The Arctic Club Seattle

This meticulously kept hotel just steps from historic Pioneer Square exudes charm and character. The handsome nine-story Beaux-Arts building, famous for the terracotta walrus heads that line its third floor, was originally commissioned in 1916 as an HQ for The Arctic Club, a fraternal group of Seattle businessmen with Klondike Gold Rush and Alaska connections. A DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, The Arctic Club, pays homage to this past with an elegant design that calls to mind gentlemen explorers and old-world travel.

The neighborhood has many art galleries, and is also home to the famous Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour, a humorous walking tour about the city’s early history, including toilet jokes and yarns about ladies of the night, or “seamstresses.”

room

High-ceilinged guestrooms feature campaign nightstands and dressers, natural leather club chairs with nail head trim, and pictures of native Alaskan Inuits taken by famed photographer and ethnographer Edward Curtis, an early member of The Arctic Club. Beds are supremely comfortable and draped with a khaki monogrammed blanket, another nod to the men’s club theme. Large windows look out on city views, including Smith Tower, at one time the West Coast’s tallest building.

YOU SHOULD KNOW Wi-Fi costs extra, but it's free if you join the hotel's Hilton Honor rewards program.

bathroom

Classic details like hex tile, custom floral wallpaper, and a dark wood vanity topped with marble conjure the early 20^th century. Depending on the room, bathrooms--on the smaller side but smartly laid out--feature a walk-in shower, a tub-shower combo, or a whirlpool tub with a rain showerhead.

lobby

The building’s beautiful neoclassical architecture deserves admiration, as does the décor. In the hotel foyer, which boasts marble floors, stately columns, and soaring ceilings framed in intricate molding, black-and-white portraits of explorers hang in neat rows. The dimly lit lobby living room features plush chairs, sofas, and leather benches arranged in cozy clusters around tables. Dark wainscoting and a substantial stone-and-wood mantel surround a fireplace, which is flanked by a pair of crimson velvet armchairs. The hotel’s eye-catching Polar Bar is a focal point--as is the tall illuminated polar bear in the corner. Do not fear--he is not real. You are safe.

Save room for a snack at check-in, where guests are given a delicious warm chocolate chip cookie.

gym

A keycard access fitness center is open 24 hours and is equipped with new Precor fitness equipment, including free weights, medicine balls, and more. All elliptical machines and treadmills include built-in video screens.

dining

Adjacent JUNO restaurant serves simple and seasonal New American fare. It’s not the best restaurant in the area, but perfectly serviceable for a bite to eat.

drinking

Parted royal-blue velvet draperies hang from the high ceiling, framing the beautiful Polar Bar. The front of the bar features illuminated white panels with swirls of gray and Arctic blue, like a glacial landscape viewed from a floatplane high overhead, and complements a handsome pool table with a bright blue felt. An illuminated lifelike polar bear sculpture towers in the corner, the perfect mascot for the Arctic Club.

YOU SHOULD KNOW We need to reiterate: the polar bear is a statue. Everything is fine. Enjoy your drink, safe from attack.