Soulful Seattle

Culinary adventures, Avant garde art and luxurious wellness experiences make Seattle the perfect mid-winter weekend escape. —Lise Boullard

Stay: Part of a Korean luxury hotel chain, and situated in a 44-story glass skyscraper and a 1908 church, the Lotte Seattle merges old world elegance with forward-thinking sophistication. After admiring the church’s stained glass windows on the main floor, we were swept up to the reception area on the 16^th for check-in, then to the 9^th where playful mirror decals and a tree trunk carpet motif guided us to our room. The quirky-regal juxtaposition continued inside, where framed art pieces and ‘70s -style orange lamp shades added a fab edge to marble and rounded archways. The next morning, we opened our eyes to skyscraper views through floor-to-ceiling windows, then stepped into our rain shower to lather up with Molton Brown products before heading out to discover the city. 

Explore: Home to the fantastical Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Museum of Pop Culture and the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle is a hotbed of creative inspo. And every February the arts and cultural offerings become more accessible than ever: during Seattle Museum Month, guests staying at the city’s participating 70-plus hotels get 50 per cent off admission to more than 20 local museums. After touring Chihuly Garden and Glass — where Dale Chihuly’s technicolour creations had us feeling like modern day Alice in Wonderlands — we headed next door to be swept up to top of the Space Needle for 360 degree city and water views. If we hadn’t had a spa appointment booked later that afternoon, we would have sat down for a drink in the revolving restaurant to take in the vista and reflect on all of the cool things we’d seen earlier that day.

Spa: The moment we stepped off of the elevator and into the Le SPA de L’hotel LOTTE reception area, plush white carpet underfoot and translucent drape-lined walls had us feeling like we were at heaven’s gate. The dream-like experience continued as we slipped into robes and settled into white leather wingbacks for prosecco, dried apricots and almonds. But the 50-minute Gua Sha massage that followed was definitely the pièce de résistance. The centuries-old Chinese technique is said to improve circulation, reduce inflammation, clear out stagnant “Qi” energy and promote healing (um, yes, please). Our masseuse started by prepping our skin with lavender-infused oil, mentioning that we may see a few red marks post-treatment (stay with us). Working one body area at a time, she used cold metal Gua Sha tools to “scrape” (a.k.a. rub) our skin to “bring up the dirt” (a.k.a. bad energy and toxins) lurking beneath (it didn’t hurt, we promise). Our technician then went back to using her hands to work away any residual bad juju, then reached for a rough dry towel for one final exfoliation. Post-treatment, we sauntered out of the room feeling blissful, refreshed, and ready to take on 2025. (And with zero red marks to boot).

Dine: Home to fresh local Pacific Northwest seafood, innovative culinary talent, and the birthplace of a coffee chain you may have heard of, Seattle is a haven for foodies, and a coffee snob’s paradise. Highlights on our trip included the Cardamon Rose Cold Brew and Rootbeer Cold Brew at Mr. West, the savoury chilaquiles at Skilet Diner, and the dangerously-easy-to-down Observatory Sour cocktail at Smith Tower Observatory Bar. For an unforgettable dining experience with spectacular skyline views, don’t miss drinks in the lounge (with live music) and dinner at Charlotte Restaurant and Lounge at the Lotte hotel. We especially loved the koji breaded fried maitake mushrooms which we washed down with the passionfruit liqueur and green tea Buzzed Bee In The Baijiu cocktail. And we finished our trip the way many locals spend their weekend mornings: with bites, sips and stories at Pike Place Market. On our chef-guided Eat Seattle Sunday tour, we tasted why Beecher’s mac and cheese is one of Oprah’s favourite things, learned that Starbucks started out selling tea and spices — but no brewed coffee — and picked up a pack of Truffle Queen truffle salt, which has been elevating most of our home-cooked meals ever since.