This post was originally published on this site

How do you know Pioneer Square is in its revival era? Its newest hotel, Populus Seattle, is actually cool. In addition to the obvious guest rooms, it also adds a museum-meets-conservatory space to the neighborhood. And it’s certainly not just for people passing through. 

The entrance of the newcomer, which opened in May, presents a contrast to bustling King Street or the frenzied ferry terminal just beyond its towering glass doors. Inside is a ghost forest scene of nurse logs and suspended moss-laden branches calling back to Pioneer Square’s marshy, boggy past. It’s calm and grounding and quintessentially Pacific Northwest.

Populus includes more than 50 original commissioned artworks.

With 120 rooms, the new hotel is part of the Railspur project renovating one of Pioneer Square’s classic old warehouses. Out-of-towners will find an upscale hotel, but it has draws for locals, too.

In transforming the building from plumbing fixture warehouse to high-end hotel, Populus lead designer Carlos Herrera says he let nearby nature be the guide, “looking at the natural elements that are very abundant in Seattle and extracting colors and textures from that,” he says. Literal nature is palpable throughout, with 465 potted plants on the property from local landscape architects Camden Gardens. Populus boasts about its carbon positive laurels.

Salt Harvest continues the botanical theme with plants overhead.

There is even a solarium of hanging plants above the restaurant Salt Harvest, and the sheer amount of plants is almost distracting. They compete for attention with lighting in the shape of constellations viewable in Pacific Northwest skies and even the plates themselves, hand-thrown and painted by local artisans.

Salt Harvest celebrates summer with a strawberry cucumber salad.

“We don’t want to complicate things. We just want to enhance whatever comes through the back door,” executive chef Conny Andersson says of the Salt Harvest concept. From the nine-seat chef’s counter, diners can watch Neah Bay wild salmon fire over open flame or focus on a light strawberry, cucumber, and heirloom tomato salad topped with dollops of whipped feta and delicate flower petals.

But the real attraction, especially for locals, is what’s on top. One question for Seattle: Why don’t we have more rooftop bars? 

Since opening, sixth floor bar Firn has capitalized on summer skies to show off  skyline—and, yes, Space Needle—views. The menu is trendy: It boasts clarified milk punches, and brightly colored drinks that catch the eye even when served to another table, causing you to stop a server and ask, “What is that?”

As for the rest of the hotel, including the café, it all feels richly sleek: jewel-toned furniture, exposed beams and brick, and large windows with equally huge paintings. Many of the industrial touches and relics are still visible, like the beams made into tables and chairs. Herrera says the goal was that the space “feels like it belongs, or like it has been in Pioneer Square for a while.”

A 120-room hotel can feel like the least relevant part of a big development; Railspur also has shops, offices, and two planned restaurants from Renee Erickson (though those come with a lot of questions). But Populus feels worth a look. It’s design that gives a stylish, dare we say cool air to a neighborhood that’s always reinventing itself.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here