If you’re on your way to the San Juan Islands, consider an overnight at Seattle’s beautifully restored Mayflower Park Hotel, one of the last locally-owned independent hotels in a city dominated by worldwide chains. A member of the Historic Hotels of America, this gracious hotel radiates old-world European charm with crystal chandeliers, period furnishings, gleaming brass, and stained glass windows.
Conveniently located in downtown Seattle with easy access to both Sea-Tac Airport and Kenmore Air‘s Lake Union terminal, the Mayflower Park features a lobby passage to Westlake Center with its 80 specialty shops and direct access to the Seattle Monorail.
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Built in 1927, the 171-room hotel opened as the Bergonian (complete with palm trees and goldfish fountains) in the midst of Prohibition and has been in continuous operation ever since, thanks in large part to Marie and Birney Dempcy who purchased the hotel in 1974. For more than 40 years, the Dempcys have lovingly restored the Mayflower Park to its former grandeur.
The mezzanine fireplace is flanked by a grand piano and bouquets of fresh flowers. More than 40% of the Mayflower Park’s clientele are repeat guests, which is in keeping with the sense of family and personalized service that is pervasive throughout the hotel. The commodious rooms are well-proportioned and furnished with Queen Anne-style antiques and armoires, sumptuous sofas, and a curated art collection – not unlike the pied-à-terre of a well-heeled couple with good taste who like a proper cocktail, hence the inclusion of a wet bar in many of the suites.
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The hotel’s restaurant, Andaluca, features seasonal Pacific Northwestern cuisine infused with the flavors of the Mediterranean served in a room decorated with hand-painted murals that reflect the warmth of southern climes. The house-made sangria comes from a family recipe of a 25-year Mayflower Park employee who’s delighted to serve you his famous elixir.
If you can’t stay the night, at least take the time to sip a martini at the award-winning Oliver’s located just off the hotel lobby (which is on Olive Way, as it were). A seven-time winner of the “Best Classic Martini” in Seattle, Oliver’s has been serving gin martinis and first-rate cocktails with “the elegance of Fred Astaire in a glass” for nearly 40 years. Situated on the site of the erstwhile Carousel Room (from which hung suspended carousel horses), Oliver’s was Seattle’s first “daylight bar” after the lifting of a statewide law that forbade cocktail lounges with windows.
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For those who wish to take home some of the Mayflower Park’s amiable hospitality, a gift book filled with historic images and stories from the hotel’s illustrious past was compiled by hotel staff members who are now known as “Mayflower Historians.” A true labor of love titled Images of America: Seattle’s Mayflower Park Hotel, the book is as much a tribute to Seattle as it is to this beloved hotel.
