The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle

Very crowded and incredibly understaffed hotel, examples including 30 min wait time at check in, inattentive servers at breakfast, and 90 minutes waiting in line at checkout. Overall, a very frustrating experience, would have expected a lot more with the cost of staying here

Been to this hotel for many different occasions but not recently. We stayed here for the flower show and loved the location and such a beautiful historic building. Unfortunately they were very understaffed. Valet was backed up even though the staff was clearly hustling. We called it in half hour before and still waited 20 minutes after the promised time. The bar is such a lovely spot for people watching and a drink but the wait was long and the food was not well prepared. They give you a number to text when you need something but requests were not responded to or it took so long that it was easier to try and call. Overall it felt like they were trying to cut costs at the expense of the customer. Expect more from a luxury hotel.

★☆☆☆☆ — Request for Management Review I’m leaving this review because my Valentine’s stay did not reflect the standards expected from a property of this reputation, and I would appreciate management reviewing what occurred. I booked the romance package and had difficulty reaching concierge prior to arrival — calls, texts, and emails largely went unanswered while trying to plan. At check-in, we waited 47 minutes with no acknowledgment or apology. We then missed our dinner reservation because valet informed us retrieving our car would take about 30 minutes. When we returned for assistance, concierge was closed and the front desk offered minimal solutions. A manager converted a $50 massage credit into a hotel credit and suggested room service, which did not resolve the situation. The room itself was clean but showed clear maintenance concerns: peeling wallpaper, visible water damage above the shower, a loose bathroom mirror, and melted plastic stuck to the iron that ruined my husband’s shirt. The champagne and strawberries included with the package were fine, but nothing about the experience felt special or aligned with the expectations set by the hotel’s branding. Not a single staff member even acknowledged Valentine’s Day, which was surprising considering the package theme. At checkout, the apology felt routine rather than responsive, which gave the impression these issues may not be uncommon. That was honestly the most concerning part. For comparison, we’ve had far more attentive and proactive service at other Seattle hotels, including Silver Cloud SODO, where communication and guest care felt genuinely prioritized. I would welcome direct contact from hotel management to discuss this stay, as the service, communication, and room condition did not match the price point or brand reputation — though based on our experience trying to reach staff, I’m not confident that call will be returned.

We have stayed at this hotel numerous times as the actual hotel is our favorite in Seattle. However, the service has gotten unacceptable. The last straw was we booked for the night prior to the Seahawks parade. We got there to check on around 6:00 pm and were told there was a glitch in the system and we did not have a room. I had my confirmation number to show them and they still could not accommodate us. This completely ruined our plans. There was a huge line of guests ready to check in in front of us and behind us. All being turned away. They said they would get us a room at another hotel. We choose to not do this as we had selected the Fairmont due to the location for the parade. This is just unacceptable. We have had other stays there where we have waited a long time to check in. Their system really needs improvement. The valet is ridiculous as well. We’ve waited for an hour, and another time 40 min. We almost stopped coming due to the chaotic parking system but live the actual hotel so much we continued to book here. In addition, the bar has the worst service. Slowest moving bartenders I’ve seen. No urgency. Lastly, on our stay a week ago we were charged for the items in the mini bar. We don’t even drink beer and do not like Chardonnay and we were charged for these items. Still trying to get a hold of management to discuss this. Always goes to voice mail. We will never be returning to this hotel.

This review is directed at the owner-operator and director of operations for the Fairmont Olympic. This isn't directed at management or the staff; who were at least trying to make things right in a stressful situation. I have held senior management roles in the hospitality industry and know quite well that the "overbooking software glitch" is often times just a tacky profit maximization tactic. I've never even had this happen to me at a Best Western, let alone a 'high-end' hotel. A Director of Operations at a luxury hotel would have 'overflow/emergency' rooms available in circumstances like these. Instead, you played the numbers game overbooking your rooms to hedge cancellations and you got burned. Unfortunately for you, the dozens of people you turned away in the lobby included a customer recommended to you by the Alvord family, who I'm sure you are familiar with. In fact, while you were turning dozens of paying guests away, there was an older wealthy couple who walked right up to the front desk and received a hug from one of your staff members and given the "right this way!" treatment to their suite. We get it, you cater to your wealthiest clientele and treat the rest as discardable. As many hotel operators have found out the hard way, this is not a sustainable business practice. If you play with your reputation solely relying on your preferred members it will eventually grind your business down into the red. When my wife, kids and I arrived at the hotel we were told after 20 minutes waiting in line at the front desk that we had 'canceled our own reservation'. This didn't make any sense; we had booked the hotel room directly through The Fairmont Olympic website. We didn't cancel the reservation, nor did we receive any form of communication stating our reservation had been canceled. No emails, no texts, no missed calls from the Fairmont. The receptionist asked us to wait in order for a manager to come speak with us. During the 45 minutes waiting in the lobby, we started to realize most people in the lobby were being told that there was an "overbooking glitch in the system" and that they were giving out vouchers to stay at the Edgewater Hotel instead. The receptionist noticed that we hadn't been spoken to and assured us we would speak to a manager shortly. 15 minutes later (an hour of waiting at this point with two small children in the lobby) a manager named Dane came over and spoke to us. They had a "glitch in the system" and we were offered a voucher for a free stay at The Edgewater. I appreciate that management had at least made that effort. We were tired, our kids were tired and we just wanted to go to our room that we had paid $560/night for. We weren't looking forward to grab all of our luggage and reload it into our SUV to then drive to another location to start the whole check-in process over again. With no real alternative solution, we accepted the room at the Edgewater. The most frustrating part about this whole experience was that the hotel receptionist for some reason tried to play it off initially as "Oh hmm you seemed to have canceled your own reservation" knowing full well there was already a lobby full of frustrated guests experiencing the same circumstances. This entire situation could have been negated by one simple phone call saying "I am very sorry we do not have your room available due to an overbooking error. We wanted to let you know as soon as possible before you make the trip to our hotel. If there is anything we can do, please let us know". That would have saved you from even having to comp your guest's alternative hotel accommodations. I would have said "Oh bummer, well thanks for at least letting us know." and figured something else out.