Property
I was very excited when the Woodmark Hotel contacted me to invite me and my family to come stay at the hotel and try out their Family Ties: Escape To The Lake family package.  As a Seattle local, I’d been to the hotel a number of times but I hadn’t yet had the chance to stay at this elegant, luxury property.

The Woodmark is a favorite wedding spot situated as it is on Lake Washington with stunning sunset views of the lake, Seattle and the Olympic Mountains. With a number of well-recommended restaurants in and around the hotel on Carillon Point, it’s also a favorite location for business meetings. Given this, I had never really considered the hotel as a destination for a family break and I have to say that it was with some trepidation that I edged across the SR-520 on a hot Friday evening with my energetic kids in tow.

Location
The Woodmark is located just off Lake Washington Drive in Kirkland, Washington. It’s about a 20-minute walk from the hotel to downtown Kirkland.

Sleeps
There are two rooms offered for the Escape To The Lake package: a 2-queen guest room and a suite. The 2-queen room is very generously sized with a spacious bathroom and a foyer-style space with tea and coffee-making facilities and a small fridge. The suite is huge. (It may even be bigger than our first apartment in Washington). The master bedroom and bathroom are capacious and the living room area is furnished with 4-person dining room table, a desk and a queen-sized pull-out sofa – not to mention an additional armchair, side tables and a coffee table. There’s also a powder room so that if your children need to go to the bathroom during night, they don’t need to wake you up to do so.

Highlights
We started our evening with a private tour of Lake Washington aboard the Woodmark II, a 1956 Chris-Craft yacht with Captain Rob. It was the perfect start to our weekend. Initially, the kids relaxed below-decks while my husband and I enjoyed the cooling breeze and Rob’s explanations of the geography of the area. In time, our exclamations at some of the wackier garden décor in the (very large, very well appointed) properties on the lakeshore caught our children’s attention. They came up just in time to see a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton artfully placed in the large rotunda of a lakeside mansion.

Dinner at the Beach Café was relaxed, casual and entertaining. Kudos go to Kenny, our waiter, for drawing our (by then tired and grumpy) children into conversation by talking about his love of video games. They couldn’t get enough of him. The free in-room movies (also included in the package) meant that Mom and Dad had some quality parent-time enjoying the views from our balcony while our boys watched a movie before bed.

The hotel staff really made my family feel welcome during our stay. The location, on the lake and away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown areas in Seattle and Bellevue meant that the area has a resort feel – so much so that one point during the weekend my younger son exclaimed “this really feels like another country”.

Good to know
There’s no real beach at Carillon Point, but if you walk North from there towards downtown Kirkland, you’ll pass no less than three beach parks. The first, Houghton Beach Park is the largest with a playground and a beach volleyball court. Agua Verde Café has a little café and also rents kayaks on-site. Beware though, there’s very little shade in this park. If you’re with very young children, it may be best to continue to the smaller Marsh or David E. Brink parks. All parks have plenty of grassy space to lay out a picnic blanket, some picnic tables and a public dock for diving and swimming.

Contact
www.thewoodmark.com

Written by Michelle Duffy

Property
The Hotel Monaco Seattle (a Kimpton Hotel) is a fun place to base yourself and your family in downtown Seattle. The rooms are spacious and comfortable and if you ask in advance, you can share your room with a goldfish for a true ‘sleep with the fishes’ experience. The ‘Monaco Queen Queen’ rooms are generously proportioned with ample room for a family of four including two Queen Beds and pleasant décor in soothing colors – not to mention a flat-screen TV. In-room internet access is complimentary and the desk and chairs are comfortable enough for two working parents to share. Had I been traveling alone, I would have been tempted to check out a yoga kit from the front desk for a little in-room relaxation or maybe take advantage of the complimentary Aveda bath products.

Location
The hotel is perfectly located to explore the downtown area. The new Koolhaas-designed Central Library is right outside your door. The waterfront is less than a five minute walk away if visiting the Aquarium or taking a boat tour on the Puget Sound sounds appealing. For those who enjoy a wander, Pike Place Market – with outdoor fruit, vegetable and flower markets, shops, cafes, and the odd flying fish (literally) – is a short stroll away.

Sleeps
Monaco Queen Queen sleeps 2-4. The Monte Carlo Suite has a King Bed and a sofa-bed with plenty of additional room for a roll-away if necessary.

Highlights
The Friday evening manager’s wine reception was a great start to our weekend, not for the wine, but for the fun our children had playing and watching Guitar Hero with other guests. We took our morning coffee to go from the original Starbucks store on Pike Place Market, excellent French pastries from Le Panier and ate a picnic breakfast at Victor Steinbreuck Park watching the ferries and boats ply the Sound.

Good to know
For younger children, the KimptonKids welcome pack with goldfish-themed bath toys, cookies and a slinky would certainly help break the ice and give your children a reason to bathe and get ready for bed in an unfamiliar hotel environment.

The onsite restaurant, Sazerac is highly rated and popular with the downtown after-work crowd so we didn’t get a chance to sample the food. However, the Ipanema Brazilian Grill is just a couple of blocks away for a truly different dining experience. This rodizio style of dining has something to please even the fussiest palate from either the never-ending array of meats – brought right to your table – or the vast array of fruits, cold meats and salad from the extensive salad bar.

Contact
http://www.monaco-seattle.com/

Written by Michelle Duffy

Property
Spacious, centrally-located and cheap in Seattle? Hard to find, but the University Motel fits the bill. Every one of the 21 suites at the University Motel is 650 square feet with several beds, a separate bedroom, dining area, A/C, Cable TV, a phone and free wireless. There is a washer/dryer on premises and a free parking garage. The friendly
and helpful staff make for a pleasant stay.

Location
Set in the geographic center of Seattle, and only blocks from the bus route and the freeway, it’s easy to get anywhere in the city from the motel.

Sleeps
2-6. Kids under 12 are free. Additional people (over 12) cost $5-6 extra per night.

Highlights
A full kitchen plus a nearby grocery store and plenty of local take-out joints help keep food costs down. And then the space. A private bedroom with a door that closes? Wonderful.

Good to know
If you are looking for elegant furnishings, this is not your place. The style is 1970s dormitory chic. The neighborhood is not the best at night.

Contact
www.university-hotel.com/

Written by Jessica Jacobson