Harmony In Chaos Travel

We just got back from Seattle earlier this week where we stayed at the Hyatt Olive 8. In case you haven't been following my Instagram feed, the kids and I flew out to Seattle on Thursday and my husband flew out after work on Friday. It was quite the adventure flying to Seattle with three little ones but after doing some research, we realized that we wouldn't need to bring any car seats since we would have no need for a car!

There is a Link Light Rail station right at Sea-Tac airport and the hotel is about a quarter of a mile from the Westlake station. It made for super easy transit between the airport and the hotel. It was also very inexpensive at $3 per adult and children under six ride free with a paying adult.

Google Maps showing the quick walk between the train and the hotel

Check in time at the hotel is 4pm so it was nice that the room was ready when we arrived at 3:30pm.

Both my husband and I each currently have Diamond status with Hyatt which allows us a guaranteed upgrade into a suite (depending on availability) eight times a year. We opted to use one of our suite upgrade certificates on this stay and boy, am I glad we did! We actually saw two different suites while we were at the property since we had some friends staying at the same time so I know the floor plans do vary a little.

In our suite on the 14th floor, you walked through the doors into a somewhat long and wide hallway. There was a door that allowed the suite to connect to the standard studio room next door and a generous closet. We were able to fit our Britax B-Ready double stroller into the closet without folding it which was incredibly helpful.


When you turned the corner into the living area of the suite, there was a nice bench by the window. It was larger than a toddler bed and smaller than a twin bed for reference. Next was a nice desk with a good lamp and comfortable chair. As you can see, the natural light in the room is amazing.


Across from the desk was a little half bath. We love having a half bath in a suite for a number of reasons. With two young potty trained kids, it is nice to have two toilets in order to avoid any potty accidents. It was also nice during the time when my youngest went down for nap. We rolled her crib into the master bathroom where it was nice and dark and the rest of us still had easy access to the facilities.


The living room was a very generous size. There was plenty of space for the kids to run around (as our kids often do in a hotel room). The couch does fold out and even with it folded out, there was still plenty of space to play.

Our room service delivery on our last day.

The one thing I felt this room was missing was a good place to eat. As part of the benefits of having Diamond status, we had complimentary breakfast each morning. The Hyatt Olive 8 is very generous as they allow you to spend the allotment at the restaurant, their coffee bar, or have breakfast delivered via room service. We opted for room service most mornings but our three kids ended up huddled around the desk to eat. One sat in the office chair and the other two sat on top of the mini fridge that the hotel staff brought up for us to use.


The master bedroom was pretty simple but we were content with it. Across from the bed there was a flat screen TV that was decent size. We usually find the beds at Hyatt properties to be quite comfortable but my husband woke up with back pain most mornings since it was more firm that what we sleep on at home. This is a true suite with a door that shuts between the living space and the bedroom but it was more of a privacy door. We found that the door didn't block out much noise so we still ended up whispering and watched shows on the iPad with our headphones.


The master bathroom was quite spacious. The toilet was separated from the main bathroom by a sliding door. It didn't block out much noise but it was great to have the extra privacy.


There were double sinks, an appropriate number of towels, a HUGE bathtub, a small TV in the mirror on the right with a pretty great Bose sound system.


The shower was separate from the bathtub with a nice rain shower and an additional hand held shower wand. It was great after a long day of exploring Seattle because all five of us could move through the shower/bath pretty quickly and get ready for bed.


There was more than enough closet space in this suite. In the master bedroom, there were two closets similar to the one above. Before I started traveling with kids I always though it was silly to have a nice closet in a hotel room. For the most part, I would just leave everything packed in my suitcase no matter how long the trip. Now, if the trip is more than a couple of nights, I like to unpack a little bit. I tend to stuff our suitcase to the brim so it is nice to have a place to put things so I'm not constantly digging to find what I need.


The Hyatt Olive 8 is very centrally located and it's easy to access all of the main attractions in Seattle. As you can see in the picture above, it's about a half mile walk to Pike Place Market. It is about a mile to Seattle Center or you can take a quick and fun ride on the Seattle Monorail from the Westlake Center.

I think we would definitely consider staying at the Hyatt Olive 8 the next time we visit Seattle but I also think it would be interesting to try out the Grand Hyatt Seattle which is just a block away from the Olive 8.