hotel met my needs very well, and the price was right. If you

need room to spread out or to store a lot of stuff, you might

not be happy there. Likewise, if you're sensitive to noise,

you should ask for a room off the street or consider another

hotel.

Drowning in hipness, Failing as a hotel

Ok, maybe it wasn't a great idea to book my mother-in-law at a new hotel, but the articles and website gave every indication that this was a nice hotel.

To start with, the rooms are miniscule-- nicely appointed, but so small that luggage doesn't even fit comfortably. One wouldn't even be able to stretch their arms out in the bathroom it was so small. And the shower?! So small that it's impossible to not touch the sides of the stall (a gross prospect in even a clean hotel!) Which brings me to my second point.

When she pulled back the sheets to go to bed she saw a black hair. Pulling the sheets back even more, she saw that there were even more black hairs. So many, that it was obvious that the sheets had not been changed after the previous guest! She called the front desk for housekeeping to bring up clean sheets, but was told that since housekeeping had gone home for the night (haven't they heard of 24-hour housekeeping?!), they would send up someone else... immediately. After an hour of waiting and multiple phone calls to the front desk (at 11:00 p.m. at night), they finally sent up someone (looking suspiciously like a valet parker) to help her with the TV and the sheets (oh, didn't I mention that the new "flat-screen" television didn't work either?!)

Although they did comp her for a night, it was overall a terrible experience for her. Seattle has many wonderful hotels; this isn't one of them. Pay the extra money, stay someplace else.

Small but plush

The room is certainly small so maybe it's only ideal for a short stay - we stayed at the end of a fortnight holiday and didn't have anywhere in the room to put our large cases.

However, the bed was extremely comfortable with plump pillows and cushions. It was much more luxurious than considerably more expensive hotels we stayed in in the city.

The whole hotel is now ultra-modern and that includes the bathrooms. As stated by another reviewer, the basin looked great but was difficult to use without making a terrible mess of the place. The shower was great though.

During our first night there an alarm clock in the empty room next door rang at 6am. It took 3 calls to reception and a rant at the porter to get it turned off which was a disappointment.

Overall, a pleasant stay in a small but plush hotel. Assuming one or two teething troubles get sorted out it'll be great.

Max Hotel's Red Fin sushi restaurant the best!

I didn't stay at the hotel but checked out the new Japanese sushi restaurant connected to the Max Hotel called Red Fin. I live in NYC and have been to many great sushi restaurants like Nobu, Megu, Sushi Samba, Sushi of Gari and many others so I know good quality sushi. The Red Fin Chef's choice sushi were absolutely orgasmic! The decor may not match the NYC Times Square W Hotel's "Blue Fin" Japanese restaurant but the sushi and the pear sake could compete with the best in NYC. My fiancee and I have already planned to have our wedding rehearsal dinner here next year. We'll also give the hotel a try since it looks just as hip as all the boutique hotels here in NYC. It's also in a better location than the Seattle W Hotel.

Ultra cool and comfortable!

The Hotel Max is a terrific place to stay as long as you are okay with very small, New York style hotel rooms. It used to be the Vance but has been completely overhauled to creat Hotel Max. Art is big here - every floor features black and white photographs entirely covering the room doors. They really stand out against hallways painted black. Each floor features the photography of a different artist, so be sure to check out more than your floor. Rooms are tiny, so I don't recommend this hotel for families or groups, but the double, with two double beds, is perfect for two adults. All furnishings, bedding, carpets, window coverings, etc. are contemporary and top quality. Bathroom is TINY - smaller than a cruise ship bathroom, and maybe only slightly larger than an airplane bathroom, but it's all so cool, who cares? Location is excellent, easy walking distance everywhere downtown. There's a sushi+ restaurant but we did not eat there.

Poorly put together

We were not impressed. It is newly remodeled, yes, but poorly. First off, the rooms are way to small. Edges of carpet weren't finished, the plumbing is terrible, the "neat, contemperary" sink was very slow to drain, it was stainless steel--which was an attempt to look cool, but spots with one turn of the water. The shower was in a seperate room, not even a full size bath tub, the fire alarm went off everytime one of us took a shower if the door was open because the steam set it off...That was fun, running around naked trying to fan off the alarm...Even though the hotel wasn't booked, we got a view of an alley where we could hear people yelling all night. We could also see right into the peoples room next to us because we were on a corner...We actually saw them in the elevator on our way up to the room for the first time, the we got to see them laying on their bed, uncomfortable. The window unit above us leaked on our window unit, making a loud dripping noise all night. We paid over $4 bills for 2 nights, luckily it was in a good location so we could walk around the city and not stay in our room. We will stay somewhere else next time. And why the crappy view when they knew we were on our honeymoon?

Fantastic!

I stayed at the HOTEL MAX on their opening night! The party was wonderful and the staff was so great! I heard that the bass player from Nirvana was there too! My room was very hip with great art and it was not too small for us. The beds are so comfortable and did I mention the hotel staff? I can't say enough about them...Especailly the front desk staff....Jess, Jen, Chris, and all the doormen. I will be back ASAP!

Good not Great

The Hotel Max was formerly known as The Vance Hotel and has recently undergone a complete refit, transferring the hotel into a trendy boutique residence, showcasing local art and design.

However, the quality of art is not the main consideration of most travellers and whilst the hotel was certainly stylish, the following review is based on general standards expected of a city centre hotel.

Location

Centrally located a couple of blocks from the main shopping area of Seattle. For those people using the Grayline airport transporter bus, the nearest stop is at the Westin Hotel just around the corner.

Cleanliness

The rooms, bathrooms and lobby are all spotlessly clean.

Noise

I had a room at the back of the hotel on the 4th Floor and was disturbed by the extremely loud air conditioning units that were situated on the garage roof.

Rooms

Very modern is design with the latest Dell LCD TVs

Very comfortable bed.

Slightly cramped shower cubicle.

Very little closet space.

Mini Bar empty

Staff

Appeared efficient.

Cost

Competitive compared with other hotels in Seattle.

Eating

Cannot comment as the restaurant was not completed at the time I stayed there.

Overall

I would recommend the Hotel Max to anyone on a budget who is looking for a centrally located hotel that is clean and modern.

However, should you be the type of traveller who likes to spend a lot of time in their hotel, I would recommend a stay at one of the larger hotels in town.