[trip style = luxury + weekend getaway]
Ladies AND men, listen up! {Men I suggest you don't tune out because if you read this closely, and give this weekend away as a gift, you'll be a superhero}...
It was not my first maiden voyage---aka gals' getaway---nor my first trip to Seattle, but it felt like the first. My stateroom had iconic views, the seafood was Pacific Northwest-fresh and the first mates were first class...
Recently the TS gals were invited to discover an area of Seattle that wasn't on our radar: South Lake Union {SLU}. Sandwiched between the Space Needle and Lake Union, Paul Allen {former Microsoft exec and current bachelor extraordinaire} owned some serious city acreage and decided the area needed a refresh, so he cooked up a work-play locale befitting Seattle's urban movers and shakers {read: volumes of young Amazon.com staffers who work at the recently-minted mega-campus in SLU, aka, the first mates}.
What makes the area unique for a trip style = weekend visitor is the local beat. Industrial, gritty and glassy, it's a place where people actually live, eat, sleep, shop, work and exercise; so we join them, stopping in for a smoothie at Whole Foods, browsing the fashionable furniture at Seva Home and sipping a bev at re:public. Because it's home to many, it feels like a home to us---a place we can settle in and discover bit by bit, bite by bite and step by step. Now, more on our stateroom and fresh catch...
Stay
Punctuated by color-popping modern art and a large-scale desk-chic chandelier, find the burgeoning area's most stylish digs at the Pan Pacific Seattle. Far from polar fleece or khaki cargo pants, the 153-room hotel---capturing views of the Space Needle and Lake Union---feels like a contemporary artist's canvas where guests can add their own color. Mine involved a Saturday morning lake-front run beside marinas and houseboats before meeting the TS girls for an afternoon of shopping, the spa and dinner out.
Eat
Saddle up to the Raw Bar at Seastar Restaurant and let the masterful chefs have their way with your taste buds. Sushi savants will love the colorful, on-a-whim platters rolled in plain sight. Tasting the ceviche, and crab-topped flame-seared sushi, and chatting with the gentleman beside us {who visits four times per week}, we see why it's the #1 Zagat award-winning seafood restaurant in Seattle. PS - If you retire to the restaurant for your main course, the Reggiano Parmigiano Halibut is mouth-watering and highly recommended.
Do
Draped in earth tones and shaped by clean lines, Vida Wellness Spa at the Pan Pacific is a maiden voyage must-do. Known for their facials, the estheticians are knowledgable and highly educated in the art of skin. All three of us---fairly into skin ourselves---could not stop swapping discoveries gleaned from our treatments. PS - you'll love the healing infrared lights over every treatment bed and full-body infrared sauna.
If You Go - Ladies, spring for a night in the swanky and spacious Space Needle-View Suite {from $400}. Champagne tastes so much better overlooking cultural landmarks and large bodies of water! {Trip Styler Tip :: get an adjoining room if you're with a gals' group, and toast the moment in the living room of the suite.} - A complimentary hotel town car runs m-f. - Valet parking is $39. - Free wifi. - SLU is a five minute walk from downtown Seattle.
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[photos by @tripstyler]